Here’s another recipe that came this close to not appearing on The Healthy Foodie…
Oh, not because the cake wasn’t good, far from there. It was actually delicious.
Only because I made a stupid mistake, which made my cake look sort of ugly and I wasn’t conviced that I wanted to immortalize the evidence of my little mishap.
The truth is, I felt a little bit ashamed, you see… Hey, I am a certified pastry chef, after all. I shouldn’t be doing things like that. Not me. No way…
Do things like what, you ask?
Well… alright, I’ll show you. Take a look and see for yourself…
See that not so good looking egde? Well, it should’ve been all nice and beautiful and golden and mouth watering… it SHOULD have been a thing of beauty, really, judging by what the cake looked like BEFORE I took it out of the pan; all golden and crispy looking…
But you see, when came time to unmold the cake, I got overly excited and was so eager to free this baby from its metal harness, that I completely forgot to run a blade around it before to flip it onto a plate…
Of course, the cake attached to the pan and sort of ripped all around, leaving all the delicious crustiness behind.
What a shame. I should’ve taken pictures of that egde still attached to the pan, just so I would remember how gorgeous it SHOULD’VE looked.
Or maybe I could just bake another cake….
In fact, that would be a brilliant idea, especially since I have 2 pineapples still that need to be used up. Yeah, I did get carried away once again and bought a whole bunch when they went on sale a few weeks ago…
And I can’t say I would oppose having some of that wonderful cake for breakfast all week again. Hey, I guess you guys know by now just how much I love having cake for breakfast…
And this one right here sure fits the purpose. It’s almost as though it was created with breakfast in mind.
Oh, wait… it was! Breakfast is EXACTLY what I had in mind when I came up with this recipe. Of course, that doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy it for dessert, or as a healthy morning or afternoon snack.
It would be absolutely perfect for that too! It really isn’t that sweet at all, and it’s super dense and chewy and has tons of little morsels to chew on. And talk about tasty too!
Oh, and did I mention if was also grain free?
Oh yeah! I want me some more…
UPSIDE DOWN PINEAPPLE CAKE
[Grain Free, Gluten Free, No Sugar Added, Low Fat]
(serves 10-12)
INGREDIENTS
- 1 small fresh pineapple, cut into thin chunks
- 225g buckwheat flour
- ¼ cup flax seed meal
- ½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 2 tsp cream of tartar
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 225g almond meal (I used leftover from milk)
- 1 cup unsweetened apple sauce
- 1 cup buttermilk
- ½ cup date paste* (see note)
- 1 cup (8) egg whites
- ¼ tsp almond extract
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp white wine (or white balsamic) vinegar
- Toasted coconut shavings to garnish
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 350F and spray a 9″ springform cake pan with cooking spray (a deep cake pan would also work)
- Arrange the chunks of pineapple nicely at the bottom of the pan. Set aside
- Add buckwheat flour, flaxseed meal, coconut, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt to a large mixing bowl and mix with a whisk until well combined.
- In a separate bowl, add almond meal, applesauce, buttermilk, date paste, egg whites, almond extract, vinegar and vanilla. Whisk until well incorporated.
- Add liquid mixture to dry mixture and mix with a rubber spatula until well incoporated.
- Pour that cake batter over the pineapple slices and cook in a 350F oven for 50minutes, or until top is nice and golden.
- Take out of the oven and allow to cool completely, at least 2 hours, then transfer to refrigerate for another 2 hours
- RUN THIN BLADE ALL AROUND THE CAKE then flip onto a clean pate.
- Garnish with toasted coconut shavings.
* To make date paste, simply pack a glass jar (Mason type) full of pitted dates then top with water. Put that in the fridge for 24 hours then process in the food processor until nice and smooth then transfer back to the jar. This will keep for several weeks in the refrigerator.
UGH!! I just got back from the grocery store and I could have picked up the missing ingredients for this. Looks like I”ll be going to Wegmans again tomorrow because I have to do something with the almond meal that’s sitting in my fridge after making the almond milk! And what better to use it in than a cake with pineapple and coconut!
LOOL! Well, hey, can’t let that almond meal go to waste… totally worth an extra trip to the store!
Especially if cake is part of the end result! 
Do you think I can use regular flour in place of the buckwheat flour if I’m not considered about this being gluten-free? Just trying to cut down on what I have to buy…but if you think that won’t work I’ll try to find the buckwheat flour.
I really wouldn’t see why not, Joann. Hopefully whole wheat, or spelt… it should do the trick.
Nooo! I hate when that happens. I did something really similar to a batch of brownies the other day. The sides peeled right off. But you know, if you wouldn’t have said anything, I totally wouldn’t have noticed that it’s ‘messed up’ It still looks beautiful!!
Aww, thanks Leanne, that is so very nice of you to say! It still looked somewhat “presentable”, but more importantly, it tasted REALLY good. So I HAD to share. Have you posted your brownies? That’s one thing I have yet to attempt… healthy brownies. Can’t even begin to understand why I haven’t already. I’m such a sucker for brownies! I think they would be my favorite chocolate treat. Adding this to my list now, thanks to you!
I was going to say the same thing – I kept staring at that first picture trying to figure out what could possibly be wrong with the edge…maybe I was just too distracted by the beautiful pineapple and toasted coconut topping! Sounds like a delicious cake that I would want to eat for breakfast, snacks and dessert!
Awwww, thank you so much Genevieve, that is so nice of you to say! Maybe the problem is that I know what the cake WOULD have looked like had I not been that eager. Still, I admit that it didn’t look so bad, even in that poor state. Else, I wouldn’t have even bothered taking pictures. The pineapples saved it, you are totally right. So pretty!
You did it again. Just after I thought I finished my grocery shopping for the week, you present a recipe that requires one more trip to the store. At least I’ll be rewarded with a fantastic dessert for busting the budget. Wish I could just reach right through and take a bite!
Thanks Holly! Funny, I seem to be sending people back to the grocery store this week… but you got that one right: the reward will be well worth the extra trip! Hope you like it (and don’t forget to run that spatula around the cake before to flip it over!)
Let me know how it turned out, will you?
You should have just baken another cake, this was a perfect excuse!
This looks really good and I love that you’ve started making your recipes sweetener-free!
Well, I still had to eat that one. Couldn’t have let it go to waste. And since I’m alone eating most of what I do, well, let’s just say that 2 cakes would be a little bit too much, unless I intended on eating nothing BUT that for a week… but I’m definitely planning on making this one again…
Glad you like the sugar free recipes! I’ll try and leave that added sugar out as much as I can now that I know it can be done with great results!
Oh my god Sonia how do you come up with these amazing cakes!!! I really wish I had a slice of this waiting for me for breakfast this morning.Incredible!
I totally wish I had one too… I get the feeling that this one will get made again sometime VERY soon…
Although, knowing me, I’ll probably have to come up with a different cake. That’s just the sway I am. I seem to have a very hard time making the same thing twice. My brain needs to create! But that one was definitely worthy of making a second time, so it might very well happen…
Thanks for your kind comment, Michelle!
I use date paste as well! Dates are so versatile – from homemade larabars to baking goods!
Maybe you have tried this already, but I want to share one more way to eat dates.) You can make thin date paste, add a bit xanthan gum to mock caramel syrup consistency and add some flavdrops if you wish for additional layer of flavor (I use toffe, maple). This results in syrup which is much healthier than regular caramel syrup. It’s great with apple pancakes.))
One question. Which kind of buckwheat flour you use? From raw groats or toasted?
WOW! Glorious idea, Natalie. Date syrup. Love it. I will definitely have to try that… Funny I haven’t done anything like that yet because every time I make date paste, before I process it, I enjoy a teaspoon of that delicious, thick, sweet, syrupy liquid that’s formed in the jar. That alone is worthy of being called syrup. Now you got me wanting to play with dates and create delicious goods! Thanks for that!
As for the buckwheat flour, I used the one from raw groats, but I bet toasted would be really good too!
This looks so great! I love pineapple but I don’t use it in desserts nearly as much as I should. The idea of pineapple cake for breakfast is wonderful!
I didn’t know you were trained in pastry?!?! Fun and I can totally see your talents shine through your amazing recipes and presentation! This cake looks super yummy, I was so drawn into the topping that I didn’t notice the sides haha. Still looks delicious, and I love the buckwheat —- making this !!!!!! Just wish I had a slice right now
Nora, you’re just way too kind, as always!
Yes, yes I was! I spent 18 months in culinary school to learn how to become a pastry chef. I got my diploma and all, but decided that I didn’t want to work in that field after all. I couldn’t stand having my hands dirty all the time! 
OMG! I could just sit and eat the date paste right out of the jar. Okay, I’ll be honest…I was! I hope I have some left tomorrow when I am ready to make the cake! I will definitely be keeping some of this in the fridge at all times!
Isn’t it amazing? And don’t worry, I too, eat the stuff by the spoonful! It’s THAT good!
Hi Sonia!
I just found your blog and I am so thankful. I love ALL the recipes I have looked at!
For this one – is it fair to say that the almond meal is just almond pulp?
Thanks <3 for a great blog!
You got that one right, I used almond pulp for this one… leftover from milk, that is. But I am certain that almond meal (flour) would work equally good.
Glad to hear you like my recipe, and thanks for letting me know that much!
You rock!