Melt sugar and earth balance in a DRY sauce pan over medium heat, stirring only when necessary.

The presence of water, even a drop, can make your sugar seize and become gross.

When sugar mixture bubbles up, remove from heat.

It should cool and look (and taste! ) like a caramel sauce.

While the sauce is cooling, prepare your cake mix.

If you’re making one large cake (like 9″), pour all the caramel in the bottom. 2-3 tablespoons worth of sauce is perfect for mini cakes.

Arrange pineapple rings on the bottom, and fill their center with cherries.

You can decorate the sides of the pan with pineapple sticks.

Pour in your batter, being careful not to dislodge the pineapple slices.

If you’re using a springform pans, you might want to cover the outside in foil or bake them on a cookie sheet to make sure that the caramel sauce doesn’t drip out and mess up the oven.

Bake as per your cake recipe – usually between 18-25 minutes at 350º F.

Remove from oven and let cool slightly.

Remove rings (if springform) or run a knife around the outside (if regular cake dish) and invert onto a serving plate.

It’s easiest to put the plate on top, upside-down, then invert the whole thing and remove the pan.

Serve warm, but really, they’re just as good at room temperature.