This Sweet and Savory Pineapple Upside-Down Cornbread Will be the Star of Your Next Outdoor Barbecue

Full disclosure: This pineapple upside-down cornbread is NOTHING like your grandmother’s uber sweet and fruity, stick-to-your-hands pineapple upside-down cake that you know and (possibly) love. 

Whether you’re serving it as an accompaniment to some baby back ribs or veggie-kabobs, this pineapple upside-down cornbread complements any kind of flavor. It’s moist, yet light, sweet and slightly salty, and has just the right amount of tang. It tastes great alone under its own ginger-honey glaze, and (take my word for it) is best when paired with the smokiest of BBQ sauces, creating a delicious flavor explosion. This cornbread also comes with a lifetime guarantee of sending your guests (even the picky ones) off with a happy stomach after every party. What more could you ask from a pseudo loaf of bread? 

While the thought of sweet and savory might scare you (especially when pineapple is involved), trust me when I say that pineapple and mozzarella is one of the best food pairings out there, and you won’t know it until you try it. All of the flavors in this cornbread work together to create an exotic, summer-y, and zingy flavorful experience for your tastebuds. Try not to eat the whole thing in one sitting, I dare you.

Pineapple Upside-Down Cornbread

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 25 minutesCook time: 50 minutesTotal time:1 hour 15 minutesServings:8 servings

Ingredients

• 3-4 pineapple rings
• 1 cup medium grind cornmeal
• 1/4 cup all-purose flour
• 3/4 cup pastry flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 5 Tbsp melted butter
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 cup goat milk
• 1 cup corn chowder – I use Wolfgang Puck’s
• 2 eggs
• 4 oz. block Mozzarella
• 3 Tbsp butter for Ginger-Honey Sauce
• 1/4 cup olive oil for Ginger-Honey Sauce
• 1/4 cup honey for Ginger-Honey Sauce
• 1 Tbsp light brown sugar for Ginger-Honey Sauce
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger for Ginger-Honey Sauce

Instructions

1. 
   

   Gather all of your ingredients.

2. 
   

   Butter a 9-inch circular cake pan.

3. 
   

   Make the sauce first. In a saucepan on medium heat, combine butter, olive oil, honey, brown sugar, and ground ginger and let simmer for 10-12 minutes until golden brown and thicker in consistency, stirring about every two minutes.

4. 
   

   Once the sauce is finished, pour it into the buttered cake pan and top it with as many pineapple slices as will fit in the pan without overlapping.

5. 
   

   Next, combine the dry ingredients. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, AP flour, pastry flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set aside.

6. 
   

   In a separate medium-sized bowl, combine the wet ingredients. Stir together the melted butter, honey, goat milk, corn chowder, and eggs.

7. 
   

   Chop the 4 oz block of mozzarella into very small chunks (each about 1/2u0022 thick).

8. 
   

   Incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, stirring just until combined. Finally, stir in the chunks of mozzarella.

9. 
   

   Pour about 3/4 of the batter into the cake pan on top of the sauce and pineapple slices, then bake for 50-55 minutes at 350ºF. When it’s finished baking, let it rest for 20-25 minutes before turning it over onto a plate and enjoy!

• July 4th
• Kitchen
• Pineapple
• Snack
• Sweet
• Vegetable