Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Recipe (slightly) adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients:
Topping:

• 1/2 medium pineapple, cored and cut into quarters (I used a can of the rings packed in their own juice – but I recommend using fresh pineapple for that fresh pineapple flavor)
• 3/4 stick unsalted butter (I accidentally read this as 3/4 cup of butter so I had a LOT of carmel hence the funky looking pineapples sitting on top of the cake)
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar (I upped this to 1 cup due to my butter fail)

Cake:

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 6 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 tbsp dark rum
• 1/2 cup unsweetened pineapple juice
• 2 tbsp dark rum (for sprinkling on after baking)

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350ºF.
2. If using fresh pineapple: slice off the top and bottom, then carefully cut down the sides of the pineapple to remove the rind. Then cut the pineapple into quarters, and cut off the core and slice. Arrange in the bottom of a 9 inch cake pan.
3. In a small saucepan combine the butter and brown sugar. Simmer over medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
4. Allow the caramel to cool slightly, then pour over the pineapple in the cake pan.

I did this next part all by hand. I thought it made the cake a little denser than if I were to have used an electric/handheld mixer, but it still had great flavor.

1. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
2. Beat the butter until light and fluffy. Then gradually beat in the sugar.
3. Mix in the eggs 1 at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla and rum.
4. Mix in 1/2 the flour mixture. Then mix in the pineapple juice. Then the other half of the flour mixture.
5. Spoon the batter over the pineapple and caramel layer. Bake for about 45 minutes. Remove when the tester comes out of the cake clean. Then sprinkle the 2 tbsp rum over the cake.
6. Allow the cake to sit and cool for 5-10 minutes. Then invert onto a plate. (Make sure you keep the plate and pan held tightly!)

Enjoy!