Pineapple-Cherry Upside-Down Cake

1 . Stage

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2 . Stage

Put 1/2 cup butter into a 9x13-inch cake pan and heat in the preheated oven until melted. Remove from oven and brush sides of pan with some of the melted butter.

3 . Stage

Evenly sprinkle brown sugar over the melted butter in the pan. Place pineapple rings on top of the sugar-butter layer. Place maraschino cherries in the middle of the pineapple rings and decorate in between as desired. Reserve 1/2 cup crushed pineapple and fill the gaps with remaining crushed pineapple to completely cover the pan. Drain the reserved crushed pineapple very well.

4 . Stage

Combine cake mix, 1 cup pineapple juice, eggs, and 1/2 cup melted butter in a large bowl; beat using an electric mixer on low speed until moistened. Increase speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes. Mix in rum and the reserved 1/2 cup crushed pineapple. Stir to thoroughly combine. Pour batter into the prepared pan and smooth out with a spatula.

5 . Stage

Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, making sure not to push all the way through the bottom of the cake, 30 to 35 minutes.

6 . Stage

Remove cake from the oven and immediately run a knife around the edge of the pan to thoroughly loosen it from the sides. Let cool in pan for a few minutes. Place serving platter upside-down over the pan while cake is still warm and, holding both together, flip over and leave pan on for a couple minutes. Slowly and carefully lift cake pan from cake.