They say it's your birthday...we're gonna have a good time...

I love to bake for my coworkers.  They are open to trying pretty much anything, and just appreciate having that afternoon indulgence, I think.  It's also nice to bake for them because it means that I can try out all kinds of recipes without having to have a constant stream of baked goods in my house!

While I have no problem with store-bought cakes for birthdays, I decided that this year, I would give my coworkers the chance to have whatever they wanted for their birthday treats.  They could go with the traditional birthday cake, or opt for pie/cheesecake/cookies/brownies/homemade ice cream...whatever their little hearts desired (not that they have little hearts...quite the opposite).

We have a strange situation here, in that there are only 5 of us (including the boss), and our birthdays are April 4, May 22, June 7, June 21, and July 29...so not a huge amount of time between them.

Birthday #1 was the boss...and it was a challenge...the treat of choice was peach pie.  Now, it just so happens that peach pie is his favourite thing in life.  In fact, when I brought in a peach pie last year at the peak of peach season, he took a picture of it with his phone, and looks at it all year round.  It also just so happens that in Canada, you have a better chance of finding a leprechaun than peaches in April.  But how could I tell him that he couldn't have what he had asked for?  In the end, I used frozen peaches, and manipulated them until they were as similar to fresh peaches as could be expected...and not a bad result.

#2 was to be the first of 2 back-to-back birthdays for the office's peanut butter and chocolate addicts.  The first was a peanut butter and chocolate pie, and the second was a peanut butter cup cheesecake...complete with mini cups chopped into the batter, and glazed with melted down peanut butter cups...both were fantastically rich, and kept in the fridge, provided several days of sugar highs!

#4 was my own birthday, so the coworkers got me a store-bought marble cake from my favourite grocery store bakery.  It was perfect for an unseasonably warm day...downright scorcher, to tell the truth!

#5 was unpredictable.  I had anticipated something really intense and difficult.  I was surprised and thrilled when the verdict came in that it was to be a classic pineapple upside-down cake!  I hadn't tasted one in years, and had never made one at all.

The recipe has been in our family for over 30 years...it was from an old Family Circle magazine from 1984.  It calls for the eggs to be separated, whites beaten, and added in stages, but we've never made it that way.  Also, it calls for 1 hour of baking time.  I cooked this cake for about 40 minutes, and I think that was a touch too long.

Also, I know that the tradition is to bit the rings on whole, and put cherries in the centres....but with a 9x9 pan, you can really only fit 5 rings on...but cutting as I did, I was able to use almost 7...and it was much easier to cut smaller slices for those who wanted to start small.

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

Topping

1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 can pineapple slices

Cake

2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
2-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Topping

Melt butter and brown sugar in small saucepan.  Cook until bubbly, then pour into 9x9 pan.

Arrange pineapple slices decoratively on top of sugar mixture.

Cake

Cream butter and sugar together.  Add eggs and milk with vanilla, mixing gently after each addition.

Add dry ingredients, and stir until combined.  Do not over beat.

Pour batter on top of pineapple slices, and even out in pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes.  Cake is done when few moist crumbs stick to toothpick when tested.

Remove from oven and cool in pan for only 10-15 minutes.  Invert pan on to flat serving surface, and flip over.

Unmold cake from pan.  Serve either slightly warm, or cold.