I don’t think I’ve celebrated a birthday with my older brother in over ten years. I vaguely remember going to a Brazilian meat-house with him for his 21st birthday. That means I was about 10 or 11 at the time, and I definitely didn’t know how to make birthday cakes at that point in my 5th grade career.
Fast forward to last week. Eleven years later, I do in fact know how to make birthday cakes, and for the first time in over a decade, I would get to make one for my brother. I told him early on to start thinking about what he wanted on July 12th. I gave him a list of options including my usual birthday cakes, but I also encouraged him to think of something new that I could make (I’ve been feeling really adventurous since I got out to Colorado).
Shortly after I mentioned the possibility of an original cheesecake, Scott pulled his eyes away from the pineapple sitting on the counter.
“I think I’m feeling something with pineapple,” he murmured. “Have you ever made a pineapple upside down cheesecake?”
Challenge accepted. I didn’t quite know how to tackle an upside down cheesecake, but I knew I definitely needed to start with pineapple rings. Maraschino cherries sit inside the slices, all atop a brown sugar-graham cracker crust. Original classic cheesecake rests beneath, creamy, silky, and delicious. If I do say so myself, this cheesecake provided a pretty good end to a day full of tennis, tacos, Top Golf, and sushi. Here’s to not waiting another ten years to celebrate one of our birthdays together!
[yumprint-recipe id=’6′]