Pineapple Upside Down Cake is a fun retro cake recipe featuring a soft vanilla cake with a sweet and tangy caramelized pineapple topping. This cake is a classic for a reason!
Pineapple Upside Down Cake
Pineapple Upside Down Cake is a fun retro cake recipe featuring a soft vanilla cake with a buttery, caramelized pineapple and cherry topping.
It's actually baked with the pineapples, plus butter and brown sugar, on bottom, giving it extra pineapple flavor as all the juices and buttery goodness soak into the cake as it bakes. After baking it's flipped over to reveal a pretty pineapple and cherry design that's as beautiful as it is delicious.
The cake itself is pretty dense to be able to stand up to the juices of the pineapple, but it's still pillowy soft.
A pineapple upside down cake is also extremely easy to make, especially because there's no frosting required. It's definitely a classic for a reason!
What Dish Should I Bake My Pineapple Upside Down Cake In?
I typically recommend a light-colored deep (at least 2 inches) metal cake pan, or a glass pie dish of the same dimensions. I usually use a pie dish because I like the slope of the edges.
Can I Use Fresh Pineapple?
Yes, fresh pineapple will work here. The easiest way to use a pineapple corer that also slices the pineapple into thin rounds.
How to Flip Pineapple Upside Down Cake
Because of the pineapple, butter, and sugar on top of the cake, this is a super easy cake to flip out of the pan.
Start by taking a knife and running it along the edge of the pan to loosen the sides.
Then, we'll flip the cake literally upside down.
The trick is NOT to just try to flip it over really fast. Instead, place a plate over top of the cake in the pan, like a cover so that the cake is touching the part that would normally hold the food. Holding the plate and the pan together, gently turn the whole thing over at once and place the plate down on the surface now. Gently lift the pan, jiggling a little to loosen if necessary. And voila! You should reveal your beautiful, now upside down, pineapple cake!
How to Serve Pineapple Upside Down Cake
You can serve your cake plain, as is, and every bite will be buttery, fruity, sweet heaven. However, it also is amazing served warm with a dollop of vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream.
More Cake Recipes You'll Love
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- Chocolate Texas Sheet Cake - Moist, rich, chocolate sheet cake with the BEST decadent chocolate frosting you will ever taste.
Pineapple Upside Down Cake Video
Pineapple Upside Down Cake
Ingredients
For the Topping
- ¼ cup unsalted butter melted
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 8 to 10 pineapple slices (in pineapple juice) Liquid reserved
- 15 to 20 maraschino cherries
For the Cake
- 1½ cups cake flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons butter room temperature
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large egg whites room temperature
- ⅓ cup sour cream room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ⅓ cup reserved pineapple juice (from topping slices)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Pour ¼ cup melted butter into an ungreased 9×2 inch pie dish or round cake pan. (Make sure the pan is 2 inches deep.)
- Sprinkle brown sugar evenly over butter.
- Blot any excess liquid off the fruit with a clean towel or paper towel. Arrange about 6-7 blotted pineapple slices and all the cherries on top of the brown sugar.
- Place pan in the refrigerator for a few minutes as you prepare the cake batter to help set the topping arrangement.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Set aside.
- In a separate large mixing bowl, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- On high speed, beat in the egg whites until combined.
- Then beat in the sour cream and vanilla extract.
- Add half the dry ingredients and whisk to combine. Then whisk in the pineapple juice. Then finally whisk in the remaining dry ingredients, just until combined. The batter will be thick.
- Remove topping from the refrigerator. Pour and spread cake batter evenly over topping.
- Bake for 43-48 minutes, tenting foil on top of the cake halfway through bake time to prevent the top from over-browning before the center has a chance to fully cook. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out mostly clean. A couple moist crumbs are OK. Don’t be alarmed if your cake takes longer.
- Remove cake from the oven and cool on a wire rack for just 20 minutes.
- Invert the slightly cooled cake onto a cake stand or serving plate. Some of the juices from the topping will seep over the sides– that’s ok.
- You can slice and serve the cake warm, but the slices will be messy. It’s best to cool the cake completely at room temperature before slicing and serving. Do not refrigerate the cake to speed up the cooling process because it could end up tasting overly dense.
Notes
- Make sure your baking dish is at least 2 inches or more deep to accommodate all of the batter for this cake.
- Pat fruit dry to prevent your cake from being soggy and keeping the topping pretty and in place.
- Storage: Cover leftover slices and store for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.
Nutrition
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Carrie Robinson says
This is such a classic cake! 🙂 Wish I had a slice right now.
Sara Welch says
This was everything a gourmet dessert should be, and then some! Turned out light, sweet and fluffy; easily, a new favorite recipe!
MacKenzie says
My grandma used to make a similar cake. I made this last weekend and the cake was amazing. My friends and family love it
Dina and Bruce says
So much flavor! And memories of my mom. Thank you.
Anjali says
I love pineapple upside down cake so much, but always was a little intimidated to make it at home until I found your recipe! This turned out so well, reminded me of my favorite bakery's pineapple upside down cake!