Upside Down Orange & Pineapple Maize Cake
For the orange topping:
300g Sugar
225ml Water
2 large Oranges thinly sliced.
For the cake:
200g Self-Raising Flour
75g Maize Meal
1 tsp Baking Powder
200g granulated Sugar
200ml Olive Oil
3 large Eggs
Juice & zest from 1 large Orange
½ tsp Salt
For assembling:
4 cups Icing Sugar.
½ cup Smooth Cottage Cheese, plain
¼ cup Unsalted Butter, softened
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 tin KOO Pineapple Pieces in Light Syrup
Pre-heat oven to 180°C. Line the bottom of two 23cm round springform tin with parchment paper and grease the sides with butter. Set aside. For the orange topping, combine the sugar and water in a large shallow saucepan and set over medium heat. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. Add the orange slices to the pan and partially cover with a lid then simmer gently over medium low heat, turning sliced over once or twice, until the rinds have softened, 10-15 minutes. Arrange the orange slices in the bottom of one of the prepared springform tin covering the entire base. Set aside until needed, also reserving the orange-infused syrup for later.
To prepare the cake, whisk together the flour, maize meal and baking powder in a large bowl then whisk together the wet ingredients in a separate bowl or large jug. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix with a wooden spoon or electric mixer just until the batter is smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as needed. Divide the batter between the tins then bake in the pre-heated oven until a toothpick inserted in the centre of the cake comes out without any wet batter clinging to it for about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and while the cake is still warm, pierce the sponge in various places with a small sharp knife or prick with a skewer and spoon or brush the reserved syrup over the cake. Leave the cake to cool in the tin on a wire rack for about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile to make the frosting add the icing sugar, cottage cheese, butter and vanilla to a food processor and blend until smooth. Set aside.
Add the KOO Pineapple Pieces in light syrup to a medium saucepan and cook until the syrup has reduced, and the pineapple pieces have broken down and slightly caramelized. Remove from the heat and allow it to fully cool down.
Run a sharp knife around the sides of the sponge then remove the collar of the springform tin from the pan. Place the layer without the orange slices on a serving platter. Spread the cottage cheese frosting on top of the cake and smooth out in an even layer. Spoon over the caramelized pineapple mixture and spread in an even layer. Place the second layer of cake on top ensuring the orange slices are facing upwards. Top with roasted hazelnut praline or nut brittle and serve.