Coffee Chocolate Pineapple Upside Down Cake with Toasted Coconut Whipped Cream

Now for a baking recipe... I made this last weekend when Garret's dad Dennis was in town. The McElveny men have a special place in their hearts for pineapple upside down cake, so I always try to make a new experimental version when I have an occasion. I got the chocolate cake recipe from Simply Organic and the rest came from my head. The cake itself is pretty exceptional. It is light but very moist. Dennis also brought up a couple of wines that were created before I was born so we had one to accompany our cake.


















Ingredients
1 can pineapple rings, in natural juices
2 T rum
2 T brown sugar
1 t melted butter

1.75 cups flour
1.75 cups sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
3/4 t salt
2 eggs
3/4 cup strong coffee
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 t vanilla

1/2 cup coconut flakes

1 cup whipping cream
3 T powdered sugar
1 T coffee

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly oil a 10 inch cake pan and line top with parchment paper. sprinkle the inside of the pan with the brown sugar, butter and rum and then line with pineapple slices.

In a medium bowl, combine dry ingredients (flour through salt). In a large bowl, whisk together wet ingredients (eggs through vanilla). Stir well with a mixer and gradually add the contents of the dry bowl to the wet bowl.

Carefully pour the batter into the cake pan and bake for 55 minutes.

While cake is baking, chill your mixer beaters and a bowl in the freezer. Line a baking sheet with the coconut and cook until golden- about 10 minutes.

When cake is done, cool for 10 minutes and invert onto a cake plate. While cake is cooling, beat whipping cream, sugar and coffee in a bowl until it is the right consistency. Slice the cake onto serving plates and top with cream and coconut.