Pineapple Upside Down Cake
This pineapple upside-down cake recipe is easy & made from scratch! Juicy pineapple & cherries in a sweet brown sugar glaze, over moist butter cake.
Servings: 8
Calories: 389kcal
Ingredients
For the topping
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup light brown sugar, loosely packed
- 10 pineapple rings
- 25 Maraschino cherries
For the cake
- 3/4 cup cake flour*
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1 large egg
- 1/3 cup sour cream**
- 1/4 cup pineapple juice (reserved juice from the can can be used)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
To make the topping:
- Place the butter in a 9-inch cake pan or pie dish, and melt it in the microwave (in my microwave this takes about 1 1/2 minutes on full power).
- Swirl the pan gently, allowing the butter to coat the sides.
- Add the brown sugar, mixing with a fork.
- Drain the pineapple rings, reserving the juice, and arrange the pineapple and cherries in a decorative pattern.
To make the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Place the cake flour, all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a mixing bowl and whisk to combine.
- Add the softened butter, beating on medium speed until the mixture resembles damp sand (about 2 minutes).
- Stir in the egg until incorporated (about 1 minute).
- Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula, then add the sour cream, pineapple juice, and vanilla.
- Mix the batter on medium-high speed for 60 to 90 seconds, to aerate the batter and build the cake's structure.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan, layering it over the fruit, and bake it until a toothpick inserted in the thickest part of the cake comes out clean (approximately 35 to 45 minutes).
- Cool for 20 minutes in the pan, then invert onto a serving plate to cool completely before slicing.
Notes
*Cake flour is a fine, light flour milled from hard wheat. It produces a lighter, more tender cake than all-purpose flour would alone. You can buy it on your regular grocery store shelf, in the baking aisle. If you can't find cake flour or don't want to use it, you can substitute all-purpose flour. Learn more about cake flour here: Why Use Cake Flour?
**Greek yogurt or buttermilk can be substituted. If you don't have buttermilk, make it by combining 1/4 cup of milk with 1 teaspoon of lemon juice or white vinegar. Allow the mixture to stand until thickened and somewhat curdled (about 5 minutes).
Learn more about the cake recipe here: Perfect Vanilla Cake.
Nutrition
Calories: 389kcal | Carbohydrates: 60g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 59mg | Sodium: 131mg | Potassium: 143mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 47g | Vitamin A: 495IU | Vitamin C: 2.6mg | Calcium: 69mg | Iron: 0.8mg