Two of my friends are celebrating their birthdays today (though today isn’t either of their actual birthdays), so I decided to make mini pineapple upside-down cakes. These are really easy and so so so tasty. I made an extra so I could have one too.

Do you have a favorite yellow cake recipe? Do you have access to pineapple rings, brown sugar, and cherries? Guess what? You can make a pineapple upside-down cake too!

Mini Pineapple Upside-Down Cakes
Makes three to four mini cakes, or one 8-9″

1 Yellow Cake Recipe (I use the golden vanilla cupcakes from VCTOTW)

1 Can Pineapple Rings
1 Jar Marischino Cherries
1/2 Cup Earth Balance
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar

Melt sugar and earth balance in a DRY sauce pan over medium heat, stirring only when necessary. The presence of water, even a drop, can make your sugar seize and become gross. When sugar mixture bubbles up, remove from heat. It should cool and look (and taste!) like a caramel sauce, because that’s what it is!

While the sauce is cooling, prepare your cake mix. If you’re making one large cake (like 9″), pour all the caramel in the bottom. 2-3 tablespoons worth of sauce is perfect for mini cakes. Arrange pineapple rings on the bottom, and fill their center with cherries. You can decorate the sides of the pan, too, like the photo on the left.

Pour in your batter, being careful not to dislodge the pineapple slices. If you’re using a springform pans, you might want to cover the outside in foil or bake them on a cookie sheet. My caramel sauce dripped out during the first few minutes and left a mess on the bottom of my oven. Bake for as long as your cake recipe tells you too – mini cakes will be done between 18-25 minutes at 350º F.

Remove from oven and let cool slightly. Remove rings (if springform) or run a knife around the outside (if regular cake dish) and invert onto a serving plate. It’s easiest to put the plate on top, upside-down, then invert the whole shabang and remove the pan. Serve warm, but really, they’re just as good room temperature.  Definitely unmold them while they are warm, since the cooler the sugar gets, the harder it’ll be to get them out of the pans.

I only told you that I made these for friends so I can’t eat them all myself and pretend I “just didn’t have time to bake.”  This might be my new favorite cake. So good.