Hali’imaile’s Pineapple Upside Down Cake is rich and moist with sweet, tangy pineapple caramel topping. It’s the ultimate summer treat.
This Cake Recipe is the perfect copycat for Hali’maile General Store’s incredible pineapple upside-down cake. For more tasty pineapple desserts, try my Pineapple Upside Down Cupcakes or Pineapple Coconut Bundt Cake.
Table of Contents
- Sabrina’s Hali’imaile’s Pineapple Upside Down Cake Recipe
- Ingredients
- Kitchen Tools & Equipment
- How to Make
- Can this recipe be made ahead of time?
- Nutritional Information
- Baking Tips and Tricks
- What to Pair with Upside Down Cake
- How to Store
- Ideas to Serve Pineapple Upside Down Cake
- Frequent Questions
- Recipe Card
- Variations
- Related Recipes
Sabrina’s Hali’imaile’s Pineapple Upside Down Cake Recipe
The Hali’imaile General Store (also often seen referenced as Haliimaile General Store) is an incredible restaurant on the island of Maui. It’s definitely a favorite restaurant with my family. We can’t get enough of the delicious menu items. Along with the fantastic food on their dinner menu, the Maui restaurant also makes the most incredible Upside-Down Pineapple Cake ever.
The pineapple cake is a favorite menu item, and after trying it again, I just couldn’t get the taste out of my head. It’s perfectly moist and rich with the most fascinating fruit topping made with Maui pineapple and caramel sauce.
It’s too good to only have it on vacation. So, I’m bringing you this recipe to enjoy all the flavors of the original restaurant cake from your own kitchen. You can follow this recipe for an incredible cake that’ll have you feeling like you’re on the Hawaiian islands, even if it’s the middle of winter. It just might become your new favorite cake!
Ingredients
- Pineapple: For the pineapple topping, you can use canned pineapple rings. However, I definitely recommend fresh pineapple. The fresh slices of pineapple give Hali’imaile Pineapple Upside Down Cake the perfect fresh, tangy flavor.
- Cake Ingredients: You can make this cake taste just as good as the acclaimed restaurant dessert with a few pantry staples. You only need simple ingredients for the buttery vanilla pound cake itself like cake flour, white sugar, baking powder, milk, eggs, vanilla, and unsalted butter. They all combine into a smooth, buttery, yellow cake batter.
- Caramel Topping: To make the caramel mixture, you’ll need additional butter and brown sugar. Stir the sugar into the melted butter until it combines into a rich, caramelized sauce.
Kitchen Tools & Equipment
- Stand Mixer: Use your stand mixer with a paddle attachment to make easy work of this basic pound cake batter. If you don’t have one you can use a handheld electric mixer or simply a large mixing bowl and your trusty whisk.
- Sifter: You’ll use a sifter to combine the dry ingredients. This will ensure they are all mixed together well so you can combine with the wet ingredients without over-mixing the batter.
- Pot and Spoon: A medium pot and spoon to stir will work to cook your caramel mixture. It needs to all get melted together to pour into the bottom of the pan, which will eventually become the top. It will cook more in the oven and then when you flip the cake out of the pan, the sauce will melt down into and over the sides of the cake for the most beautiful and tasty finish.
- Round Cake Pan: Use a metal, round cake pan to bake your cake. It will transfer the heat evenly to the cake and ensure that gorgeous caramelized top when it’s finished.
How to Make
Time needed: 1 hour.
- Prep Time
Start by preheating the oven temperature to 400 degrees, and take the butter out to let it soften at room temperature or in the microwave. You can also slice the pineapple rings before starting the recipe.
- Sift
Sift the dry ingredients together.
- Wet Ingredients
In a separate bowl, combine the milk, egg yolks, and vanilla.
- Dry Ingredients
Then add the softened butter to the dry ingredients. Mix the soft butter in, scraping the sides as you go.
- Finish Batter
Then slowly add the wet ingredients to the flour and butter mixture. Mix until the buttery cake mixture is smooth.
- Sauce
To begin the caramel sauce, melt butter until it starts to bubble.
- Caramel
Then add sugar. Mix until the mixture is smooth with a light golden brown color
- First Layer
Pour the caramel mixture into an ungreased, round, metal cake pan. Then layer the slices of pineapple on top of the caramel.
- Second Layer
Pour the butter cake batter on top, leaving about 1 inch of room to allow the cake to rise. Then bake for 35 minutes.
- Bake
Rotate the pan and continue baking the cake for another 15 minutes. You can use a toothpick to check that the center is cooked before removing the Pineapple Cake from the oven.
- Flip Upside Down
Let the baked cake rest for 15 minutes. Once you let the cake cool slightly, carefully invert it on a serving plate so that the caramelized pineapple slices are on top. Remove pan and serve the Hali’imaile Pineapple Upside Down Cake.
Can this recipe be made ahead of time?
While this recipe is best made and served fresh, you could definitely prepare the sugar caramel topping and pineapples. Lay them out in the pan, then cover and refrigerate over night. Mix the cake batter and bake the cake as directed. If you’re really in a pinch, you can make Hali’imaeile Pineapple Upside Down Cake one day ahead of time. Much earlier than that and the cake will not look nearly as good or hold the same texture. Cover it tightly to store over night and when you’re ready to serve it, warm it up in the oven for a few minutes.
Nutritional Information
Baking Tips and Tricks
Master this gorgeous cake with these handy hints!
- Achieving Fluffy Cakes
- Always ensure your baking powder or baking soda is fresh. Test its effectiveness by dropping a bit into hot water. If it bubbles, it’s good to go!
- Avoid Over-mixing Batter
- Over-mixing can lead to dense baked goods. Mix just until the ingredients are combined for the best cake texture.
What to Pair with Upside Down Cake
Drinks: You can always serve this delicious cake, or any cake with a tall glass of cold milk. However, why not add some more flavors and make this dessert extra special? Try making your own fresh Strawberry Lemonade, or a vanilla, pineapple, or Strawberry Milkshake.
Pre-Dessert Meal: If you are dying to make this cake and you want to build a meal around it, try out this tasty Hawaiian Garlic Shrimp, these juicy Hawaiian Pork Chops, or Slow Cooker Hawaiian Pineapple Chicken to keep with the awesome pineapple flavors from one course to the next.
How to Store
- Serve: You can leave this dreamy Hali’imaile Pineapple Upside-Down Cake at room temperature overnight. However, after that, it’s best to store the cake in the refrigerator.
- Store: To store the cake in the fridge, cover it in plastic wrap and keep it for up to 3 days.
- Freeze: If you want to keep the cake longer, you can freeze it for as long as 3 months.
Ideas to Serve Pineapple Upside Down Cake
To make a nice presentation, I used a 3-inch round biscuit cutter to plate the slice and then did a swirl of fresh Whipped Cream topped with a bit of fresh pineapple.
Try serving up your slice of decadent cake with a scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream for the most refreshing island treat ever. You could also go tropical with your ice cream by serving it with Rainbow Sherbet, or fruity with a scoop of Strawberry Ice Cream, which pairs so nicely with pineapple flavors.
Frequent Questions
It’s called upside-down cake because the pineapple and caramel topping is on the bottom when you bake the recipe. Then you flip the white cake upside down onto a platter so that the pineapples are on top before serving.
You can freeze Maui’s Hami’ilmaile cake for later. Start by freezing the cake on a baking sheet for 1-2 hours. Once the outside has hardened, you can wrap it in plastic wrap followed by tin foil. Then freeze the cake for up to 3 months.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 2 cups cake flour
- 1 1/4 cup sugar
- 5 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 8 egg yolks
- 1 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup unsalted butter
Caramel Pineapple Topping:
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 1 pineapple , freshly cored and sliced, or 12 slices of canned pineapple rings
Instructions
- Soften butter to room temperature.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
To prepare cake batter:
- Sift all dry ingredients together.
- Combine milk, egg yolks, and vanilla extract.
- In a mixer, add softened butter to dry ingredients and mix slightly.
- Scrape the sides of the bowl and continue to mix.
- Gradually add the egg yolk mixture.
- Mix until smooth.
- To prepare the caramel:
- Melt butter to boiling.
- Add sugar.
- Mix until smooth and mixture is a light brown color.
- Pour the caramel mixture in an ungreased 12×3-inch round metal pan.
- Layer the slices of pineapple on top of the caramel.
- Next, pour the cake batter on top of the caramel and pineapple slices.
- Leave about 1 inch of room at the top of the pan to allow the cake to rise.
- Bake for 35 minutes.
- Rotate and continue to bake for an additional 15 minutes or until center is cooked.
- Let rest in the pan for 15 minutes.
- Invert slowly on the plate you intend to serve in on.
Nutrition
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Variations
- Cherries: Lots of people love adding cherries to their Pineapple Upside Down Cake toppings. Try adding maraschino cherries between the pineapple slices and at the center of the pineapple rings. You can also set some aside for garnish.
- Coconut: Coconut is another addition you can try. Add toasted coconut flakes to the yellow cake batter or the caramel topping, depending on your preference.
- Walnuts: You can also add some crunch to Hali’imaile Pineapple Upside Down Cake by mixing in walnuts with the caramelized topping.
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