For as long as I can remember, my mom always made “Pineapple Upside-Down Cake” for every holiday, family function, special occasion, etc. It was sort of like fruitcake- always just, there, on the table (except it was much, much tastier than a fruitcake)- but it’s always been a sort of tradition in her house.

I had a craving for it tonight, and decided to make one myself. The recipe is simple enough, and if you’ve got an hour or so, it’s a nice change from a standard scoop of ice cream or cookie for dessert.

YOU WILL NEED:

* Butter.

* Brown sugar.

* 1 Springform pan.

* 1 Box of yellow cake mix (the brand is entirely up to you- just make sure it’s yellow cake).

* 1 Can of sliced pineapples.

* 1 Jar of maraschino cherries.

OKAY, HERE’S WHAT YOU DO:

1. First, you are going to use butter to “grease” the bottom of your springform pan. Make sure it’s covered to avoid any sticking. If you’re not a fan of butter, any non-stick spray should do the trick.

2. Cover the bottom of the pan with the brown sugar. Don’t be stingy. You can use a lot and it won’t ruin the cake.

3. Place the pineapple slices on top of the brown sugar.

4. Place maraschino cherries in the center of each pineapple slice. From here, you can feel free to add more brown sugar on top of the pineapple slices and cherries.

5. Preheat your oven to 350°. While the oven is heating up, prepare your yellow cake mixture as instructed on the box.

6. Pour the mixed yellow cake batter on top of your brown sugar/pineapple/cherry concoction.

7. Place pan inside oven and bake for approximately 50 minutes-1 hour. Be sure to do the toothpick test every so often to make sure your cake is cooked all the way through.

8. When your cake is done baking in the oven, let it sit on a cooling rack for 10-15 minutes. *BE CAREFUL: THE BROWN SUGAR WILL BE REALLY HOT* Heed my warning- I learned that the hard way.

9.  Once cooled, flip your cake over onto a serving dish.

10. OPEN FOOD HOLE. SHOVE CAKE INSIDE.

It came out pretty good- at least good enough where I know my mom would be proud of my efforts- although I can’t say for sure that I’ll carry on her tradition of baking one for every gathering I have with family and friends.

It’d be kinda’ funny, though.

xx