Upside Down Pineapple Cake with Rum

I don't think I would ever make an upside down pineapple cake if it wasn't for my beautiful and talented friend Kiran. But here we are in July and it's Kiran's birthday again and that can only mean one thing: Upside down pineapple cake. She loves this cake! I have a previous post for this cake but this year I tried a new recipe that incorporated rum and, really, what isn't better with a little bit of booze? I adapted it from a recipe on epicurious.

Ingredients:

For topping:

• 5 rings of tinned pineapple (the kind not packed in sugar)

• 3/4 stick unsalted butter

• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

For batter:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 tsp cinnamon

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 3/4 stick unsalted butter, softened

• 1 cup granulated sugar

• 2 large eggs

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• 1 tablespoon dark rum

• 1/2 cup unsweetened pineapple juice

• 2 tablespoons dark rum for sprinkling over cake ( I may have used slightly more :)

Method:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Make topping:
Melt butter and pour into 10 inch cast iron skillet or cake pan. Add brown sugar and mix in the bottom until even. Arrange pineapple on top of sugar mixture in concentric circles, overlapping pieces slightly or make up your own design like me :)

Make batter:
Sift together flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. Beat butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, then gradually beat in granulated sugar. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla and rum. Add half of flour mixture and beat on low speed just until blended. Beat in pineapple juice, then add remaining flour mixture, beating just until blended. (Batter may appear slightly curdled.)

Spoon batter over pineapple topping and spread evenly. Bake cake in middle of oven until golden and a tester comes out clean, about 45 minutes (I baked mine for 40). 

Let cake stand in skillet/pan 5 minutes. Invert a plate over skillet and invert cake onto plate (keeping plate and skillet firmly pressed together). Replace any pineapple stuck to bottom of skillet. Sprinkle rum over cake and cool on plate on a rack.

Serve cake just warm or at room temperature. Or with vanilla ice cream (Good call Sid!!)