Simply the best version of this classic recipe: Pineapple Upside Down Cake
A friend of mine was coming over to our house for a visit with her boyfriend (who happened to be having a birthday). She asked if I might be willing to whip up a pineapple upside down cake for the occasion as her boyfriend was crazy about this variety. Since I didn’t already have this cake on the website, I was happy to take on the challenge. I baked it once and it wasn’t quite perfect enough. I made some minor changes, baked it again, and it was absolutely perfect. In fact, it was so perfect that I’ve made this recipe three times since. It’s GOOD!
The best part is when you flip it over onto a serving plate while it’s still warm. The pineapple transfers and sits on top of the cake with lots of sugary juices. It’s really tough not to dig in right then and there while it’s still warm- which is perfectly okay, by the way!
It’s a bright and sunshiny kind of cake, which is kind of nice this time of year! And the boyfriend mentioned above… he was very pleasantly surprised, and he loved his birthday cake.
More upside down cake recipes you might enjoy:
- Peach Upside Down Cake
- Caramel Apple Upside Down Cake
- Lemon and Blueberry Upside Down Cake
- Plum Upside Down Cake
- Upside Down Berry Cornmeal Coffee Cake
- Strawberry Upside Down Cake
- Apple Cinnamon Upside Down Cake
- Bananas Foster Upside Down Cake
Pineapple Upside Down Cake
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar, divided
- 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
- 6 canned pineapple slices
- 6 maraschino cherries
- 1/2 cup sour cream, divided
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon pineapple juice (from the can)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup granulated white sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray an 8-inch round pan with nonstick spray (or rub with a little bit of butter). Sprinkle the bottom of the pan with 2 tablespoons of brown sugar.
- In a small bowl, whisk together 3/4 cup brown sugar with the melted butter. Arrange pineapple slices into the bottom of your prepared pan (5 around the edges and 1 in the middle... snuggle them in there). Place a cherry in the middle of each pineapple slice. Spoon the butter/sugar mixture over the pineapple slices. In a small bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup sour cream, eggs, pineapple juice and vanilla. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Add the remaining 1/4 cup sour cream and the softened butter to the bowl, and use an electric mixer to incorporate it into the dry ingredients until smooth. Bump up the speed to medium and beat until fluffy. Add the egg mixture and beat again until the batter is smooth- about 2 minutes.
- Spread the batter evenly over the pineapple slices. Bake 40 minutes (or until golden). Cool for 5 minutes, then place a serving plate on top of the pan and carefully turn over and coax the cake out of the pan and onto the serving plate. If any of the pineapple sticks to the pan, just pull it out of the pan and put it in its place on the cake. Drizzle any remaining pan juices over the cake. Let cool, then slice and serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I haven’t had a pineapple upside down cake in forever! So fun!
This is a childhood favorite of mine! I always wanted more cherries though!
Kari
Gotta love the classics! This is one of my childhood favorites!
I only had pineapple tidbits when making one time. Used them with chopped up cherries. Spread all over bottom of pan. Made for very nice flavoring in each bite. Much simpler than trying to get a bit of rings and cherries in each bite. I have used tidbits ever since.
Ah, this reminds me of tea at my grandparents with squirty cream and 1960s crockery.
Absolutely not a bad thing.
Lori,
My cousin loves this cake. I’ll have to make it for her soon.
Annamaria
One of my favorites – especially warm!!