Pineapple Upside-Down Cake with Rum

Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 35 min
Servings: 14
Yield: 14 servings

Description

Spiced with rum and pumpkin pie spice, this moist, 2-layer pineapple upside-down cake is a perfect choice for holiday desserts, but would be a special treat any time of the year.

Ingredients

1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 tablespoon honey
1 (8 ounce) can sliced pineapple
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup dark rum
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup white sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions

1 Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2 Melt brown sugar, butter, and honey for topping in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring until smooth.
3 Pour butter mixture into the bottoms of two ungreased 8-inch round cake pans. Drain pineapple slices and reserve 1/4 cup juice for the cake. Layer pineapple slices on top of the butter mixture.
4 Combine buttermilk, rum, and reserved pineapple juice in a small bowl. Combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and salt in another small bowl.
5 Beat white and brown sugars with butter in a large bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Mix in 1/2 of the flour mixture, then all of the buttermilk mixture, and finally the remaining flour mixture until well combined. Divide cake batter evenly between the two pans.
6 Bake in the preheated oven until cakes are golden and a toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes.
7 Remove from the oven place on wire racks until completely cooled, 30 to 45 minutes. Turn one cake out onto a serving plate, then carefully turn second cake directly on top of the first.