Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

by Sabrina Snyder

Last Update:

14 Comments

5 from 6 votes
10 servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
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Pineapple Upside-Down Cake is a classic dessert with a caramelized topping and moist, tender cake. Perfect for family gatherings or holidays!

Let’s face it, Cake is delicious, and so is pineapple. From Pineapple Dump Cake to Grilled Brown Sugar Pineapple, it’s hard to beat delicious, juicy, fresh pineapple.

Sabrina’s Pineapple Upside-Down Cake Recipe

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake is a delicious cake you can take to the beach, on a picnic, or finish a summer BBQ with. It’s rich, it’s buttery, and, most importantly, it’s simple and easy to make.

Recipe Card

Dinner, then Dessert

Pineapple Upside Down Cake Recipe

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake is a classic dessert with a caramelized topping and moist, tender cake. Perfect for family gatherings or holidays!
Yield 10 servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder
slice of cake on white plate with tropical fruits on it
PrintRate

Ingredients
 

  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar , packed
  • 20 ounces pineapple rings in juice , (reserve ¼ cup of juice for cake)
  • 7 maraschino cherries , stems removed
  • 1 1/3 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter , softened
  • 1/2  cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup sour cream
  • 1/4 cup pineapple juice

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a springform pan with baking spray.
  • Melt the butter and brown sugar in a microwave safe bowl then mix together and pour into the bottom of pan.
  • Add pineapple slices to the bottom of pan then place cherries in the middle of the circles.
  • To your stand mixer add butter, sugar and brown sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, for 1-2 minutes.
  • Add in the egg, vanilla extract, sour cream and pineapple juice on low speed until combined.
  • Sift together flour, baking powder and salt then add it into the stand mixer on low speed until just combined.
  • Spoon batter carefully into springform pan and bake on a baking sheet for 40-45 minutes.
  • Place plate or cake stand upside down on springform pan and flip over quickly while still warm.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 295kcal | Carbohydrates: 50g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 43mg | Sodium: 175mg | Potassium: 136mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 36g | Vitamin A: 340IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 63mg | Iron: 1mg

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Sabrina’s Tips

I like using an electric mixer for this recipe, but I keep it on low speed when adding the ingredients to prevent splattering. Once I finish mixing, I use a rubber spatula to scrape any batter from the paddle attachment so none of it goes to waste!

Table of contents

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About this Recipe

This Pineapple Upside-Down Cake recipe uses fresh pineapple and maraschino cherries, a quick, easy homemade mix instead of a cake mix. It takes only about 50 minutes to prepare and bake. This Cake looks perfect on a fancy serving platter or on paper plates and is great for any occasion.

Pairing Suggestions

If you want to dress your cake up a little bit, try it with delicious Homemade Pineapple Topping. Try Pineapple Upside-Down Cake served up with a scoop of Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream or topped with whipped cream.

How to Store

  • Serve: You shouldn’t let your cake sit at room temperature for more than 2 hours. 
  • Store: Put your leftovers in an airtight container or wrap it in plastic wrap and put it in the fridge. It should be good for up to 5 days before you should make a new one.
  • Freeze: Once again, you want to store your cake in something airtight, like plastic wrap. In the freezer, it should last up to 1 month.

Ideas to Serve

Once the Pineapple Upside-Down Cake is done cooking, pull it out and set it on a serving plate to cool before dishing it up. If you want a quick way to make it look fancy, dust some powdered sugar over the top. You will probably be good with a single layer of sugar, but you can always add more as needed.

Frequent Questions

How can you tell when Pineapple Upside Down Cake is done?

Once the timer dings, take an ordinary toothpick and insert it into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean of cake batter when you pull it out, it means that the center is solid and ready to cool. If it comes out with cake batter stuck to it, it needs to cook a bit longer.

How do you turn Pineapple Upside-Down Cake into pineapple upside-down cupcakes?

Pour the batter into a muffin tin and follow the rest of the directions, using smaller slices of fresh pineapple and a single maraschino cherry for each. These cupcakes are fun and shareable, which makes them perfect for parties and get-togethers. To give it an even punchier taste in smaller form, add just a tiny bit of vanilla extract to the cake batter.

What toppings or add-ins can be added to Pineapple Upside Down Cake?

If you want your cake to have a more complex flavor without mixing it up too much, add in cranberries or mango slices. You can also arrange them on top to add a bit of color. Also try sliced pecans, walnuts, or cashews on top of the cake to make it look extra fancy without spending hours decorating it.

Pineapple Cake Collage

Photos used in a previous version of this post.

Top down view baked cake with pineapples and cherries
collage of cake photos with pineapple and cherries for pinterest
slice of cake on white plate with pineapples and cherries
collage of photos making cake with pineapples and cherries
pineapple cake on cake platter
collage of photos prepping pineapple and cherry cake
pineapple cake slice on plate with fork and pineapples and cherries on the sides

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

See more posts by Sabrina

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  3. I trust that this recipe does not need baking soda to counteract the acidity of the sour cream. Love your recipes and can’t wait to try this one.

    Reply

  7. This is such a classic! Love the combo of caramelized pineapple and buttery vanilla-y cake! SO YUM! Thanks for this recipe

    Reply

  9. I love a good pineapple up-side down cake! This one looks very like the one I have used since I was a child. The only real difference is the sour cream. I’m wondering what the sour cream does for the cake. Does it change the flavor or texture?

    Also a yummy alternative my family enjoys is swapping the butter in the batter for softened, solid, coconut oil. It makes the cake a bit healthier and tastes a bit more tropical. It does make the cake a little denser than normal, it still tastes amazing though.

    Reply

    1. The sour cream adds a bit of flavor and also helps the cake stay really moist. Love your recipe swap – is there a more perfect tropical pair than pineapple and coconut?

      Reply

  10. Thank you for giving 2 versions of this classic. Very generous and thoughtful to offer 2 versions. This brings back memories from high school. We used to make this after school. Think we only had 1 cookbook that we used…the classic old school red Betty crocker cookbook. Was so delicious. Need to make this again. I’m sure it is still delicious?

    Reply