Sandy's Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Submitted by DNS6A

PREHEAT OVEN to 350@

Ingredients:
3-cans (8-1/4 oz) sliced pineapple in heavy syrup-12 slices
Drain pineapple & reserve 2 Tablespoons of syrup
1/4 cup butter
2/3 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup pecan halves
1 cup unsifted all purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teas. baking powder
1/2 teas. salt
1/4 cup shortening
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1 cup heavy cream chilled
or 1 pint of vanilla icecream


In 10" iron skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add brown sugar, stir until melted. Remove from heat. Arrange 8 pineapple slices on sugar mixture, overlapping slices slightly around edge of pan. Put one slice in center. Fill centers of pineapples with pecan halves. Halve 3 remaining pineapple slices and arrange around inside edge of skillet and put pecans in center.

Into medium bowl, sift flour with granulated sugar, baking powder and salt. Add shortening and milk. With mixer at high speed, beat 2 mins. until smooth. Add egg and the reserved 2 Tablespoons pineapple syrup, beat 2 mins. more. Gently pour cake batter over pineapple in skillet and spread evenly being careful not to disarrange the pineapples. Place on center of rack in oven and bake 40-45 mins. or until golden in color. Surface will spring back when pressed.
Please note before placing skillet in oven: The cake was traditionally baked in an iron skillet. If it don't have an iron or heat proof handle, wrap handle in foil before placing in oven.

Let skillet stand on rack 5 mins. to cool slightly. With beater beat heavy cream until stiff-if you chose the whipped cream over the icecream.
With small spatula, loosen cake from edge of skillet all around. Place serving dish over cake top and turn upside down. Shake gently and lift off skillet. Serve cake warm with whipped cream or icecream. Serves 8.