Did you know that March 20th is the International Day of Happiness? What makes it even doubly happy for me is that I will be defending my dissertation proposal. So fingers crossed!
Maybe because Happiness Day falls in March, but many refer to the month as Mindful March or Happiness Month. So for this month, I will be talking a lot about happiness. Happiness and creativity often go hand in hand. Last night was my first night without any homework, dissertation work, group work, or class meetings for a couple of weeks now…yes, it has been rough so far which is why this site has been empty of any updates. However, I left work in an awesome mood and I had energy last night, so I decided to put some everyday creativity to work. I baked!
Okay, so it might not look like much, but this Pineapple Upside Down Cake was the first one I ever tried to make and it was so yummy. I brought some with me to work today for lunch and it was even better the next day. I can’t wait until dinner tonight because I can have some more for dessert. Yum!
If you would like to make your own, here is what I did:
Ingredients:
- 1 box yellow cake mix
- 1/4 cup melted butter
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 can pineapple rings (keep the juice!)
- 1 can pitted cherries
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 3 eggs
Materials:
- Mixer- I love my Kitchen Aid!
- 13×9 Glass Baking Pan
- Toothpick
- Measuring Cups
- Parchment Paper
- 13×9 Baking Sheet
- Spatula
Procedure:
- Pre-heat oven to 325.
- Drain your pineapple juice from the can into a measuring cup. You should get about 1 cup, but if not, add enough water to equal 1 cup.
- Dump your pineapple juice, oil, and eggs in the mixer. Mix until well combined.
- Add your cake mix, mix on medium speed for about 2min. Set Aside.
- Take your 13×9 pan and coat the bottom with the melted butter.
- Sprinkle the brown sugar on top of the butter evenly over the pan.
- Place your pineapple rings evenly over the bottom of the pan, on top of the butter/brown sugar combo.
- Place your cherries in any open spaces left on the bottom of your pan.
- Next, dump your cake batter evenly on top of the fruit.
- Bake for 45-50 min. Use a toothpick to check for doneness. If the toothpick, when poked in the middle, does not come out clean, put your cake in the oven for a few more minutes. Be careful not to burn the cake!
- Take out of the oven and let cool.
- Take a spatula and loosen the edges of the cake from the pan.
- Place parchment paper on top of the cake with a baking sheet on top of that and flip your cake pan so the cake is now upside down on the baking sheet.
- Enjoy!
Seriously, how can you not be happy when you have such a sweet dessert as a treat?