ALOHA PINEAPPLE UPSIDE DOWN CAKE RECIPE

A sweet and fruity old-fashioned favorite garnished with pineapple rings, stemmed maraschino cherries and leaves of fresh mint.

Ingredients:

1/4 lb. - Sweet, unsalted butter
1 cup - Light, brown sugar
1/2 cup - Pineapple juice
9 -10 Whole, sliced pineapple rings
1 - Yellow cake mix (1 lb. 2.25 oz.)
2 - Eggs
2 cups - Milk
Maraschino Cherries
Mint Leaves
2 Jiggers* - Dark Jamaican or Puerto Rican Rum (Optional)

Preparation:

SYRUP:
Melt butter, brown sugar and pineapple juice in a small sauce pan. Stir to a boil to make a syrup. Pour syrup evenly into the bottom of the baking pan. (Try using a 9"-12" round, 2" deep, glass casserole dish or single-layer cake pan for this recipe).

FRUIT:
Arrange whole pineapple slices in the syrup around the bottom of the pan.
 
BATTER:
Whip up a yellow cake mix per the box instructions and pour the batter into the pan over the fruit and syrup.

BAKE:
In a pre-heated oven at 350° F, bake cake for 1 hour. Take out of oven and let set up and cool for 10 minutes.

DE-PAN:
Place a baking pan lid, (or large serving dish), over the cake, flip the cake "up-side-down" and let the cake settle out of the baking pan.

GARNISH & SERVE:
Garnish pineapple rings with stemmed maraschino cherries and leaves of fresh mint. Drizzle excess syrup from pan over cake top. Makes 8-10 generous serving slices.

FOR AN ADDED "ISLAND-STYLE" KICK:
Add 1 jigger of Rum to the syrup mixture before cooking. Then, when the cake is done, drizzle the second jigger of Rum on top of the cake and let it soak in. Then drizzle the remaining syrup from the baking pan over the cake top.

*Jigger = 1½ liquid ounces