Pineapple Rum Upside Down Cake

Serves 6

Ingredients

• Serves 6
• Your favorite yellow box cake mix
• 1 c. brown sugar
• 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
• 8 1/8-inch slices fresh pineapple
• 2Tb. coconut rum

Procedure

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium saute pan, combine the brown sugar and the vanilla bean and seeds with one cup of water. Bring to a simmer. Add the pineapple and poach for 5 minutes. Remove the pineapple, raise the heat to high, and reduce the liquid to 1/2 cup, about 10 minutes. Turn the heat off and stir in the rum. Set aside.

Prepare the batter of your favorite box yellow cake

Arrange the pineapple slices in an on the bottom of the cake pan and brush most of the rum-flavored syrup over them. Pour the batter over the slices filling the cake pan halfway and bake for 30 minutes, rotating the pan after 15 minutes. Insert the blade of a knife into the center to test for doneness: it should come out clean.

Let cool for 2 minutes before inverting onto a serving plate. Spoon the remaining glaze over the top.

From the Sur La Table kitchen.