Okay....I helped my grandmother make this as a child and I am darned if I can find a cake that comes close to my memory...I know I know.....BUT...she used a basic yellow cake recipe out of an old book and I SWEAR that the cake was a lot more "course" in texture but not tough....am I nuts? Yes, maybe....

If anyone has a suggestion for me...bring it on!

I would love to make one of those cast iron skillet pineapple upside down cakes of yesteryear....

thanks!

might it have had cornmeal in it?

as does Alton Brown's version....

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_29051,00.html

CI has the absolute best pineapple upsidedown cake I have ever tasted. Fresh pineapple (not the yucky canned crap) and lots of real butter and some cornmeal for texture.

Using AP flour will also result in a more coarse grain than a cake flour recipe.

Dole Pineapple Upside Down Cake recipe from 1926:
(Baked in cast iron skillet.)

http://meenalmehta1.blogspot.com/2006/02/pineapple-upside-down-cake.html

HTH