Gluten-Free Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

Ingredients

• Fruit Layer:
• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 cup sweet vermouth
• 1/2 (14 ounce) can pitted dark sweet cherries, drained and halved
• 1 (20 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained well and juice reserved
• Cake:
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 1/2 cup pineapple juice
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon ground star anise
• 1 (19 ounce) package gluten-free vanilla cake mix

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).

Combine brown sugar, 1/2 cup butter, and sweet vermouth in a saucepan over low heat; cook and stir until sugar is dissolved, about 5 minutes.

Arrange cherries and spoon pineapple into the bottom of a 9×13-inch baking dish. Pour brown sugar mixture over fruit.

Beat eggs in a bowl using an electric mixer on medium-low speed until smooth. Add 1/2 cup melted butter, pineapple juice, vanilla extract, and star anise to eggs; beat on medium-low speed until well combined, about 1 minute. Gradually add cake mix, about 1/2 cup at a time, to egg mixture, scraping sides of bowl with a spatula until batter is smooth and fluffy. Pour batter over fruit mixture until evenly spread in dish.

Bake in the preheated oven until cake is golden brown and completely set in the middle, about 1 hour. Cool cake for 15 minutes in the dish. Run a knife along the edge of the cake to loosen. Place a platter over the cake and flip cake onto platter.