In this special episode from 2004, Arlene is joined by her friend Sue Beatty, who makes a delicious but surprisingly easy recipe for pineapple upside-down cake! She even shows the different kinds of pans you can use to make it.
While the cake bakes, Sue sits down to share an incredible story with Arlene of how she spent 2 months in the hospital through a life-threatening ordeal and how God changed her life through the power of prayer. It’s a powerful testimony you have to hear.
Pineapple Upside Down Cake
This dessert is incredible, and you can sale this recipe up to make bigger cakes!
Ingredients
Caramel Sauce
- 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 tsp vanilla
Fruit and Nuts
- 1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts
- Maraschino cherries
- 1 can pineapple slices, drained, reserve juice (20 oz)
Cake Batter
- 1 box French vanilla or yellow cake mix
- 3 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla
- milk (about 1-2 cups, see instructions)
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a microwaveable bowl, combine brown sugar, butter and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Microwave on HIGH for 1 to 2 minutes until melted. Stir to combine well and pour into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish. Place pan in preheated oven so sugar mixture will completely melt and will spread evenly. Remove pan from oven and distribute sugar mixture evenly over bottom of pan. Place pineapple slices decoratively in pan, add cherries into centers of slices and then spread chopped nuts around the pineapple slices.
- Meanwhile, place reserved pineapple juice in a 2 cup measuring cup and add enough milk to equal 1 1/3 cups. In a mixer bowl, combine cake mix, juice/milk liquids, eggs, and 2 teaspoons vanilla and beat for 2 minutes until light and fluffy. Pour batter over pineapple slices and even out batter. Place in preheated 350 degree oven and bake for approximately 35 minutes, or until center is set.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool on wire rack for 3 minutes. Loosen cake from edges of pan with a knife and invert onto your serving dish so that the cake is upside down. Rearrange cherries and/or pineapple slices as needed and let cool completely. Makes 8 to 12 servings. Enjoy!
Transcript
- Well, hello and welcome to our program today. It’s always great when the family comes together for “At Home” and it really wouldn’t be the same without you. Today’s a little bit different of a program. We’re gonna show you a wonderful, wonderful recipe for a delicious cake. But more than that, how would you feel if a dear friend of yours were in a coma for two months and not expected to live? Or their doctors didn’t give you much hope or perhaps even came into her hospital room and said, “We don’t know what to do.” What would you do in a situation like that? My guest today is a person that that happened to and we’re gonna talk to her about that after she prepares a really fantastic cake. And I wonder if you will make a phone call and just get other people who maybe don’t have much hope today or are living in a situation where it doesn’t look like there’s any way out or perhaps they’re sick in their body and they don’t know what to do. Doctors have said, “There’s nothing we can do.” That’s the kind of a person I really want to be watching today. So if you know someone like that, we go to the phone and ask them to please tune in Arlene at home today because I have hope for you. I have an answer for you. And today, there is hope because we have Jesus Christ who is our savior and he’s our healer. We’re gonna talk all about it today. But first, we’re gonna give you today’s At Home Hint. So stay with us, we’ll be right back in just a minute. Here’s today’s At Home Hint. Never, never, never fill cake pans or cupcake tins more than two thirds full with batter. The batter will bake over the edges and you will have a very big disaster on your hands. If you’ve got a helpful hint you’d like to share with us, we want to hear from you. Send your hint to At Home Hints, Cornerstone Television, Wall, Pennsylvania 15148-1499.
- Well, it’s my pleasure to introduce to you a very dear good friend of mine. I’m so glad you’re here, Sue. Sue Beatty here, yeah.
- Well, glad to be here.
- She’s from the north hills of Pittsburgh. She’s a hairdresser and she’s a woman who really loves the Lord. And that’s the most outstanding thing about you to me.
- Wow, thanks.
- It is.
- Thank you.
- Your life shows it. One of the best givers in the world. She would- Well, we don’t wanna go in there cause I can’t do it.
- I’m gonna give you a recipe today.
- Yeah, she’s gonna give, share it with everyone. All right, that’s good. Now, Sue is known for this cake. Her Pineapple Upside Down Cake is awesome. So I said how about sharing that with our viewers and then we’ll talk later. Okay?
- Okay.
- All right. What are we doing, Sue?
- Well first of all, I don’t think it’s any coincidence that it’s Pineapple Upside Down cake.
- Why?
- ‘Cause my life was turned upside down a few years ago as you know.
- Yes, it was. I remember.
- So we’re gonna share this tonight.
- Okay.
- Okay. Now first of all, I take maybe a cup and a half… What do we have…
- One and a half cup brown sugar.
- Microwave a bowl of about a half a stick of butter.
- So that’d be like a fourth of a cup.
- Right. We’re gonna measure that and we’re gonna put a little bit of teaspoon of vanilla.
- Now this is different because normally you’d put that in here, but she doesn’t do that just yet. She will but not just yet.
- We melt that in the microwave.
- Okay, back there. Of course, the recipes are available to you and we’ll be sure that you get them. We’ll tell you how to do that in just a minute. So basically, you’re melting the brown sugar and the butter and the vanilla, okay.
- Need a spoon to st-
- Stir that? Okay.
- Right, right.
- Now, what are we gonna do?
- We get your pan ready and you can make a decision on what type of pan you like.
- Now, this is a 13 by 9.
- Right.
- Okay, talk us through because you have a really large… This is a three four sheet cake.
- Right, that’s my favorite.
- Yeah, this makes a beautiful cake.
- I always think more is better.
- Yeah.
- And what’s nice about this is you use two cake mixes. You use two cans of pineapples and you get 20 pieces, 20 big pieces.
- So the recipe- The recipe that we’re providing you in our newsletter and on our internet, you’d use two of those recipes in one pan.
- Correct, double.
- Okay, double. Okay, but what you’re doing today, you’re gonna be making one.
- Correct.
- Okay.
- Or you could even use the circle one.
- [Arlene] The round pan.
- Right. The only difference with the 9 by 13, you have 10 pineapples and 10 doesn’t fit in there-
- Slices.
- 10 slices.
- Yeah.
- And it doesn’t fit in there exactly correct. Unless you wanna… Now what I did for the one I’m gonna show today, I opened two cans. I’m only gonna use the one and two extra pineapples to make it even.
- But Sue, you could buy a big can and then that little small can that they have?
- There you go.
- That would be just probably just right.
- Right.
- Because you know what, the pineapples, the placement of the pineapples and the cake baking it, when she flips this, that pineapple placement holds has to hold on the top of that cake for it to really look nice. I don’t know if you’ve been like me, I have flipped them and the pineapples are flying off because something wasn’t right. And in every cake that she does, they look like a picture because they’re so perfect, which is what you really strive for. Okay, so this then… Do you grease in flour?
- I don’t.
- [Arlene] ‘Cause there’s butter in there.
- I used to but I don’t. That’s not necessary.
- [Arlene] Didn’t have to.
- But what I do also is now when I pour that in here, you don’t get it spread out right away. So I throw it in the oven for maybe one or two minutes.
- Okay, what’s the temperature?
- 350.
- So that’s preheated, right?
- Yeah, and then it smooths it out and it sort of evens it up.
- Covers it evenly.
- Right.
- Okay. And that’s what we’re looking forward. She also, which is really neat, like if you wanna take it to somebody’s house and you don’t wanna take it in the pan, you get these little boards that your cake decorator or cake candy supply place. And what are these? Not very much, are they?
- 80 cents, that one.
- 80 cents. Okay, that’s pretty too. Very nice.
- Right, right.
- Okay, so that’s another option you can do. Okay, so what should that look like? Kinda like that?
- Right.
- Kinda creamy, okay. No nuts in that, right?
- Not yet.
- But there will be eventually. Right?
- Oh, yeah.
- Well, how long have you been making this cake?
- Several years. I don’t know how I even know how it developed. Somebody said they liked it. Well, quite honestly, it’s a lot easier than making cakes with icing.
- And she used to do that. Used to cake decorate.
- I used to and it was so much work and this is the easiest cake because when you’re done, you’re done.
- You’re done. You don’t have to ice it or anything. Okay, and you wanna put that in the oven?
- Right in the oven.
- Okay, go ahead. I think it’s in the top… Top ones up to 350 degrees again. Now you only leave that for a couple of minutes, right?
- Right, you just check it that it all spread up pretty even ’cause I used to work it, work it, work it to get it even.
- Don’t need to.
- No.
- All right, now what’s the cake part of it then?
- Okay. I choose to use Duncan Hines French Vanilla.
- [Arlene] It’s a richer cake, yeah.
- Well, it’s between a white and a yellow. It’s neither one or the other but it’s like right in between.
- Good flavor.
- That’s the one I find as the best. Where’s the scissors here?
- Scissors are in here.
- All righty.
- Okay, so…
- Now another thing I learned when making cakes, do you ever pour them in and they’re flying everywhere?
- Yeah.
- I like to put the liquids in first.
- Oh, that’s smart. Maybe I could break some of these eggs for you.
- Sure.
- Help you out a little bit. Okay, there’s one. Oops. Here’s two. Now you put the vanilla-
- Here’s three.
- You don’t put the vanilla, you put it in the other, right?
- I put a little vanilla in there, too.
- Do you? Okay.
- Yeah.
- I think all of that enriches, don’t you?
- Right.
- It enhances the flavors.
- Oh, yeah.
- Okay.
- Okay. Now what I do is I use the juice in the cake mix. You know, where there calls for cup and a half of water. I just add the juice.
- See, I do too ’cause I think it makes it taste better.
- And then I add milk. I don’t use any water. Just add milk to equal-
- And you put the juice?
- Right. Now it should be a cup and a third.
- So, we don’t have too much. It’s a little under.
- This is one cup. So, we’ll just add a third.
- Okay, go ahead I’ll tell you when to stop. Yeah.
- There we go.
- There you go.
- And then we’ll use a third cup of oil. Pour that in.
- You put that in there too? Whoa.
- Right.
- That almost makes it like sour, huh?
- Yeah.
- Sours it up.
- There you go.
- Okay. You’re gonna add all of that.
- All that.
- Okay.
- And you add your cake mix.
- Then you add the cake mix. Now you’re gonna let this beat for how long?
- About two minutes.
- Just ’til it comes together, right?
- Right, right.
- How are we doing? You think it’s done in the oven yet? I’ll do this while you do that.
- Nope, a couple more minutes.
- Not yet? Okay. Okay, so you get that going.
- I’ll turn it up a little higher than that.
- Okay, go ahead. Anything else here?
- ‘Cause when you have the liquid underneath, it doesn’t splatter.
- You’re right. You’re absolutely right.
- I love those words.
- Okay.
- Splatter, yeah, really. Okay. And that just until it comes together. So you don’t add anything else to that?
- Nope, that’s it.
- Okay.
- Do you have a spatula?
- Sure. There’s one right in that little cookie there. It’s fun when people get together and cook in each other’s kitchens. Like she has no clue where anything is here, you know? But that’s fun. That’s fun. We all get together and we learn, right?
- Right.
- All right. Nothing like those KitchenAid, huh?
- Right. Just got a new one for Christmas.
- Yours was pink, too. I am so jealous that she got a pink KitchenAid. About the color of this?
- Well, no, it’s a-
- Little bit lighter?
- It’s for breast cancer…
- Awareness? Oh, okay.
- Right, right. Okay.
- That should do this.
- Okay. So, that’s ready to go. We have to put the pineapples.
- All right.
- Together. Right in that drawer. Right next to you right there. Yeah. Move some of this out of the way so you can see what we’re doing.
- Just swirl it around. Makes it a lot easier. Look how nice.
- Oh, absolutely. Okay. We’ll let you put that right down. You wanna put it here?
- Is that okay?
- Sure. All right now.
- Let me spread it out. You just take a little… Just to get it even.
- Oh, yeah. Wonderful pan too, huh?
- [Sue] This is that Bake works pan.
- [Arlene] Okay.
- [Sue] Okay.
- [Arlene] Okay. We start laying these in?
- [Sue] Right.
- Is that what you do next?
- Right.
- Okay, and you wanna go… How many across?
- Four, four and four. Or three, three, three, four, four.
- [Arlene] Three times four, right?
- [Sue] Right, there you go.
- See, it does pay to go to classes when you’re a kid to learn how to add, subtract, and multiply. You think what am I doing these fractions for? You know what? When you get older, you’ll say, “Oh. Hmm, I need to learn that.” Right?
- [Sue] Here we go. Pretty good, huh?
- Okay, now what?
- Put the cherries in the centers.
- I love the smells. I wish you could smell. This is awesome. Wonderful.
- You can take about cup and a half of nuts.
- Now those are walnuts?
- Walnuts. You can use pecans if you prefer. I use walnuts.
- [Arlene] Did you ever do almonds?
- [Sue] No. I wonder what that would be like.
- [Arlene] Something different, huh? She puts them all around the edge, too.
- [Sue] All around there and it doesn’t hurt if you get on the pineapple because the cake’s gonna just go-
- [Arlene] It’s just gonna absorb it, huh?
- [Sue] Right. But you wanted it to show up at the end when you flip it over.
- You wanna be able to see. Okay.
- [Sue] Get on the edges.
- Nothing there yet. One thing, she’s very generous with all of this. She don’t skim.
- More is better.
- Yeah, always. Okay.
- Okay, there we go.
- Now, we take that off. I’ll take that.
- There you go.
- Thank you. And we basically, you’re just gonna pour that over top.
- Pour it in and that’s it.
- Kinda nice and creamy, that batter is. Wow!
- [Sue] I just like the French vanilla.
- [Arlene] And you know, you didn’t beat that and beat it and beat it. Just ’til it come together and got smooth and it’s ready.
- [Sue] And just spread it out.
- All right. She’s gonna put this in the preheated 350 degree oven. When we come back, we have some things we wanna talk to you about. So stay with us, we’ll be right back in just a minute.
- Now, tell me how long are we gonna bake that cake.
- Well, that size, the big one I usually leave in 40 minutes and that’s plenty. But for a smaller one, usually around 30-35. Check it ’til it’s brown, doesn’t…
- Move in middle.
- Right, right.
- Right. Okay. Well the reason I really… Besides that cake, I wanted to talk to you today because I’ve been getting a lot of mail from people who are hurting. And I know that you went through a really horrendous time in your life, Sue.
- [Sue] Yes, I did.
- Tell us a little bit about it.
- Well, I had some complications to surgery about a little over two years ago.
- [Arlene] I remember.
- And the last thing I remember was being taken to the emergency room. My son-in-law, I woke him up at four o’clock in the morning. I had excruciating pain and he took me to the hospital, and that’s the last thing I remember. And now it’s all hearsay.
- [Arlene] Yeah.
- But one thing that was fortunate, I was fortunate. My daughter and my sister kept a journal while I was in. And you know, I-
- For how long were you there? In the hospital.
- I was in intensive care for two months.
- Two months.
- Two months. And then I had to go to rehabilitation. I had to learn to walk all over again.
- Because of the complications of the surgery?
- Correct, correct. My bowel herniated and turned gangrenous.
- [Arlene] Jesus.
- And it was quite a challenge, although-
- I remember.
- I don’t remember anything.
- No, and I remember as our church body gathered together, we would pray. Our pastor would lead us in prayer. Paul and I prayed every day. And I remember thinking, “Oh, I should go and visit.” But I have to be honest with you, I was a little bit afraid that it would shake my faith because I knew that you were having a rough time.
- Our friend, Dale, he came to visit me and he said, “Sue, I had to close my eyes to pray for you.”
- Oh, yeah.
- They said my head swelled up three times its size.
- [Arlene] Jesus.
- My tongue was hanging out. I almost bit my tongue off.
- [Arlene] Jesus.
- I had turned septic.
- You had that ARDS.
- I had ARDS which is acute respiratory or adult respiratory distress syndrome, and it’s a very ser- My niece said she got on the internet and read about it and they said only 10% of the people live when they have it. And I said, “Oh, my.” But it was scary for my family.
- [Arlene] Sure, it was.
- And you know, I think Arlene, we talked to our kids ’til we’re blue in the face and we think they don’t listen. But this was a very good example. My daughter and my sister, I had a special anointing on them. They became like bulldogs, they said. And you know, you think they don’t listen but they did everything that I probably would have done and more. They took tapes. Our pastor has a tape creating an atmosphere for healing. It’s all healing scriptures. They took it to the nurses and told them play this constantly. And music, play the tapes.
- Absolutely.
- And in fact, I go back to the intensive care unit and visit. There’s a nurse there, Susan, and she said, “I turned those tapes for you all the time.” When she takes me around and she’ll say, “Do you know who this is? Do you remember who this is? Because I looked pretty bad in that situation.
- And so you can identify with a person who’s very… Had been maybe told that you have no hope, or that this is the way life’s gonna be, so get used to it. And it’s not the best.
- Well, you know, Arlene, several years ago and I hesitated saying anything because it sounded sort of boastful. The Lord spoke to me to my heart and he said that he was gonna use me to pluck people up out of the jaws of death.
- [Arlene] Wow.
- And I didn’t understand the fullness of it. I didn’t think-
- Say that again.
- He was gonna use me to pluck people up out of the jaws of death.
- Wow.
- And I didn’t understand that I was gonna have to be one of them but-
- Sometimes, you get to taste what you serve.
- I had to taste it. So I hesitated in sharing that with anybody ’cause it does sound boastful.
- [Arlene] Yeah, it does.
- But one of my customers, I’m a hairdresser, and she was in the inten- She was in the hospital and she took a turn for the worst, and I went to do her hair. Her husband had asked me to come. And when I went to the hospital, he said, “Oh, she took a turn. She can’t get her hair done.” And I said, “Would you mind if I prayed?” And he said, “Fine.” You know? So I really took authority and I came against the spirit of death.
- [Arlene] Absolutely.
- And prayed and left. And I didn’t hear anything, and a few weeks later he called me. She was in Harmarville Rehabilitation Center and he said, “Would you go and do her hair?” And so I went over and she said, “Sue, did anyone tell you what happened?” And I said no. And she said, “When you laid hands-” She said, “I know I was going into a coma.” And I never told anyone this, so it was really interesting. She said, “It was like a big hand come down and pulled me right back.” And I said, you know, that just confirmed what God has showed me. And now I’m boldly saying.
- [Arlene] Yes, you are.
- You know, there’s a scripture. It says, “Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom. Let not the mighty man boast of his might. Let not the rich man boast of his riches. Let him boast of this that he knows and understands me that I’m a God of loving kindness and righteousness.” And we can boast, Arlene.
- Absolutely.
- ‘Cause we know he’s a good God.
- He is a good God.
- He is.
- And you know what? There are times in all of our lives that we’re gonna face that.
- [Sue] Yeah.
- We’re gonna face times and struggles that we don’t know what to do, just like you didn’t. And I remember saying, “Man, I can’t wait ’til she gets awake ’cause I’m gonna ask her. I’m sure God’s taken her all over heaven and he’s told her things to come. And I said to you, “Sue, what was God saying while you were out?” And you said, “Nothing.”
- I don’t remember a thing.
- Of course. But you know, today we wanna pray for you because this is a woman of faith. I like to think I’m a woman of faith because I’ve seen God move in my life, my loved one’s life, people’s lives. And I want us to pray and I’m gonna ask you to pray. I want you to look into your camera and I want you to pray for them and I will be in agreement with you, okay?
- Okay.
- Go ahead, right there.
- Well, thank you Arlene.
- [Arlene] Jesus.
- If you’ve joined us today and your life is upside down like mine was, or maybe you have some death hanging around in some areas of your life, doesn’t necessarily even have to be physical.
- [Arlene] That’s right.
- Or if there was a- One part of the… Excuse me, do you mind if I share something?
- No, we have about a minute.
- In the journal that my daughter kept, there was a doctor. We nicknamed him Dr. Doom because he come in and he said there was absolutely no hope. You know? And so if you have a Dr. Doom hanging around your situation saying there’s no hope, we’re just gonna join together in agreement that the Lord would pluck you up out of the jaws of the death that’s kept you bound. Father, we do join together in agreement. We thank you Father for the word, the word of life. And we just right now come against the spirit of death that would keep anyone back from the fullness of the life that you’ve called us to. Lord, in the name that is above every name, the strong name of Jesus, we just right now pluck these people up out of the jaws of death. Cancer, you have no power in the name of Jesus. You, spirit of death, you go in the name of Jesus. Poverty, sickness, death, disease, in Jesus name we just ask Holy Spirit that you would just touch each and every person. From the sound of our ears, in Jesus- Sound of our voice, in Jesus name, and we thank you and give you the glory.
- [Arlene and Sue] Amen.
- There’s a number on your screen. If you’d like someone to pray further with you, please call that number. We’ll be right back in just a minute with more of “At Home”.
- Hope you’ve enjoyed today’s program. Thank you so much for being here.
- Well, thank you.
- It was a pleasure and we didn’t get to tell all of it, I know. But there’s a number on the screen and I want you to write that down because that phone number answers 24 hours a day. It’s there for you. How about letting me have a little taste of that wonderful cake? Look at this cake. Ugh, little dollop of Cool Whip on top or some whipped cream. Awesome. And I tell you what, the more you make of these, the better they taste so-
- Oh, yeah.
- Look at that. Oh! Now what did you tell me about putting in a microwave?
- If you throw it in a microwave for maybe 30 seconds, warm it up, a little bit of a Cool Whip.
- It tastes just like it’s hot from the oven, huh?
- Right, right.
- Awesome. Thank you so much. This is such a treat.
- Oh, you’re welcome.
- And most of all, I want to remind you. God loves you. He’s not angry with you. He’s never mad at you. He’s the one that loves you and cares about what happens to you and wants your life to be full and free. Doesn’t want you to be in bondage to anybody or to anything. Make that important phone call right now, will you? And be sure to join us the next time because it just wouldn’t be the same without you here “At Home”. We’ll see you then.
- [Announcer] Furnishings provided by Levin Furniture, featuring Lane’s Country Living Collection. Food provided by Jordan Banana Company, wholesalers of fresh food and vegetables in Dravosburg, Pennsylvania.
- [Announcer] Cornerstone Television wishes to thank all our faithful viewers whose consistent prayers and financial support have made this program possible.
enjoyed this very much. one of my favorite pineapple cake. so thankful I found this program. what a blessing
will meet her in Heaven..
enjoyed this very much. one of my favorite pineapple cake. so thankful I found this program. what a blessing
will meet her in Heaven.. never txed before.
Oh good! We’re so glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for watching!