Pineapple Upside Down Cheesecake

YOU WILL NEED A 9" SPRINGFORM PAN AND A 9" CAKE PAN.

Cheesecake Portion

Crust:
1-1/2 c graham cracker crumbs
1 TBS sugar
6 TBS melted butter

Cheesecake:
Four 8-oz pkg cream cheese, room temperature
1-2/3 c sugar
1/4 c cornstarch
1 TBS vanilla
2 large eggs
3/4 c heavy whipping cream

Make crust - combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter. Press into 9-inch springform pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes. Let cool.

Make cheesecake - in large bowl, beat (on low) 1 pkg cream cheese, 1/3 c sugar and cornstarch until creamy.
Blend in remaining cream cheese, one pkg at a time, beating well after each addition.
Turn mixer up to medium and beat in remaining sugar, then vanilla.
Blend in eggs one at a time, beating well after each.
Beat in the cream just until blended. Do not overbeat.
Spoon batter over crust. Wrap sides of pan with aluminum foil.
Place pan in large shallow pan containing hot water that comes halfway (1 inch) up side of springform pan. Bake until edge is light golden brown, top is light gold, and center barely jiggles (about 1-1/4 hrs.).
Remove cheesecake from water bath, transfer to wire rack and let cool 2 hours. Chill until cold.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Topping:
1/4 c butter, melted
1/2 c packed light brown sugar
sliced pineapples (8 canned slices) - SAVE JUICE
15-20 maraschino cherries

Cake:
1-2/3 c flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c butter, melted
3/4 c packed light brown sugar
1/4 c granulated sugar
1 large egg
3/4 c milk
1/2 c pineapple juice
1 TBS vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Prepare topping first. Place 1/4 c melted butter in 9" cake pan. Sprinkle brown sugar on top. Lay pineapple slices on top and add cherries in the holes.
Prepare cake. Melt butter, whisk in sugars. Whisk in egg, milk, pineapple juice and vanilla.
Add dry ingredients and whisk to remove lumps.
Pour batter into pan on top of pineapples.
Bake 20 minutes and then loosely tent with foil to prevent browning.
Bake additional 20-25 minutes.
Cool 10miutes and invert onto large plate.
Cool completely and use HUGE spatula to transfer this on top of cheesecake.
Chill until cold.