Mom's pineapple upside-down cake
1 cake
Ingredients
| Quantity | Ingredient | |
|---|---|---|
| 1½ | cup | Butter (3 sticks), divided |
| 6 | larges | Eggs, separated |
| 1½ | teaspoon | Baking soda |
| 1½ | cup | Buttermilk, with pineapple juice |
| Pineapple rings | ||
| Maraschino cherries | ||
| 2 | cups | Light brown sugar (1 box) |
| ½ | cup | Butter |
| 1 | teaspoon | Vanilla extract (or more) |
| ½ | teaspoon | Salt |
| 1 | cup | Sugar, granulated |
| 2½ | cup | Confectioner's sugar (4x) |
| 2½ | cup | Flour |
| Pecan halves | ||
| ⅔ | cup | Water |
| 2 | tablespoons | Karo |
Directions
CAKE
TOPPINGS
SYRUP
Grease 3 cast-iron skillets. Drain pineapple rings, reserving juice.
Add all but 1 tablespoon of the juice to the buttermilk to make 1½ cups fluid (equal parts, if possible).
Separate eggs; place all the whites in a large bowl, place 3 yolks in one small container, and the other 3 in another. Prepare 3 8-inch cake pans with brown-paper rounds (for bottoms) greased with shortening. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Soften ½ C butter in a large bowl; add confectioner's sugar and beat until thoroughly mixed. Add 3 egg yolks, one after another, and continue beating. Add vanilla and mix till thoroughly blended, scraping sides with spatula if necessary.
Measure flour into a small bowl and stir in baking soda. Add to butter/sugar mixture alternately with buttermilk in 4 steps, beginning and ending with the flour.
Sprinkle about ½ t salt on egg whites. Beat till stiff, but not dry. Fold egg whites into batter.
TOPPING: Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat; add 1 T of pineapple juice and the sugar. Add water and Karo and cook at a high, rolling boil for about 3 minutes. Pour equally into prepared cast-iron skillets (about ½ to ¾-inch thick). Place pineapple rings in bottom of each skillet, and in the centers, place a cherry.
(Can add pecan halves, too.) Divide batter between pans and bake at 350 degrees F. about 30-35 minutes, until done.