Mom's pineapple upside-down cake

1 cake

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
1½ cup Butter (3 sticks), divided
6 larges Eggs, separated
1½ teaspoon Baking soda
1½ cup Buttermilk, with pineapple juice
Pineapple rings
Maraschino cherries
2 cups Light brown sugar (1 box)
½ cup Butter
1 teaspoon Vanilla extract (or more)
½ teaspoon Salt
1 cup Sugar, granulated
2½ cup Confectioner's sugar (4x)
2½ cup Flour
Pecan halves
⅔ cup Water
2 tablespoons Karo

Directions

CAKE

TOPPINGS

SYRUP

Grease 3 cast-iron skillets. Drain pineapple rings, reserving juice.

Add all but 1 tablespoon of the juice to the buttermilk to make 1½ cups fluid (equal parts, if possible).

Separate eggs; place all the whites in a large bowl, place 3 yolks in one small container, and the other 3 in another. Prepare 3 8-inch cake pans with brown-paper rounds (for bottoms) greased with shortening. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Soften ½ C butter in a large bowl; add confectioner's sugar and beat until thoroughly mixed. Add 3 egg yolks, one after another, and continue beating. Add vanilla and mix till thoroughly blended, scraping sides with spatula if necessary.

Measure flour into a small bowl and stir in baking soda. Add to butter/sugar mixture alternately with buttermilk in 4 steps, beginning and ending with the flour.

Sprinkle about ½ t salt on egg whites. Beat till stiff, but not dry. Fold egg whites into batter.

TOPPING: Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat; add 1 T of pineapple juice and the sugar. Add water and Karo and cook at a high, rolling boil for about 3 minutes. Pour equally into prepared cast-iron skillets (about ½ to ¾-inch thick). Place pineapple rings in bottom of each skillet, and in the centers, place a cherry.

(Can add pecan halves, too.) Divide batter between pans and bake at 350 degrees F. about 30-35 minutes, until done.

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