Makes 1 large cake
Ingredients
8 tablespoons (1 stick) margarine
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped clean
1 cup sugar, separated
1 fresh pineapple, cored and sliced
¾ cups cornmeal
¾ cups flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1½ teaspoons coarse salt
¾ cup egg replacers (replacers must equal approximately 3 large eggs)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup coconut milk
Directions
Preheat oven to 350ËšF.
Melt 4 tablespoons of margarine in a cast iron skillet over medium heat, making sure to coat all sides. Add the vanilla bean and the scrapings from the vanilla bean and ½ cup of sugar and cook until the margarine starts to melt and turn golden brown, about 3 minutes. Add pineapple rings forming a circle covering entire bottom of pan filling any blank spots (cut rings if you need to fill spots) arranging for an aesthetically pleasing design. Place in the oven for 15 minutes or until pineapple is tender. Set aside.
Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl combine cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Separately, in the bowl of a large mixer over medium-high speed or by hand, beat the remaining margarine and sugar until fluffy. Reduce speed to medium and add egg replacers, making sure to scrape sides of the bowl. Next, adding dry ingredients and mix just until incorporated. Finish by adding vanilla and coconut milk. Drop spoonfuls of batter over pineapple mixture and spread evenly with a spatula coating evenly and making sure pineapple is not visible. Bake until golden brown and a tester comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes, run a knife or spatula around the cakes edges and invert onto a large cutting board tap the bottom if need be. Cool and serve.