Lotus Root Upside-Down Cake

It took four tries, but I was determined to create this cake! After I candied the lotus root, I got a “bee in my bonnet” to turn the pineapple upside-down cake, a homespun classic, into a candied lotus root beauty. I couldn’t resist the idea of a caramelized, lacy-topped upside-down cake. It’s as scrumptious as it is beautiful, and here is proof: I took the cake to a dinner party at a friend’s home and cut enough slices to serve eight guests, leaving a quarter of the cake on the serving pla