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The Best Pineapple Upside Down Cake

I’ve tried quite a few Upside Down Pineapple Cake recipes. This recipe is hands down the best. The cake itself is heaven and the topping is rich and delicious. It is divine when served with whipped cream.

All Purpose flour vs. the almond flour blend

A few notes:  There is an option of using either all purpose flour or using a mix of all purpose / cake flour / ground almond.  I have always used just the regular all purpose flour and the cake turns out incredible.

Preparing the topping

In the original recipe, the brown sugar mixture for the topping is prepared on the stove and brought up in heat until it is bubbling. I usually just melt the butter and brown sugar, stir well, and call it good, either in the microwave or on the stove top. I just note this now if you were wondering if you could save a few minutes to skip that step. I do and it turns out great anyways.

The Best Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Two 1 1/2-inch cakes vs. One 2-inch cake

The rest of my notes are regarding to how I prepare the cake. The original recipe uses a 2 inch deep cake dish. I prefer a thinner cake so I split the batter in two and use two slightly smaller cake plates (1 1/2 inch deep plates). Since I split the cake in two, I double the topping and divide it between the two plates.

My cook time is less than the original recipe because my cakes are thinner. If you prefer to only make one large, extra deep cake, check the notes section for directions.

Overall I just like making two cakes instead of one because I feel like the cake to topping ratio is perfect that way, and you also have one cake to keep for yourself and one to give away to a friend. Enjoy!

The Best Pineapple Upside Down Cake
The Best Pineapple Upside Down Pineapple Cake

The Best Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Flavorful and tender yellow cake is topped with pineapple, cherries and a delicious brown sugar sauce. You can serve it as is, but It is divine when served with whipped cream.
4.75 from 4 votes
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 16 slices (2 round 9-inch cakes)
Calories 526 kcal

Equipment

  • Two 9-inch round baking pans at least 1 1/2 inches to 2 inches deep

Ingredients
  

For the topping for 2 cakes (Cut ingredients in half if only making one two inch deep cake)

  • 2 cups brown sugar
  • 1 cup unsalted butter
  • 14 sliced pineapple rings which is 1 1/2 20 oz. cans
  • 14 maraschino cherries

For the cake:

  • 2 cups flour Or 1 1/2 cups flour + 6 Tbsp. cake flour + 6 Tbsp. ground almond
  • 3/4 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 cup unsalted butter
  • 4 large eggs
  • 3/4 tsp. vanilla
  • 3/4 cup sour cream

Instructions
 

  • Prepare the topping: Melt the butter and brown sugar in a sauce pan over medium heat and stir until completely dissolved. Place the pineapple rings into the two prepared 9″ cake pans. Add a cherry inside of each pineapple ring. Divide the topping mixture in two. Pour topping over pineapple slices.
  • Prepare the cake: Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the sugar and butter together until light. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. Add dry ingredients alternately with sour cream in 2 additions each, beating well after each addition. Divide batter in half. Pour cake batter over caramel and pineapple in pans.
  • Bake cake until tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 35-40 minutes. (See notes if you used a 2″ cake pan – It will take longer to bake if so). Cool cake in pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Turn cake out onto a platter. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Notes

Note: I used 1 1/2″ tall cake pans, which makes two cakes. If you use a 2″ tall cake pan you should be able to fit all the batter into one dish, but it will take longer to bake, about 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Nutrition

Calories: 526kcalCarbohydrates: 71gProtein: 4gFat: 26gSaturated Fat: 16gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 108mgSodium: 121mgPotassium: 158mgFiber: 1gSugar: 58gVitamin A: 864IUVitamin C: 5mgCalcium: 75mgIron: 1mg
Loved this recipe?Please consider leaving a 5 star rating and share your feedback in a comment below. Thank you!

Recipe adapted from Simply Recipes.

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49 Comments

  1. Your recipe looks so good! =)
    I **love** Pineapple upside down cake!!

    I just pinned it to my Cake board.

  2. This sounds so good. It reminds me of the one my mom made. Pinned it.

    Wishes for tasty dishes,
    Linda @ Tumbleweed Contessa

  3. Mmmmmm…I've got a cup of coffee in my hand right now…I'd like a slice of this cake to go with it!

  4. I printed off the recipe and hopefully I will make this soon. I have one I just made that was very good but always willing to try another. Thanks, Andi

  5. I made this cake for the fair two years ago and the other one you posted for last year's last year and they both got second place! The funny thing is I made them both for the fair and never even tasted it myself (yes I'm crazy like that). So if you say this one is the best I think I'll make this one for us. 🙂

    1. This is the only recipe I make now when it comes to Pineapple Upside Down Cake. I'm a little tempted to take the other recipes down because this one is just that good.

  6. I made this last weekend and it was a MAJOR hit! I did tweak it some a bit, but not too much. My batter was way too thick so I added pineapple juice to thin it out, and I also threw in some coconut flavoring which was awesome. I've been requested to make this again very soon! Thanks!

  7. I was pretty skeptical to try this recipe because it calls for sour cream, but decided to try it anyways because your pictures look so delicious. I followed your recipe, except like the comment above, I added a tiny bit of pineapple juice. It made two round cakes so I brought one to work today and everybody loved it! This is the BEST pineapple upside down I’ve ever had hands down! Thank you for this recipe!

    1. Thank you for the feedback 🙂 I'm happy to hear that you liked the recipe. Sour cream is wonderful in a lot of baked goods. Don't let that put you off in the future. 🙂

    2. Your welcome:) I'm not a huge fan of cakes but your recipe is the best ever & this is now my favorite desert. You have made me love cake! And you also have made me a believer in sour cream into deserts lol.

    1. A cup of butter is 2 sticks or 227 grams or 8 ounces. Remember that Google is your friend and if you need a conversion you can search for it faster than I can do it for you. 😉

  8. I've tried for years to come up with a really good recipe for this for my husband, its his favorite. Finally after 12 years, this one is IT! I did do the almonds — added a nice flavor. I prepared the caramel topping as the Simple Recipe says to do. I did it all in one round cake pan. All I did was grease the pan to prepare it (recipe didn't say). I did this for Valentine's Day — so arranged the pineapple as a big heart in the middle of pineapple scalloped edges with the cherries in the nooks. Best cake ever! The sour cream helped so much.

  9. Just made this this afternoon – they smell wonderful, but I just went to take them out of he oven and they are nowhere near done. Is the baking time listed for one cake, or both at the same time? I was cooking both of them….I think that may have been where I went wrong…

    1. The baking time is for two cakes, but ovens are all different. Always test cakes for doneness with a toothpick 🙂

    2. Also, there are factors that I cannot know, like if your oven runs cold, what type of pan you used, what size it was, if you didn't preheat it long enough, if you opened up the door a lot during baking and let the heat out, etc. That's why you should always check with a toothpick 🙂

  10. I just baked your recipe and there was too much batter to put in two 9 inch pans so … I made a third "small" cake! I'm sure it will be great as I've made a coffee cake similar to this recipe that calls for sour cream and it's very tasty! The brown sugar, butter mixture will be very tasty and I'm anxious to try it. It's in the oven now! Can't wait! Thanks!

  11. This cake was wonderful! I think the sour cream makes a big difference in the texture and taste. The only thing I did different was I melt the butter directly in the baking dish in the oven while watching closely, then I sprinkle the brown sugar over the melted butter, place the pineapple all over, then place the cherries in. The butter absorbs up the brown sugar. This method leaves a little bit of grainy texture to a few bites usually around the edges, that I like!

  12. I love the adaptations! Good to know the timing when you split the batter into two pans. Sour cream makes all the difference, doesn't it?

  13. Just saves your recipe, hoping to try it this weekend….. My husband loves pineapples and so do I …..

  14. Hi! I'm thinking of trying this out this weekend, but wondering if there's anything else I can use as a substitute for the sour cream?

    1. Hi – I think you are best off Googling 'substitute for sour cream in baked goods' and try your luck. I have never substituted for sour cream so I have no recommendation on that. Good luck!

  15. Hello, I would love to try this recipe. But want to know, if not having cake flour and only using all purpose flour. Will that be fine or should go ahead and get some cake flour will it make a difference?

  16. I'm going to make this for my hubster's birthday because it's his favourite! Going to be one large cake! Thanks for the recipe x

  17. I tried this recipe, but I cut the brown sugar and butter mixture in half because this recipe wanted me to bake two separate cakes, but I only was baking one. It says to bake it for 35-40 minutes; however, I used a more round, dense cake pan. I had a bake it for an hour before it came out just right.

      1. Wow! You’re fast! Thanks for the tip!

        I’ll update on how this turns out. I’m quite excited!

  18. I have made this cake several years on a row for a friend’s birthday. Simple and delicious! I make one little change. I brown the butter for the cake portion and then put in the fridge to harden back up. It adds a lovely caramel flavor to go along with the topping. Really the best pineapple upside down cake recipe. Thanks so much for it.

    1. Hi Carol – Thank you for letting me know, I will get that cleared up in the equipment section. Two 9-inch round baking pans that are at least 1 1/2 inches tall to 2 inches tall.