Boozy pineapple upside down cake

I've been waking up at the crack of dawn for the last few days, for absolutely no reason. And it's been driving me bonkers. So today, when I once again woke up at 6am, I decided to put myself to good use and bake something I've never attempted before -- a pineapple upside down cake.

I've been sitting on some cans on sliced pineapples for the last few weeks and have had no clue what to do with them. Can't eat the slices straight from the can because I find them way too sweet. But all my problems were solved today, thanks to this recipe. Now I know what to make for dessert for the next few dinners I host -- until I manage to go through the cans.

So I found this recipe for a normal pineapple upside down cake on the web, which I then tweaked to my taste. You can make it with or without the cognac, therefore.

Recipe

 

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
• 6 slices pineapple or 1 can (20 ounces) can of drained pineapple chunks
• maraschino cherries (I didn't add any)
• pecan halves (I didn't add any)
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I used 2 cups)
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon cognac (my addition, which you can leave out but it really enhances the taste)
• 3 tbsps of the syrup the pineapple slices were soaked in (my addition again, so leave it out if you wish. I felt it added a pineapple flavour to the body of the cake)
• 2 pineapple slices chopped into little pieces (my addition again)

Preparation:

In a 9-inch square cake pan, melt butter; sprinkle with brown sugar. Arrange pineapple and cherries and nut halves on sugar, making a design. Make cake batter.
Cream 1/2 cup butter; gradually add 1/2 cup sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add egg and beat well. Add sifted dry ingredients alternately with the milk; beat until smooth, ending with dry ingredients. I added a spoonful of cognac and some extra flour at this stage, and the pineapple syrup and the chopped pieces of pineapple. Blend the mixture really well, so that it's smooth and has a glossy look to it also. Pour it over the pineapple design.  
Bake at 180° for about 35 minutes. Let the cake cool for about 5 minutes before turning out onto a serving plate.

  
Here's my badly shot picture of the cake. But it still looks yummy.