Pineapple Upsidedown Cake (8-6-11)

My hubby loves pineapple upsidedown cakes.  I had bought one with everything in the box, but hadn't taken pics of it.  However, he liked it so much, he asked me to make another one.  The issue that we ran into was that the box mix that was on sale, wasn't the one with everything included.  It was just the pineapple cake - and at that, it was about twice as much mix as the first one...  So, come with me as I make this mix into a pineapple upsidedown cake - Nifty Novice Style!!

First, I assembled all of the ingredients and tools based on what the box needed, as well as what I needed for the top of the cake (THANKFULLY, I had done the other one first...so I knew there was a topping that went down before the pineapple, so I could do some quick research online to find out what that would be - it's brown sugar.)  Also, you may notice that I used crushed pineapple instead of the standard pineapple rings and cherries... A few reasons for that.  #1, the first box used crushed pineapple so it was what I was used to and #2, it's easier to disguise when you've sneaked some of the pineapple (and cherries if I had them there!) if it's crushed.  Ummmm...er...ahhhhhhhh... NOT that I would know.  Really!  You don't believe me?  Yeah.  I wouldn't either.  LOL  O:-)  (I HAD to taste-test the pineapple to make sure it wouldn't poison anyone... It passed the test! LOL)

Next, I took some butter and dotted it on the pans.  Because this had more mix than the other brand of mix I had used in the past, I ended up making TWO round cakes.

I put it in the oven to melt a bit.  I ended up putting it in too long (darn that taste-testing!  Takes so much time! LOL) that the butter ended up caramelizing a bit... I know butter shouldn't caramelize, but it wasn't really burnt, but definitely not straight up like it should have been.  I drained out the burnt parts and put 2 more dots of butter in and put those in for just a few minutes - keeping a better eye on things!

As that was going, I started making the cake mix.  I tend to prefer to put eggs into a smaller dish first and then put them in the bigger dish... Something about shells constantly breaking off and having to fish them out...  VERY annoying.  Again, not like I would know myself! LOL

I took the pineapple and drained it a bit into my measuring cup to use in place of some of the water.  I couldn't really get a good strain on it, but I got about 1/3 of the water requirement out of pineapple juice.  I guess that is a downfall in using the crushed pineapple.  It's a bit harder to get the juice out - at least with our can opener which opens the top of the can from the outside (so it doesn't fall into the can).

I mixed everything up.  Yes.  I'm using the wisk for a handheld mixer.  Yes.  I am not using said handheld mixer.  I love using wisks.  I feel it helps really mix stuff up and gets out the clumps.

Next came putting the brown sugar in the pan on top of the butter.  OK.  DON'T LAUGH.  I had to pretty much chisel the brown sugar apart.  My mom has gotten me those darn bear things that you put in the brown sugar that keeps it from clumping like two or three times.  I can never find them.  Goodness forbid, I put them right into the container.  I may just have to buy new brown sugar.  Anyways, I thought that the sifter would help to break it apart and make sure there weren't any clumps anywhere.  Ehhhhh - Not so much.  Actually, the chunks were pretty easy to break apart with my fingers once I realized I was getting no where with the sifter.

Next, add the pineapple... Get a decent layer going and you can go to the edge if you want.

Add the batter...

The juice you see around the sides?  From the pineapple that I didn't fully strain.  I wasn't feeling very optimistic about these cakes.  And I didn't want to spread the cake mix out too much because I was afraid it was "picking up" the pineapple and wouldn't work right... so I left it like this.

I cooked it for the time it said on the box, and as soon as I brought it out of the oven, I flipped the pan over onto a glass dish, leaving the pan over it for a couple of minutes.  Then, it should lift right up and you have your cake.

Finished cake.  Not as great to look at as the ones with the slices, but at least I knew I'd have pineapple in every bite - and that was far more important to us!  :-)

I asked my hubby to pass me the cake so I could take the picture.  I have such a goofball for a hubby!!  :-D  At least I know he was excited for the cake!

And, a shot of the inside of the cake...

So... There ya go!  It really wasn't too bad!!  I really did actually shock myself with this one that it turned out so well!  And it was great using the crushed pineapple to have a taste of pineapple in every bite.