Pineapple Upside-down Cake

An old-fashioned pineapple upside-down cake. A lovely caramelized slice of pineapple and a moist buttery cake topped with a maraschino cherry. Great for an afternoon tea.

Ingredients:

800 g./28 oz. canned pineapple slices, drained (save the syrup)
½ cup brown sugar
4 tablespoons butter
A couple of maraschino cherries, for decoration

For the cake batter:

1 ½ cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ cup/1 stick butter
6 eggs
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
You will need jumbo muffin cups

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.
Melt the 4 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan, and add the brown sugar. Stir well
Spoon 1 tablespoon of the butter-sugar mixture in each muffin cup.
Place 1 pineapple slice in each cup.

To prepare the cake batter:

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
Add the butter to a mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on high speed for 30 seconds.
Add the sugar and vanilla and beat for another 30 seconds.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Stir in the flour mixture to fully incorporate.
Spoon the batter into the muffin pan, filling about two third of the cup.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until you insert a skewer in the center of the muffin and it comes out clean.
Remove from the oven, and drizzle ½ cup of the canned syrup evenly over the pineapple muffins.
Run a knife around the edges of each muffin to loosen it a bit.
Transfer to a serving dish. Can be decorated with some maraschino cherries!