Pineapple Upside-Down Cake Balls

I made these Pineapple Upside-Down Cake Balls
for Little Princess' Lilo & Stitch Luau last week...

I had seen a couple different versions of these here & here,
but neither one included the yummy buttery brown sugar glaze
that is on traditional Pineapple Upside-Down Cake.
I was determined to somehow include it.

1 box Yellow cake mix

1 can crushed pineapple (well-drained, but reserve juice)

1 10 oz jar Maraschino cherries (drained)

1/4 cup butter (melted)

1 cup brown sugar

Vanilla frosting (may not need it)

Yellow candy melts

Make cake mix according to directions but substitute reserved pineapple juice for water called for in the directions. Mix in well-drained crushed pineapple last (I used about a cup, but might try more next time) & bake according to directions. Once completely cooled, crumble with hands or food processor. Combine brown sugar with melted butter. It's okay if not all the brown sugar melts. Drizzle warm brown sugar mixture over the top. Combine well. If the consistency is still off, add frosting little by little until the right consistency is achieved (holds together easily, but not too sticky). Form then flatten a ball of dough & place a cherry in the center. Firmly wrap the dough around the cherry to make a ball again. Place cake balls on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper, then refrigerate 10-15 minutes to firm them up for dipping. Use a fork to submerge each cake ball into melted chocolate & carefully tap off any excess chocolate. Carefully slide the balls off of the fork onto the cookie sheet. 

Note: You may have to bake your cake longer than the directions if you didn't drain enough of the pineapple juice, so making sure that you drain them enough is an important step.

Note: You can chop your cherries & mix them in right after the buttery brown sugar if you don't want them whole.

xoxo