Pineapple upside down cake

I know I've mentioned this before, but my husband and I are huge fans of the Hawaiian islands.  We went there for our honeymoon, our one year wedding anniversary and our babymoon. Every year on our anniversary, we try do something Hawaii-related. For one of our anniversaries, I wanted to make a pineapple upside down cake as our tribute.

I asked for recipe recommendations on an online cooking forum that I am a member of, and Amy of Sing For Your Supper told me about this recipe on her blog. I took a look at it and knew that I had to make it. It was delicious! I had tried a different pineapple upside down cake several years ago, and the cake turned out too dry, and I was left very disappointed. This cake is the complete opposite - it's exactly what I wanted in a pineapple upside down cake.  I don't think it took us too long to finish this cake off!

Plus, Joanna at Newlywed and Newly Cooking chose "Make something that reminds you of your favorite place" as this month's theme for What's Baking, so I thought that this would be a perfect contribution.Thanks for the fantastic theme, Joanna!

P.S. Please excuse the bad photo. I took this a while ago and haven't had time to remake the recipe and photograph it better!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter (8 tablespoons) 
• 1 cup brown sugar 
• 1 (20-ounce) can sliced pineapple 
• 6 maraschino cherries (I omitted)
• a few whole pecans (I omitted)
• 1 cup flour, sifted*  (I did not sift my flour because I'm lazy)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder 
• 1/8 teaspoon salt 
• 3 eggs, separated 
• 1 cup granulated sugar 
• 5 tablespoons pineapple juice 
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

Position a rack in the center of the oven, and preheat to 350 degrees F.

Add butter to a 9-inch-round baking pan, and place inside of a warm oven until melted, about 5 minutes. Remove from oven, and sprinkle brown sugar evenly over the butter. Add 6 pineapple slices and place a cherry inside of each one. Fill in the nooks and crannies with whole pecans.
In a medium bowl, combine sifted flour, baking powder and salt, and stir.

Using a hand mixer, in a metal or glass bowl, beat egg whites at high speed until fluffy. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, beat egg yolks with sugar at medium speed until creamy. Add pineapple juice, and vanilla extract, and beat well. Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture, and beat until well combined. Fold in the egg whites with a rubber spatula. Pour cake mixture evenly over the fruit, and smooth with the spatula.

Bake for 40 minutes, or until cake is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Place on a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Run a blunt knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the cake. Invert carefully onto a plate. Serve warm or at room temperature.

*Note: Sifting the flour creates a lighter cake. But I am lazy and decide to move on without it, and the cake turned out just fine.

Source: Slightly adapted from Sing For Your Supper