After looking through what I have and haven’t made before, it’s hard to believe I’ve never attempted an upside-down cake. Come to think of it, I’ve only seen a real upside-down cake once in my life. My mom was never a huge fan of them, so I blame this on her…

Upside-down cakes were huge in the 1950s and 1960s, so it seems like post 1970s they were very passe to have at a party. Everything that goes out of style eventually comes back in, so I’m thinking it’s time for a comeback; my good friend, Sally, brought an amazing spiced carrot pineapple upside-down cake to a party last summer and it was a hit!

1/3 c. butter or margarine, melted
1 c. packed brown sugar
1 15.5 oz can chunked pineapple (any pineapple will do!)
1 tbs honey
Handful dried cherries
Left-over pineapple juice from can, mixed with milk to make 1 3/4 cups of liquid
1 tsp vanilla
1 c. sugar
2 1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. In the bottom of a 9″ cake pan, pour melted butter and then place chunked pineapple and cherries around dish. Sprinkle brown sugar and drizzle honey on top then set aside. In a large bowl, mix together remaining ingredients until smooth. Pour over pineapple/cherry/butter mixture. Cook for 25-30 minutes, or until toothpick from center comes clean. Let cool for 10 minutes, then flip onto a cake tray. It may need a little help with the sides, so running a knife around the edges might be wise!

Note for making the perfect pineapple upside-down cake: This was delicious! And so easy… I can see why they were so popular at one point. I like the dried cherries instead of maraschino (I think that’s where the tacky-ness of the upside-down cake started) because it gives it some bite. This is sweet but not too sweet, which makes it even great for breakfast!