pineapple upside down cake

Pineapple upside down cake is possibly one of my favorite desserts... my mom has been making it for as long as I can remember. This recipe actually comes from my Grandmama (that is her depression ware glass plate in the picture), and has been tweaked just a little with each generation. 

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Pineapple Upside Down Cake

1 can pineapple rings, drained (reserve juice)

maraschino cherries

1/4-1/2 cup butter

brown sugar

1 box yellow cake mix (or vanilla)

1. Mix cake according to directions, but substitute water for pineapple juice. If there isn't enough pineapple juice, substitute remaining water with milk.

2. While oven preheats (heat according to cake mix), put 1/4 - 1/2 cup butter in cake pan and place in oven to melt.

*Amount of butter used is based on how rich you want your cake to be. Obviously more butter makes it tastier (and this is how my Grandmama does it) but some of us like a little less fat! 

** If you don't have a pan that will fit a whole cake mix, divide between two pans.

3. When butter is melted, swirl to coat sides of pan. Sprinkle brown sugar over melted butter... there is no amount because it's really a personal preference. I prefer more, but sprinkle enough to get a good layer. If needed, use the back of a spoon to smooth it into a fairly even layer.

4. Decorate with pineapple rings and cherries, if you choose to cut your cherries in half (I do) make sure to place the cherries upside down so that when you invert the cake they will have the rounded side up!

5. Pour cake batter into pan and bake according to box. 

6. When cake is done, cool for 5 minutes before inverting onto plate. If necessary use a knife to level cake before inverting.

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Steps 2 through 4 are shown here. Personally I'm one of those people who likes to have a visual of what exactly I'm supposed to do!

I'm actually not the big of a fan of cherries! That mini cake was more for me than anyone else.

Doesn't that just look so good? There's something about the way this cake looks... you just know it's going to be tasty! For anyone out there who's never tried this, it's an absolute must. And for anyone out there who's never made this because it seems difficult - you could not be more wrong! 

But then again, you can never really go wrong with one of my Grandmama's recipes.