Gooood Pineapple Upside Down Cake
Decadent and EASY… this is the best Pineapple Upside Down cake I’ve had so far…the whole process shouldn’t take ya more than an hour from start to finish—including the baking time! One pan, one mixing bowl, one whisk. Easy cleanup. I prefer the texture of this cake without an added pudding mix. Trust me.
Tips:
Don’t use the low sugar pineapple for this one, Carole. Go all in.
Use a rich vanilla bean paste. Rum or rum extract would work well too.
Rest your cherries in a ramekin lined with a paper towel to absorb any extra liquid. I poured a (scant 1T) splash of the grenadine in my batter, but you don’t have to. Especially if you’re using vanilla extract instead of paste— don’t add anymore liquid to this batter.
Ingredients
Topping:
Scant 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
1 stick salted butter, plus 1 T
1/2 tsp vanilla paste
1 (20oz) can pineapple slices, drained, juice reserved (should render 1 cup)
13 Maraschino cherries, drained well
For the cake:
4 eggs
1 cup reserved pineapple juice
1/2 cup sour cream
1/3 cup oil
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla paste
1 box yellow cake mix
Recipe
1.) Preheat the oven to 350. Melt a stick of butter in a no.8 iron skillet. (I just pop mine in the oven for 5 min as it preheats.) Don’t burn it. Remove the skillet, set it on a potholder and add your brown sugar, 1/2 tsp vanilla, and whisk to well to incorporate. Butter the sides with your tablespoon of butter. (Shouldn’t take that much)
2.) Drain the can of pineapple slices over a glass measuring cup. Carefully press your fingers into the fruit to render as much liquid as possible. You should get a cup of juice. Set it aside. Refer to my video on social media to see how to place your pineapple rings into the brown sugar mixture. Poosh down to ensure they touch the bottom. Drain cherries well and add one to each hole. Press them into the brown sugar mixture as well so that they’re exposed when ya flip. Set the skillet aside.
3.) In a large (Pyrex) mixing bowl, whisk your wet ingredients— juice, oil, eggs, sugar, pinch of salt, and vanilla paste. Whisk well to beat the eggs. Then whisk in your cake mix until combined. Dint overmix. Wisk in the sour cream and pour batter into your skillet. Set the skillet on a cookie sheet to catch any spillage and bake uncovered for 45 min.
4.) Cover loosely with foil and bake for 10 more minutes or until the middle is just set. Use a knife in the center to check the batter.
5.) Once out of the oven, remove the foil. Use a knife to carefully scrape the sides of the skillet to loosen the cake before you unmold it onto a large plate. (Make sure the edges of your plate are wider than the damn skillet so that you know it fits.) :-)
6.) Serve warm. (With vanilla ice cream or whipped cream if desired.) Store in a sealed tight Pie-Keeper in the fridge. Reheat servings for 20-30 seconds or so in the microwave. Keeps for 4-5 days.
