I often remember coming home late from school and before I even dropped my backpack at the door, being instantly hit by the sweet and buttery smell of cake. This particular cake was one of my family's favorite desserts not just because of the smell or how fluffy soft the cake was or even the slight crunch of the brown sugar "crust", but because it was easy for my mom to make after she came home from a long day at work, had cooked dinner, and watched over my then 1 year old brother.
"What did you mom make for dinner?"
"(insert Filipino dish here). "
"That sounds good."
"Oh and she made pineapple upside down cake."
"I'll be right over."
That was a pretty common reaction with my various extended family members. If for some reason they couldn't make over to our house, I was always instructed to "save a piece." Yeah, like there would be anything left over....
Pineapple Upside Down Cake
in a 13x9 non-stick pan
1- box of yellow cake mix
3- eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1- 20oz can of pineapple rings (in its own juice)
1- small jar of maraschino cherries
2/3 cup butter, melted
1/2 golden brown sugar
1) Preheat oven to 350*F. Place butter in non-stick baking pan and place in preheating oven to melt.
2) Pour all pineapple juice from canned pineapple rings into a measuring cup up to 1 cup. If the juice does not measure to 1 cup, fill remainder of the measuring cup with water. Combine cake mix, eggs, juice, and vegetable oil. Set aside.
3) Carefully remove pan from oven. Sprinkle brown sugar evenly over melted butter. Arrange pineapple rings in the butter and sugar. Place a cherry in the middle of each ring.
4) Slowly pour batter evenly over the pineapple rings. Bake for 25 minutes.
5) Allow to cool for approximately 15 minutes. Place a serving plate firmly over the pan and flip. Serve and enjoy!
Sueshine Notes
As you can see, I used a 13x9 pan because I wanted to bring it to work....much to my coworkers' delight. When my mom would make it, it was always in two 9-inch rounds meaning you would just need to split the butter evenly and adjust the baking time according to the directions on your cake mix.
When making any kind of upside down cake, I think the flipping scares people the most. Tips to a good flip is to 1) use a good non-stick pan or in my case, I lined the pan with parchment paper, 2) allow the cake to cool and 3) commit!! Don't hesitate when flipping your cake....just hold your serving plate firmly against the pan and do it fast. The cake will just slide right out.
Don't distress if your cake cracks a little. Believe me, most people won't even notice once they start eating!
Cutting back on the sugar but still want an easy dessert? I would recommend using more water than pineapple juice, use a sugar free cake mix like Pillsbury, or use Splenda sugar blend. Or just eat a smaller piece.
t was my mom's birthday a few weeks ago and I decided to make it in her honor. My mom doesn't make the cake very often anymore because she can't have it and it's one of the few sweets she admits she has a hard time resisting (even though she just lost an incredible 20+ pounds in less than a month! Zumba away mom! You can spare a piece of cake!). Instead of indulging in the cake, I decided to share this one with my co-workers. It was welcomed with enthusiasm and was gone within 15-20 minutes of my placing it in the kitchen. A few people asked me for the recipe and I explained how easy it was.
"You make it sound so easy. Like tada....cake!" said one of my co-workers.
Don't be fooled. This cake really is that easy. Just remember...commit to the flip!!
