Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Call it a bad case of me playing "cake doctor." It all started when I saw pineapples being sold for only $2. Never mind that I have never in my entire life peeled a pineapple on my own (why do it when the vendor can do it for you, right?). I just grabbed one and thought of making pineapple upside-down cake. Hey, when prices are this good, you can't afford to miss it!

And since I am not a baker, I had to rely on my friend Duncan Hines. Well, the picture on the box of their Pineapple Supreme Cake Mix looks divine so I just had to make it. Of course, I had to tweak it because I don't have one ingredient on hand. But it still tasted great! 

And in case you're wondering, I used a plastic cap to make the pineapple holes. Remember when I said I peeled it myself? The only tool I used was a knife, so it wasn't cored. I had to look around the house for something to core it, and found the cap.Talk about being resourceful! MacGyver would have been proud of me!

Ta-da! Instant corer!

What you need:


For the topping:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 cup firmly packed sugar
about 4 to 5 slices of pineapples, cored
Maraschino cherries


For the cake:
1 package Pineapple Supreme cake mix
4 large eggs
1 cup pineapple juice
1/2 cup oil



What to do: 

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Prepare the topping. Melt butter over low heat in a 9" X 13" glass pan (preferably in the oven while you're preheating it). Remove from heat. Stir in brown sugar. Spread to cover the bottom of the pan. Arrange pineapple slices on top of the sugar mixture and place cherries in the center of each pineapple. Set aside.

Waiting for the batter...

In a big bowl, combine cake mix, eggs, pineapple juice, and oil. Using your electric mixer, beat at medium speed for 2 minutes. Pour batter evenly over the fruits in the pan.

Bake at 350°F in the oven for about an hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Using oven mitts to handle pan, invert onto serving plate immediately after removing the cake from the oven.


Tips, Tricks and Tweaks:

1. Substitute pineapple juice with water.
2. Original recipe called for a 3.4 oz package of vanilla pudding. I didn't have any, hence the pineapple juice.
3. If using pineapple chunks, add them in the batter.