Caramelized Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 9-inch springform cake pan with cooking spray; set aside. A regular 9-inch round cake pan is likely going to be too shallow and is not recommended.
2. In a small, microwave-safe bowl, melt 1/2 cup butter, about 1 minute on high power.
3. Pour the butter into the cake pan. Use your finger to run a bit of butter around the side of the pan to ensure it’s well-greased.
4. Evenly sprinkle the brown sugar over the butter.
5. Layer the pineapple slices over the top of the sugar mixture and add the cherries to the center of each pineapple.
6. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, optional salt; set aside.
7. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the next 4 wet ingredients (through vanilla) plus the 6 tablespoons melted butter and the 2 tablespoons pineapple juice.
8. Add the wet mixture to the dry, mixing lightly with a spoon or folding with a spatula until just combined. Small lumps will be present, don’t overmix or try to stir them smooth.
9. Gently turn batter out into prepared pan, being careful to not disturb the pineapple slices on the bottom of the pan. Fill pan to about 3/4-full. If you have a little extra batter, discard it rather than overfilling your pan (was not a problem for me but pan sizes and depths vary).
10. Place pan on a cookie sheet as insurance to catch anything that may leak from springform pan and bake for about 38 to 40 minutes, or until center is set, not jiggly, lightly golden browned, and springy to the touch. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter. Only go down about 1-inch with the toothpick, not all the way to the bottom where you’ll hit gooey caramelized pineapples.
11. Place pan on a wire rack and allow cake to cool for at least 1 hour before inverting, slicing, and serving. Cake will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 5 days.