Pineapple Upside Down Bundt Cake

A pineapple upside down cake was recently requested for a special birthday boy! I am honestly not a fan of pineapple upside down cakes... maybe I've not had the "right" one yet... or maybe I'm just not a fan of yellow cake bases... I don't know why! I LOVE the batter. I will eat a bowl of yellow cake batter... but not a fan of the baked product. (No, I have never eaten a whole bowl of cake batter... it's crossed my mind... but I actually do have SOME sense of self preservation!)

This recipe resulted in an incredibly moist and somewhat dense cake with lovely flavor. That brown sugar soaked topping is the bomb. I loved the maraschino cherry bites too! 

Pineapple Upside Down Bundt Cake adapted from I Am Baker and Lelandra on Food

Ingredients
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 (3 1/2 ounce) box vanilla pudding mix
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened
1/4 cup pineapple juice
1/8 cup vegetable oil
1 cup milk
1 TBS vanilla extract
3 large eggs

Topping (bottom of bundt)
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 (20-ounce) can pineapple chunks, juice reserved
1 (10 ounce) jar maraschino cherries

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, prep a large bundt pan with baker's spray.
2. Place the softened butter in the bowl of a stand mixer and add in the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking powder, pudding mix, and salt. Blend on low to medium until butter incorporates and mixture resembles fine crumbs. Add in the pineapple juice, vegetable oil, milk, vanilla extract, and eggs. Blend on medium speed until combined, but don't over mix.
3. Pour the melted butter evenly around the base of the bundt, sprinkle the brown sugar over top. Evenly place the maraschino cherries around, and then the chunks of pineapple around the cherries. Pour the batter over the top of the fruit. 
4. Bake in the pre-heated oven until done. My cake took about 70 minutes to bake all the way through - there is a lot of moisture with the pudding mix and the butter / oil and it felt like it took forever to finish baking, I would suggest checking around 50 minutes - and cover the bottom with foil if it starts over browning but is not cooked through. Also, I recommend placing a baking sheet under your cake to catch any of the excess butter / brown sugar mixture which may rise up the sides and bubble over a little bit. 
5. Allow the cake to cool in the pan about 10-15 minutes before inverting onto a platter or cooling rack to finish cooling before slicing and serving.