This Pineapple Upside Down Cake has our love. A satisfying cake with sweet juicy pineapples. It is a show-stopper! This is the cake to make for all the parties! It is great to make ahead.

Our girls and we LOVE this Pineapple Upside Down Cake! They rejoice whenever we make it. We love upside cakes. The fruity base that gets turned upside down is pretty to look at and adds a great layer of flavor to the cake.

The Ingredients

Fresh Pineapple: We use fresh super-ripe pineapple in this recipe. Listen: you want to make sure you use a fresh pineapple. Not just a fresh pineapple but one that is slightly overripe.

This results in a rich sweet pineapple flavor that is to die for. And by using fresh sweet pineapple, you do not need to add loads of sugar to your cake.

But if you can’t get fresh pineapple or you are short on time or you just want canned pineapple, go for it. You are still winning in life.

Perfect pineapple to use for Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Shredded Coconut: We also add a little bit of shredded coconut to our Pineapple Upside Down Cake. The coconut just gives the cake a tropical vibe. The coconut is very little so it is not all over the place but it is a little surprise here and there as you dig into the cake.

This cake is a great dessert obviously but we also eat it for breakfast. It has fruit so it is healthy, right?

Maraschino Cherries without stems are added between the pineapple slices. This gives the Pineapple Upside Down Cake its signature look.

Here is everything you need:

Ingredients for Pineapple Upside Down Cake

How it comes together

1. Melt butter and sugar together then use then spread the mixture in a 9 inch round baking pan.

2. Arrange pineapple slices on the bottom of the pan then add some maraschino cherries. We fit in as many cherries as we can in the empty spaces we see.

3. Make the batter then pour the batter into the prepared pan.

4. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

5. Let the cake cool for a few minutes then turn onto a plate.

Also, check out this recipe for Pineapple Upside Down Pound Cake.

Cook notes

Use fresh pineapples! We have found that using fresh pineapples yields the most flavor. We leave our pineapple to ripen further for a few days before using it. This yields a deep fruity flavor and that way, we do not have to add too much sugar to our cake.

We have tried using pineapple from the can and honestly, it is pale in flavor compared to fresh pineapple. So use fresh pineapple if you can and you will be glad you did.

Yield: 10 servings
Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 35 minutes
Total: 55 minutes

Ingredients

For coating bottom of pan

2 tablespoons unsalted butter (28g)
1 tablespoon granulated sugar (12g)
1 1/2 cups pineapple wedges (from about half a medium pineapple), about a quarter inch thick slices
20 maraschino cherries

For cake batter

8 tablespoons unsalted butter (113.4g), softened at room temperature
Half cup granulated sugar (100g)
Half cup whole liquid milk (120ml), substitute with evaporated milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (plain flour) – 180g
Half teaspoon salt
Half teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut (25g)

Method

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Butter a 9 inch round baking pan.
Melt together the 2 tablespoons of butter and 1 tablespoon of sugar in the microwave for about 20 seconds. Mix together well then pour into the baking pan and spread to ensure the mixture coats the bottom of the pan.
Arrange the pineapple slices and cherries on the bottom of the pan.
Cream together butter and sugar for about 2 minutes with a hand mixer or by hand until fluffy.
Add the milk and vanilla then mix until combined. Add the eggs one at a time mixing each time until just combined.
Add the flour, baking powder and salt then mix until just combined. Add the shredded coconut and mix until just combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. Spread to ensure it is evenly distributed around the pan.
Place in preheated oven and bake for about 35 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a cake comes out clean.