I like upside-down cakes. They go together quickly and you can eat them warm. Warm is best, anyway. As much as I like gooey frosting, the small nine inch upside-down cakes never go stale around our house. Ice cream or Cool-Whip is a welcome addition, too.

Do you remember the first time you made an upside-down cake? I do. It seemed to go against nature to put the sweet stuff in the bottom of the pan. I didn't understand the seemingly upside-down process.

You can make almost any fruit or berry the star of your upside-down cake. BUT! I learned that a cold filling will not thicken is it isn't already cooked. And, cold fruit will cause the bottom center of the cake to be under cooked when the top side looks done. Once I made the prettiest blackberry upside-down cake you could ask for. When I turned it out, the blackberries were not cooked and the cake was doughy. The lesson for me was that blackberries make a better cobbler than a cake.

You could say that if you have seen one upside-down cake you have seen them all, but that is not true. Most cooks have a favorite. This is mine.

SAUCY PINEAPPLE UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

8 1/4-oz can crushed pineapple
3.5-oz pkg regular cooked vanilla pudding mix
8 1/2-oz pkg Jiffy Cake mix
1/3 cup water

In saucepan over medium-heat, combine undrained pineapple, pudding mix and water. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Pour into greased 9 inch square baking pan. Prepare cake mix according to package directions and immediately pour over pineapple mixture. Bake at 350 F. for 30 to 35 minutes. Cool cake in pan 10 minutes. Slide a table knife around edges to loosen cake from pan. Lay a plate over pan and invert. Pretty up the pineapple if it needs it. There you have it. A Pineapple Upside-Down Cake ready to serve.