Pineapple upside down cake

I served this to some friends we had over a couple weeks ago, and it was a hit. It's fun, old-fashioned and easy. And really, really good.

Pineapple upside down cake (from Mom's Best Desserts)

You’ll need:

1 20oz can of sliced pineapple (not chunks)

4 tbsp butter

2/3 cup brown sugar

16 pecan or walnut halves

1 ¼ cups all purpose flour

1 ½ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp ground ginger

6 tbsp butter or shortening

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

2/3 cup pineapple juice, reserved from can

 

1.       Preheat the oven to 350

2.       To make the topping, drain the pineapple, reserving 2/3 cup of the  juice for the cake. In a 9 inch glass pie/cake plate, melt the butter in the oven. Then sprinkle the brown sugar over the melted butter and spread the mixture evenly over the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat. Arrange pineapple slices over the brown sugar. Fill the centers and spaces between the pineapple with pecan halves placed flat-side up.

3.       To make the cake, sift together the flour, baking powder, ginger, and salt. Set aside.

4.       In a mixing bowl, beat the butter until creamy. Gradually add the sugar, beating until fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Add the flour mixture alternately with the pineapple juice, mixing just until the batter is smooth and blended. Spoon the cake batter over the pineapple.

5.       Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until a tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

6.       Cool for 5 minutes. Loosen the cake around the edge, then invert onto a serving platter. Serve warm.

Enjoy!