Pineapple Upside Down Cake is the perfect easy dessert. Homemade vanilla sponge cake is soft and tender, topped with juicy caramelized pineapple slices.
Open a can of pineapple rings, reserve 1/3 cup of the juice and discard the rest. Pat dry the pineapple rings with paper towels. Set aside.
Add the melted butter to the bottom of a 9-inch square or round baking pan. Grease the sides of the pan as well.
Sprinkle the bottom of the pan with brown sugar and arrange pineapple rings over the brown sugar and butter mixture.
Place a cherry in the center of each pineapple ring and distribute the remaining cherries equally in the pan. Set aside.
Vanilla Cake:
In a medium bowl combine all dry ingredients.
Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and creamy in a separate bowl.
Add the eggs one at a time and beat to combine. Add vanilla extract, coconut extract and pineapple juice. Beat to combine.
Add half of the flour mixture and beat on medium-low speed just until combined.
Add the milk and beat to combine, use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.
Add the remaining flour mixture and beat on medium-low speed just until combined. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.
Pour batter on top of the pineapple and cherries. Level the top.
Bake in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean or with just some moist crumbs attached, but NOT raw batter. Tent with foil if browning too quickly, then continue to bake until done.
Remove cake from the oven and place it on a cooling rack. Cool for 15-20 minutes, before inverting the cake onto a serving platter. It is important to cool the cake a bit before inverting, otherwise it may break.
After inverting the cake, let it cool for another 15 minutes before slicing. Serve warm or at room temperature.