Pineapple Upside Down Cake

It's been awhile since I posted a recipe and to be honest with traveling I haven't been cooking as much as I usually do. Hubby's birthday was Monday and you know when you have kids you can't have a birthday without cake and candles and singing.

He asked for pineapple upside down cake which I have made in the past from a sweet little box I found in the grocery store. I was not surprised that in all 3 of the stores I looked in there was no pineapple upside down cake here in Maryland. I will just add that to my list of things I cannot find in Maryland. 1) peach pie filling 2) canned green chilies 3) corn tortillas 4) pineapple cake mix. Seriously do people in Maryland not eat dessert or Mexican food? Maybe they make their desserts from scratch but it is still killing me.

Needless to say I headed to my handy dandy, most basic cookbook ever Pilsbury Complete Cookbook . This cookbook doesn't have any "fancy" recipes but it is my go to for simple things like what temperature do I cook fish at? Where do I find a basic chocolate chip cookie recipe? Pineapple upside down cake from scratch? Got it!

Needless to say the cake turned out fabulous and hubby and I were both happy. Here is the recipe:

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/4 cup butter, melted

6 slices of pineapple (I used the canned in pineapple juice kind and drained the juice for later in the recipe)

6 maraschino cherries

2 eggs, separated

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 pineapple juice (this is where I used the juice from the canned pineapples just make sure you buy the kind in pineapple juice)

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. In small bowl, combine brown sugar and butter; blend well. Spread in bottom of ungreased 9 inch round cake pan (I spread some of the mixture on the sides of the pan to prevent sticking). Arrange pineapple slices and cherries over brown sugar. Set aside.

2. In small bowl, beat egg yolks until thick and lemon colored (this takes a hot minute). Gradually add sugar; beat well. Add flour, baking powder, salt and pineapple juice; mix well (if you taste the batter it won't be super sweet, this surprised me but remember the brown sugar, pineapple, cherry mixture adds plenty of sweetness when finished).

3. In another small bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form (also took awhile with hand mixer). Fold into batter. Pour batter evenly over pineapple slices and cherries.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes. Cool upright in pan 2 minutes. Invert cake onto serving plate.

Enjoy!