Easy Pineapple Upside Down Cake Recipe
This Easy Pineapple Upside Down Cake recipe is a family favorite for every occasion. Sweet, buttery cake with a hint of pineapple is topped with caramelized pineapple slices and juicy maraschino cherries for a forkful of nostalgia that can’t be beat.
Spring is finally here and I can’t wait to open the pool so I can sit outside with blueberry mojito in hand and soak up the sun. But in the meantime, I’m planning to get outside as much as I can and enjoying all the flavors spring has to offer. I love cooking during the warmer months, things like fresh fruit salads, spicy margaritas and Classic Pineapple Upside Down Cake….because for some reason, this is the time of year that I can’t seem to get enough pineapple.
Ingredients
- Butter – We use room temperature salted butter but you can also just unsalted butter. Just be sure to add 1/8 teaspoon salt to the melted butter in addition to the salt already called for in the recipe.
- Brown Sugar – To keep the flavor of the cake lighter, we use light brown sugar but you can substitute with dark brown sugar for a richer flavor.
- Pineapple – Fresh pineapple is always best but canned pineapple works well, too. You can even use pineapple chunks for this cake but crushed pineapple will not work. Be sure to drain the pineapple juice before using.
- Maraschino Cherries – We love the sweet, classic maraschino cherries for their nostalgic purposed.
- Flour – All purpose flour is our go-to, simple ingredients are sometimes the best.
- Milk – We like to use ingredients we already have and milk is always on hand. You can substitute with equal parts sour cream, half and half or heavy cream.
- Vanilla – Vanilla extract blends well into the batter and lends a floral sweet flavor that’s great with pineapple.
For the full ingredient list and instructions, see the recipe card below.
How To Make Pineapple Upside Down Cake
- To start, melt butter in a small bowl then drizzle into a cake pan or cast-iron skillet. Sprinkle with a healthy dose of dark brown sugar.
- Layer your pineapple slices in the bottom of the cake pan, or cast iron skillet, and up the sides then arrange your cherries in the center of each pineapple slice.
- Make the cake batter in a large bowl by beating the ingredients with a hand mixer on medium speed. Pour batter over the pineapple topping.
- Then, bake until golden, let the cake cool briefly and turn out onto a cake plate to reveal your new masterpiece.
Always a satisfying cake to display for a special occasion and so much fun to make. Perfect for every summer party this year.
What is Pineapple Upside Down Cake?
Upside down cake is a single layer cake assembles with the toppings on the bottom topped with a buttery batter. Hence the name, upside down cake. Pineapple Upside Down Cake is the most common flavor but it can be made with other fruits, as well.
The cake pan is then inverted onto a plate and served right side up so then the pineapple pieces are on top of the cake. It’s a beautiful dessert that’s retro and classic, total comfort food.
I love fresh pineapple and this Pineapple Upside Down Cake is made from scratch with fresh cut pineapple, but you can use canned pineapple rings in a pinch. A lot of recipes use yellow cake mix but we start with a homemade cake batter that bakes into a fluffy cake.
Sweet and tender, this pineapple cake just reminds me of my childhood so much and it’s a ton of fun to make. I mean, how can it not be fun to build something so beautiful and then turning it out onto a serving platter to reveal the prettiest dessert you ever did see.
Pro Tips for the best Pineapple Upside Down Cake
There are a few tips I learned over the years that I’m sharing to ensure you have a perfectly baked Pineapple Upside Down Cake. A moist cake that’s light, fluffy, buttery and perfect.
- Be sure to dry your pineapple and cherries thoroughly so they don’t add a ton of moisture to the topping. The excess liquid in the fruit can cause your cake batter to be too wet leading to a soggy cake.
- Whisk your dry ingredients together to add lightness. This cake is much more dense than say a regular vanilla cake but it’s not as dense as my pound cake.
- Don’t rush the flip, allow the cake to rest in the pan for 5 minutes so the topping sets a bit. If you flip too early, everything will slide right off the cake.
Storage
Leftover Pineapple Upside Down Cake can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature. For longer storage, transfer to the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
More Easy Cake Recipes
If you like this Pineapple Cake, you should also give these favorites a try:
- Pineapple Sunshine Cake...light, airy and simple.
- Easy Blueberry Dump cake.…as easy as it sounds
- Classic Jewish Apple Cake….like pound cake with apples…so good.
- The BEST Ever Carrot Cake…..with pineapple. Ahhmazing.
- Milk Bar Birthday Cake
- New York Crumb Cake
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Get the Recipe: Pineapple Upside Down Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 5 tablespoons melted butter
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 6-8 slices pineapple, fresh or canned
- 15-20 maraschino cherries, stems removed
- 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup butter
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 egg
- 3 tablespoons pineapple juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Pour melted butter into the bottom of a 10 inch deep dish cake pan and sprinkle the brown sugar evenly over top.
- Arrange the pineapples and cherries on top of the butter mixture and up the sides, if desired. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat the brown sugar and butter together until smooth. Turn the mixer to low and, slowly add the milk, vanilla, egg and pineapple juice until combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture beating until combined and no lumps remain.
- Pour the batter over the pineapple and spread evenly — some of the fruit may poke through the batter.
- Bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown and the top springs back when pressed with your finger.
- Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 5 minutes then turn the cake out onto a cake plate or platter and leave the pan on the cake for 10 minutes longer.
- Remove the pan and allow to cool to room temperature or serve warm, if desired.
9 Comments on “Easy Pineapple Upside Down Cake Recipe”
My Mom always made this in a large skillet. Smelled amazing when she took it out of the oven.
That’s a great idea!!! Extra caramelization, I’m sure!
What size skillet did you use:)
Hi! It’s a 12″ skillet.
I had never made an upside cake and always wanted to, so I followed this
recipe and it turned out great, even though I used fresh pineapple and cherries.
Thank you! It is so easy to make!
Nothing beats a Pineapple upside down cake. i have always wondered why no one puts cocoanut at the bottom because then you could have a pina colada cake
I will have too try this!
It’s so good!