Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350F (175C). *(PLEASE READ NOTE #1 BELOW)*

Step 2

In a sml bowl, stir together the melted butter & brown sugar. Spread the mixture evenly in a well-buttered 9-in rd cake pan. Pat the pineapple VERY dry between several sheets of paper towel, arrange it evenly on top of the sugar mixture & set aside.

Step 3

Sift together flour, baking powder, salt & cinnamon.

Step 4

In a large mixing bowl, cream the softened butter w/the sugar until the mixture is light & fluffy. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating well after ea addition. Add the milk & vanilla.

Step 5

Add the flour mixture in 3 parts alternating w/the milk (starting & ending w/the flour mixture. Beat well after ea addition. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan.

Step 6

Place the cake in the middle of the oven. Bake for 45-55 min or until a tester comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan on a rack for 15 min. Run a thin knife around the edge & invert the cake onto a plate. Serve the cake warm or at room temp.

NOTE #1: I've made a fair # of these cakes in my life, but never w/o using parchment or waxed paper to line the pan & peel away when the cake is inverted

NOTE #2: This recipe was a bit hard-to-follow & organize to enter here. It had been reviewed 182 times & 2 points were freq made:

1) That the amt of butter combined w/the brown sugar could (or should) be reduced. Having now made this cake, I agreed w/the reviewers & adjusted the recipe accordingly.

2) That the cake was more flavorful on day 2. Many reviewers used canned pineapple rings vs fresh pineapple & I now understand that better as I did the same, mainly due to availability issues w/fresh pineapple.

NOTE #3: When I made this cake, I found myself w/o glace cherries for the center of the pineapple rings, so I subbed dried cranberries for them.