Pineapple Upside Down Cake

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Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Pineapple Upside Down Cake
MAKES
2 cakes, 6 to 8 servings each
COOK TIME
30 Min

This classic recipe for Pineapple Upside-Down Cake uses the easy shortcut of a cake mix. And why not? With this recipe, we get the scrumptious "from scratch" taste we want without missing a beat in our busy lifestyles!

What You'll Need

  • 2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, melted
  • 1 (20-ounce) can pineapple slices, drained
  • 10 maraschino cherries
  • 1 (18.25-ounce) package yellow cake mix
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 3 eggs

What to Do

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
     
  2. Sprinkle brown sugar evenly over bottom of two 8-inch round cake pans and pour butter evenly over sugar.
     
  3. In each pan, arrange pineapple slices in a single layer over sugar and place a cherry in center of each slice.
     
  4. In a large bowl, combine cake mix, water, oil, and eggs; beat until well combined.
     
  5. Evenly divide batter between the two pans and bake 30 to 33 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center of each comes out clean. Let cakes stand 5 minutes.
     
  6. Loosen gently with a knife and invert onto 2 platters. Serve warm, or allow to cool completely before serving.

 

Notes

We love using cake mix to put together fancy-looking, great-tasting, cakes like this Pineapple Upside Down Cake. For even more cake mix recipes click here

Plus, if you loved this upside-down cake, don't forget to check out our peach version

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Try adding a just a little vanilla pudding mix, 1/2 tsp pineapple extract and a generous 1/4 tsp of orange extract, along with the juice from the pineapple rings. The cake will have a bit more body and a great orange-pineapple flavor. A few extra cherries always work well too.

i would like to use a 9x13 pan but I don't have a large serving dish to turn this out. Can I serve it from the pan?

Hi there! The Test Kitchen says that you can cover a baking sheet with foil and serve the cake on it after it's baked in your 9x13 pan. We also suggest serving the cake from your 9x13 and simply serving each slice "upside down" after cutting. :) Enjoy!

I love pineapple upside down cake. Sometimes I will use crushed pineapple in juice and add the juice too. Makes for a very moist delicious cake.MMM

Why do all recipes call for 8" cake pans? How does everything change or does it if you use 9" pans? Does the ingredients, temperature or time change?

Baking time might be shorter since it's thinner. I know what you mean, everyone I know has 9" pans.

Can this be baked in a 9x13 pan?

can you freeze this one?

Great question! Yes, you can freeze this cake! Enjoy!

I make mine this way alot. But, I also get some tidbits can of pineallple, mix some in the cake mix, then I mix the other in cool whip. & make that my icing for the top. Cut up some cherries, or strawberries paper towel them dry. & put on the very top. ohhhh! so yummy, & good. I wanted to share this with u.

Don't discard the juice from the pineapple! Use it for the liquid in the cake for even more pineappley goodness.

I do do that. I just forgot to mention it. Thanks for reminded me. Sorry about that. & I also see I misspelled pineapple to.

what if you want to use aupside down pan how long should bake it

when I was a kid my Mother use to make this cake with a cream sauce. So Good.

Hello, Would you mind sharing how your Mother make her Cream Sauce?

I have always used a cast iron skillet to make this. It is so heavy I have to have hubby help putting in and getting out of the oven, makes a beautiful presentation!

I'Mm going to try this with fresh pineapple and use the juice of it as well. I have atool that will core it and slice at the same time, bet it will be awesome.

I USE I VERY LARGE CAST IRON SKILLET TO BAKE IN MINE IN, LOOKS MO BETTER TOO.

Is there any temp difference or timeline if baked in a cast iron pan????

msjimmie .... I love pineapple upside down cake and this is quite similar the recipe I use. The modifications I make are: Use a pineapple cake mix (I think it's Duncan Hines), use crushed pineapple in it's own juice (Drained), and the juice from the pineapple in your cake instead of water. It will make 2 beautiful, light, and moist 9" cakes, and I would be surprised if there are any left overs .... There aren't in my house.

That sounds good!

It's a good idea to use the liquid from the canned pineapple in the cake mix, instead of water.

I use the juice from the pinapple and the cherries in my cake mix instead of water....

I love this cake. I think you missed out: I'd advise using the liquid from the canned pineapple instead of water in the cake mix! It gives it an over-all much richer flavor throughout the cake. I also prefer making this in a rectangular pan, a 13"X9" pan. Cooking the sugar and butter together first gives it a better flavor, too. Jimmie Ellis

I wondered if a 9X13 pan could be used--Thanks!

I use the same ingredients but use a 10 inch round deep cake pan. I add one extra tablespoon of butter then sprinkle the sugar over all and arrange the pineapple and cherries in a decorative pattern (the more cherries the better for my family). Bake almost one hour, depending on your oven, allow to cool about ten minutes, run knife around side, then place a place over pan and flip over with confidence. Makes an awesome dessert.

Instead of draining the pineapple juice, why not use it in place of the water? A 20-oz can usually yields just short of a cup of liquid.

try this one. I made them for adults and they were gone. I did all this except I made them into cupcakes, using foil cups. I used a spoon to put the already melted butter and sugar in then had drained the pineapple and put a spoon of that in. and a whole cherry and push it down. pour your cake over all that to the amount of fullness for cupcakes. Bake according to cake box. VERY GOOD

This is simple to make and delicious. My family loved it!

Love it! easy, can I add a teaspon or more of rum?

As far as I'm concerned, you can add anything you want. Sounds good to me. I think a lot of us take the basic recipe, and then tweak it to our taste. ENJOY!

I would use a tsp of rum extract OR a 1/4 to 1/2 cup of rum, substituting for equal amount of the water in the cake mix.

I put the butter & brown sugar in the pans and place in the oven while it is preheating to melt, then stir to blend before putting on the pineapple rings. Pineapple juice is a must do. Yes, you can do 9x13 - just bake as directed on cake mix box.

I put the butter & brown sugar in the pans and place in the oven while it is preheating to melt, then stir to blend before putting on the pineapple rings. Pineapple juice is a must do. Yes, you can do 9x13 - just bake as directed on cake mix box.

Revision>>>I melt the sugar and butter on low heat before I place the pineapple and cheeries

I always keep the small cans of pineapple juice on hand and dis guard the the can liquid and use real pineapple juice. also I pineapple supreme cake mix and add a small can of crushed pineapple. I use 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup butter melted in a 12" cast iron spider "skillet" cherries in all voids ooh its so good

Could I bake this in a lg cast iron skillet??

Try lemon supreme cake mix, it's better than the pineapple one! I use Pineapple in its own juice for the liquid (not the heavy syrup.)

This sounds like the same recipe I used years ago and lost. Can this be made in one 9X12 pan instead of two 8" rounds?

This was really good! I did substitute the pineapple juice for water and it was amazing! sooo good. and easy!

When I bake a Pineapple Upside Cake I also use a Pineapple Cake Mix. It is absolutely SCRUPDILICIOUS! My Hubby's favorite!

If you'd like to substitute the juice in place of the water, you can absolutely do that. First, measure the juice and then add enough water to equal 1 cup of liquid. The pineapple has to be drained because it's being laid on top of the butter-brown sugar mixture. Thanks for baking with us!

To make this even yummier. Use a butter recipe yellow cake mix. And I agree must use the juice in the cake!.

I have found it easier to mix the brown sugar and butter together and then put it in the bottom of the pan. It distributes more evenly than just sprinkling the sugar over the butter. This is a great recipe for cupcakes too. Just put about a table spoon of the brown sugar mixture in the bottom of a muffin cup (no liner) put about a tablespoon of crushed pineapple over the brown sugar, put a cherry over the pineapple, making sure to push it to the bottom of the cup then pour the cake batter in each cupcake cup. Made them for a baby shower once and they were a huge HIT!

Sounds good and I agree, be sure and use the pineapple juice with the water to make the cup of liquid. Also I would change your number of maraschino cherries. You are showing a cake with 7 or 8 slices, so it follows that you will need at least 14 or 16 cherries. A jar usually holds about 18.

This is a great recipe, my only suggestion is, savve the juice from the pineapple and use it in the cake mix instead of water. If you don't have enough pineapple juice, add water to the juice to make the amount needed. It gives a wonderful taste to the cake dough.

Does anyone know if this cake can be made in a 9x13 pan> thank you

Yes it can. & bake according to cake direction for a 9/13 pan.

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