Throughout my childhood, my dad was not really a dessert-loving kinda guy. He never ordered dessert for himself and always opted out of ice cream with the rest of the family, but everyone owed him a single bite of whatever they’d ordered, a Sweets Tax, if you will. It was equal parts cute and annoying, and the apple didn’t fall far from the tree. I’m the same way now.

Birthdays presented an issue: what to make the man who doesn’t really like cake???

I don’t know if this is true or not, but I remember being told he likes pineapple upside down cake, and so for several years in a row, that was what he got on his birthday. A heavy cast iron turned upside down to reveal an inevitably beautiful but kinda falling apart spongey cake with subdued-yellow rings of canned pineapple, each with a bright pink cherry center. The cake was impossibly good, at least in my memory. The syrupy pineapple and brown sugar from the cake transported me to a tropical paradise with each bite.

It’s been many, many years since a pineapple upside down cake has graced my mouth, so when I saw that our friend Ben Mims (of 12 Days of Holiday Cookies fame and author of Sweet & Southern: Classic Desserts with a Twist) had published a recipe for Summertime Pineapple Upside Down Cake, I freaked out. Screamed. Cried. Made a shopping list.

I’m not going to bullshit you, and Ben, I hope you’re listening: initially, I was sad to see that the nostalgic rings of sickeningly sweet pineapple had been omitted from this iteration of pineapple upside down cake. Aren’t they like synonymous with “pineapple upside down cake”???

Instead, we get chunks? Chunks of pineapple? We’re good with that?

I had to do some soul searching and remind myself I’m a 30 year old man who doesn’t need rings of canned pineapple in his life, and eventually I came around. As always, Ben knew what he was doing. The chunks are a much better call, and of course using fresh pineapple makes this cake so much better than the one in my memory. It’s a beautiful homage to a classic, and it accomplished what every homage to a classic sets out to accomplish: it’s an upgrade from the original.

It’s not too sweet; it’s balanced. The cake is hearty, a match for the bright notes of the pineapple. And the chunks burst with juice when you bite into them, yet another sentence I can never take back.

With that, I have the recipe below, from Ben Mims’ Summertime Pineapple Upside Down Cake, originally published in the LA Times.

Ben Mims’ Summertime Pineapple Upside Down Cake

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ¼-inch cubes and chilled, divided, plus more for greasing
680 grams (1½ pounds) peeled and cut pineapple chunks (like from the grocery deli section), cut into ¼-inch-thick slices
108 grams (½ cup) packed light brown sugar
½ teaspoon fine sea salt, divided
107 grams (¾ cup) all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
200 grams (7 ounces) almond paste
2 large eggs, room temperature
¼ cup whole milk
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Whipped cream and cherry jam, for serving

Grease an 8-inch cake pan with some butter. Line the bottom with a round of parchment paper, then grease the paper.
Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pineapple, brown sugar and 1/4 teaspoon salt, and cook, tossing occasionally, until the sugar dissolves in the pineapple juices and reduces to a thick sauce, about 8 minutes. Scrape the pineapple and sugar syrup onto a plate, spread out in a single layer, and let cool to room temperature, about 10 minutes. Once the pineapple mixture is cool, transfer it to the bottom of the prepared pan and smooth into an even layer or arrange in concentric circles or tiled rows, whatever you like. Place the pan in the refrigerator to firm the syrup while you make the cake batter.
Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium bowl, whisk together the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, the flour and baking powder.
Using your fingers, break apart the almond paste into small chunks and place them in the bowl of a stand mixer or large bowl. Add the remaining 6 tablespoons butter and mix on low speed until evenly combined, then increase the speed to medium and beat until pale and lightened in texture, about 3 minutes.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition until smooth before adding the next. Add the milk, lemon juice and vanilla extract, and beat until smooth. Add the dry ingredients and mix on low until just combined. Using a rubber spatula, scrape the bottom and side of the bowl to make sure the batter is well mixed.
Remove the prepared pan with the pineapple from the refrigerator. Dollop the batter evenly over the fruit so it doesn’t disturb it in the bottom of the pan, then gently smooth the top of the batter. Bake until the cake is lightly browned on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes.
Transfer the cake pan to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes. Invert the cake onto a wire rack, remove the pan, then carefully peel back and discard the parchment paper round, replacing any pineapple slices that may try to come off with the paper. Let the cake cool to room temperature before serving with whipped cream and a small dollop of cherry jam on top.