This pineapple upside down cake is refreshing and wonderfully fruity. It's perfect for a little treat during your family Easter feast. Surprise your favorite people with a new Easter dessert this upcoming holiday!
YAY! We have finally reached the end of the winter (well, almost anyway!), and after having recovered from our Christmas cookies and the relatively bland month of January, the time has come to consider our baking adventures for the spring, especially for Easter. Instead of going for something traditional, such as carrot or chocolate cake, why not opt for something a bit more adventurous? I personally love making this Pineapple Upside Down Cake as my Easter dessert. The whole family enjoys it tremendously, and we sometimes end up eating from it for several days in a row.
Getting Started with your Pineapple Upside Down Cake!
Start by preparing the batter for your cake. For this, take your time mixing all the ingredients, including butter, sugar, and egg yolks. Set your cake batter aside. Then melt the butter for topping and pour into your pan. Sprinkle a little brown sugar on the top.
Alternate putting the toppings (cherries and pineapple rings) into the pan. This goes on top of the brown sugar. The fun part about this cake is that the bottom becomes the TOP!
Once your toppings are arranged, cover them with with the cake batter. Make sure you completely cover all the pineapple and cherries. Since this will be the bottom of your cake, it's okay if this doesn't look perfect.
The wonderful thing about this recipe is that you can easily bake it 1-2 days in advance and the softness and freshness of it will remain until it’s served as your Easter dessert. It’s definitely best to keep it chilled in the fridge until then, and then serve it room temperature. If you bake it on the day of Easter, serve it warm, which will be a different kind of delicious altogether!
Should I use fresh or canned pineapple?
The recipe requires nothing unusual, but rather the basic ingredients needed for most cakes. For the pineapple, you can use canned pineapple rings, to make things easier. I know how stressful it can be to add baking an Easter dessert to an already packed day of cooking, working, child-rearing, and simply getting things done around the house! So don’t worry about finding the freshest of pineapples at the Farmer’s Market (which can be next to impossible, if you ask me!), and try the canned version.
Leaner version for the calorie-conscious?
I don’t like to disappoint anyone, but in this recipe, I would strongly suggest staying away from fat substitutes! They always taste different and depending on the kind of cake, can really mess up the outcome of your hard work. For this cake it’s a no-brainer – please use real fat! This is not something you want to experiment with on this recipe. Also keep in mind: It’s a Easter dessert, which means you’ll be sharing it with your beloved family and friends that day. The last thing you want to worry about is if they enjoyed your cake or not. Chances are, if you were to use a substitute, they’d rather snack on some carrots than this otherwise delicious Pineapple Upside Down Cake!
See the lovely shine on the picture below? That's all butter and caramelized brown sugar. It's what makes this cake AMAZING!
Perfect way to compliment your Easter menu
Whether you’re serving duck, turkey, roast lamb, or ham, to name just a few classics, a Pineapple Upside Down Cake as your Easter dessert goes well with all of them as your finishing touch! If you want to go crazy with the carbs, make it a “a la mode” with some vanilla or butterscotch ice cream! Yum, no wonder I’m getting hungry!
I’m very excited to be making this as my Easter dessert this year again, and can’t wait to hear what you all think of it! In case you’re wondering, the cherries are meant as garnish and decoration for the cake! That being said, the fruity flavor of the pineapple and cherries combined make it an absolute hit in every way! However, you can also substitute it for another fruit that you like and believe would go well with the rest of the cake. It’s your cake and you get to call the shots. I’m only handing out the recipe.
Did You Make Our Pineapple Upside Down Cake?
Did you make this recipe? First, let me say THANK YOU for giving it a try! Please leave us a rating above and leave any feedback in the comments section at the bottom of this post. I always love to hear your thoughts and ideas on what went well — and what didn’t — with a recipe! Be sure to check out some of our other recipes below!
Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
Equipment
- 9" x 2" round cake pan
- Nonstick cooking spray
- Flour sifter
Ingredients
Cake Ingredients
- ½ +⅓ cup cake flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 7 tablespoons butter room temperature
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 3 each egg yolks room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ +⅛ cup buttermilk room temperature
Pineapple Topping Ingredients
- ¼ cup butter melted
- ¼ cup dark brown sugar
- 1 cup canned pineapple rings cut into ¼ thick rings
- ½ cup Maraschino cherries pitted
Instructions
Prepare Cake Batter
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit 20 minutes before baking the cake.
- Sift together cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add the egg yolks 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Once all of the egg yolks are incorporated, add the vanilla extract and mix in.
- Alternately add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk, ⅓ at a time, mixing well after each addition. Start with ⅓ of the dry, mix well, and then add ⅓ of the buttermilk, and repeat two more times with remaining ingredients. Once everything is incorporated, beat well with a rubber spatula to make sure your batter is fully mixed and fluffy.
Prepare Cake Topping
- Spray a 9” x 2" round cake pan with nonstick cooking spray, and line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper. Melt the butter and pour into the prepared cake pan. Sprinkle the brown sugar onto the melted butter.
- Top with pineapple rings and place cherries between the pineapple pieces. Set aside, while working on your cake batter.
Baking the Cake
- Pour batter into prepared pan over topping, and smooth with the spatula. Bake for 30-35 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time.
- Check the cake after 20 minutes. When it is done, the top of the cake should be golden brown and spring back when lightly pressed in the center. A cake tester should come out clean. It should have begun to shrink away from the sides of the pan.
- Remove the pan to a cooling rack. Let rest 5 minutes. Run a small knife or metal spatula around the sides of the pan and invert the cake onto a cooling rack or cardboard cake round. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes and Tips
Nutrition
This recipe was originally posted on April 2014. It was updated in February 2020 with new pictures and a few tweaks to the recipe.
emmabarrett1508
A childhood classic. So beautiful and colourful. I will have to make this again very soon. Emma xx
Heather @ Sweet Precision
I felt the same way, it had been forEVER since I'd had pineapple upside down cake! In fact, it was the first time that I actually made it myself, but certainly not the last!!
sprinklesandsauce
We have yet to attempt to make an upside down cake! yours looks so goood!
Heather @ Sweet Precision
So simple and easy you will love it!!
Tracy Lee Karner
Mmmm..... I love this cake, but my version is too cloyingly sweet. I'm going to try yours next time. The buttermilk has got to help make it more multi-dimensional in taste. I also like the way you cut the rings (makes room for more pineapple!) Clever.
Heather @ Sweet Precision
It definitely is a sweet cake with the butter and brown sugar topping. We actually used fresh pineapple which I think cut down on some of the sweetness. The buttermilk was thick and creamy, I think it definitely adds some depth to the cake!
Tracy Lee Karner
Okay--I wasn't sure whether you used fresh or canned (they were cut so perfectly!). But I'm definitely going to use fresh from now on.
Tracy Lee Karner
It's one of Ken's all-time favorite cakes.
Heather @ Sweet Precision
Yes! The benefit of the cooking class was they did all the prep work for us- perfectly cut pineapple slices included! :-)
Francesca
I don't think I have ever had a slice of this gorgeous-looking cake. It looks so moist. Your cooking class sounds wonderful. You sure had a lot of fun! Looking forward to reading about the other recipes. :-)
Heather @ Sweet Precision
Thank you Francesca! It definitely is moist, I think the juices from the fruit contribute to that, not to mention the butter and brown sugar mixture as well :-)
Stefano
Looks very yummy and colorful, Heather! Love it! :-)
Heather @ Sweet Precision
Thank you Stefano!
MOM
I love your story about the cooking class. I had no idea it was 4 hours long. It looked like you brought your own cooking pans. What a fun adventure! I am now drooling looking at the pictures in this fun post as well al remembering my grandmother and then me making this cake, too.
Heather @ Sweet Precision
Oh how fun! This is such an old fashioned cake that I think everyone has memories of it being made when they were younger :-) The baking class was a wonderful adventure! I was impressed that we were able to fit three cakes into the four hour time period!
Jess
Hi Heather, this cake looks REALLY good. My mom's favorite cake is pineapple upside down, so I have a soft spot for it :-)
I've never made an upside down cake before, even though I've seen several great recipes for one. I'm thinking about making my mom one for Mother's Day. Great post :-D
Heather @ Sweet Precision
Oh I bet your mom would absolutely love a cake for Mothers Day! I always feel like homemade gifts are the best :) I love Zingermans and this recipe definitely doesn't disappoint if you choose to give it a try!!
Just Add Attitude
I love upside down cakes, my mother used to make them when I was a child. Your version looks magnificent. It must have been lovely to spend four hours at a baking class. ;)
Heather @ Sweet Precision
It was really a great afternoon! I was thinking about trying some different versions of this cake- maybe one with apples or pears. It's so versatile it's great!
Sherri
I always seem to read your posts when I'm really hungry! I remember Pineapple Upside Down cake very much from my childhood but it doesn't seem to appear very often on the menu these days. We need a revival! I remember it as one of my favourites, and Angel Cake! Mmmm, thanks Heather, I can taste it now... :-)
Heather @ Sweet Precision
It definitely is one of those classic desserts, and I remember it from when I was younger as well! For me the appeal is that it’s so easy to pull together and it still looks a little fancy. It’s so good just by itself you don’t even have to worry about buying ice cream or something else to go with it! For some occasions you just need those no fuss dishes : )
Sherri
I agree! That's just what make is so easy and special! No fuss, the best kind :-)