Pineapple Upside Down Cake {recipe}

My birthday was last week.. and I had fun making myself a sweet birthday treat.  And for once in my life, I was craving something sweet, but not chocolate (that never happens.. who am I?).  I haven't had Pineapple Upside Down cake.. in.. a long time... and that sounded just perfect.  Clara liked helping put the cherries into places, too.  You know what else is good?  Peach Upside Down Cake... just sayin'!  If you want to keep up with all the fun things I'm making, baking, and cooking.. be sure to follow me on instagram!

Just a side tip.. when you put your cake pan on a cookie sheet, I would lay down some wax paper or aluminum foil.. otherwise you're going to have a super fun time trying to get that pan clean if anything leaks out.. as you can see from my pan above..

Pineapple Upside Down Cake
recipe from Averie Cooks

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
• One 20oz can pineapple slices
• Maraschino cherries
• 1 cup all-purpose flour (I used white whole wheat flour)
• 3/4 granulated sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup buttermilk (if using powdered buttermilk, use 2 tbsp with the dry ingredients, and a 1/2 cup water with the wet ingredients)
• 1/3 cup sour cream (or greek yogurt)
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Pour the melted butter into a 9-inch springform cake pan, making sure it's well greased.  Sprinkle brown sugar over the butter.  Add a whole pineapple slice to the center.  Halve the rest of the slices and stagger them like the photo shown.  Place any remaining slices around the side of the cake pan with the curved side point down.  Place 1 cherry in the center of the whole pineapple and 1 in each center of the sliced halves.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking powder.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the next 5 wet ingredients.  Add the wet mixture to the dry, mixing lightly until just combined.  Be careful not to overmix.. there may be small lumps and that's okay.

Gently pour batter in cake pan, being careful not to mess the pineapple and cherries on the bottom.  Place pan on a cookie sheet line with aluminum foil, and bake for 40 minutes, or until center is set.

When done, allow cake to cool for at least 30 minutes before inverting.  Keep in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

A Happy Announcement

We have a little something to share with you all...

That's right, Clara is going to be a big sister!  I've been waiting for our second ultrasound to let our little secret out, however Clara has been telling people left and right.. so for some, they knew far before I was ready to let it spill!  I guess she was just too darn excited.  ;)

We found out around the second week in June... and was able to get into my first appointment at 7 weeks, and we first saw our sweet baby then.  But I was feeling cautious, although happy, and was trying not to get too excited.  My miscarriage last year (which was my second miscarriage)... happened after our first ultrasound.. where we saw a perfectly fine baby.  So I was nervous, and hesitant.. but prayed every day for this baby.  We had the second ultrasound at 11 weeks.  I was so nervous, I felt sick.  I didn't even look at the ultrasound, until he said everything had looked good... and I looked and saw a growing baby.. a strong heartbeat.. a cute little noggin, and teensy arms and legs.  I shed a happy tear or two.. or three.  I still continue to pray for this baby, that he/she continues to grow to be strong and healthy.

And now, I feel excited.

And obviously Clara will just be the best big sister in the world.  She has such a big heart, and a sweet soul.. and I am excited to see how she will interact with a new brother or sister.  And according to her, she's getting one of each... hate to break it to you, girlfriend... there's only one baby in there!!

our coffee bar!

After a little over a month of a break - here I am.  Things have slowed down a little over here, and come Monday my work schedule is changing.. which means I have more time for other things in my life that I love doing (blogging, cooking for my family, baking, and other hobbies.. whew).  I'm pretty excited about it!

If there's one "trend" that I've seen and loved, it's having a little coffee bar space in the kitchen.  we made this little area when we first moved in here about 2 years ago.  I bought the shelf with the wire baskets at Hobby Lobby, and I actually bought the small table/chest there as well.  I would have liked something a little longer but there is a doorway too the left and it would have been too much in the way.

 My espresso machine is no longer working.. sad face.. however, I mostly use my french press anyway.  I'm just letting it sit there and take up space until I figure out what I want to replace it with - maybe some greenery?  A big pot of succulents?  Or maybe one day I'll even get a new espresso machine (hint hint to my hubby).  ;)

Here are a few of my other favorite details...

Clara got me that mug for Mother's Day.. my first Mother's Day after she was born (thanks to my mom for helping her pick that out).  ;)  And I was gifted with that coffee recipe book in the background, which has some super fun things in it.  I thought it was fitting to be displayed on the "coffee bar"!

And then on top, I have just a small portion of my cookbook collection.  Some (very) old, and some new.  Some I took from my mom, and some I inherited from my Grandma... I love all her old cookbooks, they are so much fun to flip through!

And the little wire baskets just hold extra "stuff".. little bowls and plates, mugs, and some baking goodies (cupcake liners, etc).

And that little white bowl on the right?  It catches all ours keys and extra change.  I really love this little part of our kitchen.. It's pretty simple, but it's ours and I love it.. and it's always so easy to switch things up and make it fresh and new - do you have a designated 'coffee area' in your home?  I would love to see!  Show me what you got in the comments.  :)