Pineapple, Upside Down Oatmeal Cake

It's MOPS time again, and for our Tropical Beach Party theme we thought an upside-down pineapple cake might be fun. I had a vision of a kind of pineapple-oatmeal cake, and so I went looking. In one of my favourite cookbooks (Cooking From Quilt Country by Marcia Adams) I found both an upside-down pineapple cake and an oatmeal cake. I envisioned a mash-up of sorts and so putting them together, came up with this. The first trial was pretty good, but deemed a little too sweet, and since I had added ground flax I thought I might be able to leave out the egg. The second trial turned out nicely; with a few maraschino cherries sprinkled in for a festive colour and the egg replaced with a flaxseed substitute, either regular or gluten-free it's a delightful breakfast or dessert treat. In place of crushed pineapple I used pineapple tidbits the second time around, breaking up the chunks with the sharp edge of a plastic spatula. It worked just fine.

Pineapple Upside-Down Oatmeal Cake

1 -14oz can crushed pineapple

5 maraschino cherries, finely chopped (optional)

1 cup Gluten-Free Oatmeal  (or regular, but not instant, rolled oats)

2 Tablespoons ground flax* (or 1 egg/egg substitute)

pineapple juice + water to make 1 cup

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup Canola oil

1 cup all-purpose flour or Bob's Red Mill All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum (if using gluten-free flour)

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon ground mace or nutmeg

1/3 cup Canola oil

1/2 cup Agave nectar OR 1/4 cup brown sugar+1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla

Preheat oven to 350*F. Line a 9inch square pan with parchment paper or lightly grease with spray oil.

Drain pineapple through a sieve into a microwave safe bowl or glass measure.

Add water to pineapple juice to make 1 cup. Microwave 2-3 minutes on high heat. Stir in oatmeal and flax, and let stand for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix first amount of brown sugar and canola oil together and spread over bottom of prepared pan. Spread drained pineapple over brown sugar mixture, sprinkle maraschino cherry pieces (if used) over pineapple, and set aside.

In medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, xanthan gum (if used), salt and mace. When pineapple juice is cooled to lukewarm, add second amount of oil, agave nectar or sugars, and vanilla. *Mix in egg or egg substitute if ground flax wasn't added to the oatmeal.  Stir together until well blended. Add to flour mixture, and fold together until fairly smooth and well blended. Pour over pineapple in pan and bake for 25-40 minutes until cake is browned, springs back when lightly touched, and a toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean.

Let stand for 15 minutes, then invert onto large serving plate. Peel off parchment.