The Best Pineapple Upside-Down Cake — So soft, moist, and really is the best!! A cheery, happy cake that’s sure to put a smile on anyone’s face! This 100% from-scratch cake is an EASY reader favorite you’re going to love!!
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Homemade Pineapple Upside Down Cake
I love this cake because it’s fast and easy to make, and it always turn out supremely moist, springy, and fluffy thanks to the buttermilk, sour cream, and oil. That trifecta of moisturizing and tenderizing ingredients makes it impossible to have a dry cake.
I think it would be a perfect cake for Easter, Mother’s Day, baby and bridal showers, brunch, or anytime you want a cheery, sunny, happy cake!
Not to mention, the buttery, brown sugary pineapple juice that seeps down into the cake from the slices on top make the cake so soft, moist, and buttery that it just melts in your mouth.
The cake is soft, sweet, with an almost imperceptible tang from the buttermilk that adds another layer of flavor. The pineapple slices add chewiness and texture to the otherwise falling-apart-soft crumb.
While baking, the pineapple caramelizes in a butter and brown sugar bath, giving the pineapple upside down cake its signature glistening top and adding so much rich, browned butter flavor to the pineapple.
There’s no better way to get your Vitamin C than via pineapple baked in it’s own brown sugar-browned butter sauce!
Pineapple Upside Down Cake Ingredients
To make this easy pineapple upside down cake, you’ll need the following ingredients:
- Unsalted butter
- Light brown sugar
- Canned pineapple slices
- Maraschino cherries
- All-purpose flour
- Granulated sugar
- Baking powder
- Egg
- Buttermilk
- Sour cream
- Canola oil
- Vanilla extract
Tip
You must use each of these ingredients as they’re listed. Substitutions like whole wheat flour or an alternative sweetener may result in a less than stellar upside down cake.
How to Make Pineapple Upside Down Cake
Making pineapple upside down cake from scratch is so easy! First you’ll arrange the pineapple-cherry topping, then you’ll prepare the cake batter.
Here’s how the homemade pineapple upside down cake is made:
- Arrange the pineapple-cherry topping: I used one 20-ounce can pineapple slices. I kept one slice whole for the center of the cake, and then fanned 12 halves around it. My pet peeve about most pineapple upside-down cakes is that there’s not enough pineapple if you keep the rings whole and intact. The focus of a pineapple upside-down cake should be on the pineapple, so I tried to maximize the pineapple coverage on top by using a fanning technique.
- I used the remaining 3 slices (6 halves) to line the sides of the pan. Nobody likes bald sides.
- Make the cake batter: After getting the pineapple and cherries in the pan, whisk together the cake batter and turn it out into the pan. I filled my 9-inch round cake pan about 3/4-inch full with batter.
- Let the cake cool before flipping: I made the cake before bed and let it cool overnight in the pan with a sheet of foil over it. There’s no big rush to get it out of the pan. And honestly, inverting cakes gives me sweaty palms every time and I was stalling. Because of how buttery the topping is, the pan is so well-greased that the cake just plopped right out. Not even one slice of pineapple or cherry out of order.
Baking Tip
Although the cake doesn’t rise a ton, it’s still a cake and rises some, so don’t exceed about 3/4-full, the same idea as when filling a muffin tin. Discard the last bit of batter if need be. I mention this because all cake pans, the exact amount of pineapple, cherries, etc will vary slightly.
Pineapple Upside Down Cake FAQs
No, regular round cake pans aren’t deep enough. You also can’t use a 9-inch square baking pan for this. You have to use a 9-inch round springform pan, otherwise this homemade pineapple upside down cake recipe won’t turn out right.
I recommend making this easy pineapple upside down cake in this 9-inch springform pan. This is the exact pan I use at home and it works every time!
I haven’t tried that before because I just don’t have the patience for it! So unfortunately I can’t tell you if this recipe can be made as cupcakes.
I don’t think layering pineapple upside down cake is a good idea. This cake is incredibly moist and heavy, and I think if you tried to make two layers and stack them on top of each other the entire cake would fall apart.
Yes, you just have to be precise with your arrangement of the pineapple upside down cake topping in the bundt pan before you add the cake batter. The bake time may need to be altered slightly, so watch the oven and not the clock.
Full-fat sour cream makes for the best homemade pineapple upside down cake, but lite sour cream may be used in its place. You can also use plain Greek yogurt, but note that regular yogurt won’t work (it’s too runny).
I’ve only ever used canned pineapple rings so I can’t say for sure whether fresh pineapple would work in place of canned. Most likely yes, but please let me know if you try this and it works out!
No, you need real buttermilk to help this cake rise properly. You can use the leftover pineapple juice in the can in cocktails, smoothies, and more though!
If possible, get your hands on real buttermilk. If that’s not possible, you can try making a buttermilk substitute (for every 1 cup of milk, mix in 1 tablespoon lemon juice or white vinegar). If you have to make a buttermilk substitute, you should use 2% or whole milk for the best results.
Time! The cake needs time to cool in the pan (at LEAST 30 minutes, but preferably overnight) before it’s safe to invert it onto a plate. As the cake cools, the pineapple on the bottom (soon to be the top!) firms up, the sugars set to create a caramel-y sauce, and the cake itself sets.
If your cake turned out mushy, you likely didn’t drain the pineapple and cherries well enough.
Absolutely! In fact, making it a day in advance means the cake will pop out of the cake pan so much easier when you’re ready to invert it.
Melted butter! The butter gets added to the bottom of the pan before all of the toppings are arranged. The sugar and butter caramelize in the oven, but there’s enough butter that the cake should pop right out of the pan once cool.
You can store the cake at room temperature for up to five days. Cover the pan with foil. The cake will stay super moist thanks to the juicy topping.
Since this is such a moist cake that’s loaded with fruit, I do not recommend freezing it.
Tips for the Best Pineapple Upside Down Cake
Make sure you are using a good quality springform pan that you know is reliable. From time to time, people write to me saying their springform pan leaked, butter went all over, and they get upset with me. This is not my fault, peeps. It’s your pan that leaked. The solution?
Test your pan with water in it. Does it leak? If so, it will probably leak with the melted butter in it. Don’t make this pineapple upside down cake from scratch until you have a pan you trust, simple as that.
What’s the best springform pan? This is the 9-inch springform pan I currently use and I have never had it leak with this cake.
I have, however, had it leak when I quickly (and I was half asleep) put it together and sealed the latch carelessly. I do recommend it and it’s been a workhorse with other cakes over the years. I bought it in 2015 and it still looks and works as good as new.
Note that you should wind up with just enough cake batter to fill the 9-inch springform pan 3/4 full. If you somehow wind up with a little extra batter, it’s better to discard it than overfill the cake pan.
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The Best Pineapple Upside Down Cake
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- ¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
- one 20-ounce can pineapple slices
- about 12 maraschino cherries
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- pinch salt, optional and to taste
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup buttermilk, or Powdered Buttermilk, use 2 tablespoons with the dry ingredients + 1/2 cup water added with the wet
- ⅓ cup sour cream, lite is okay (plain Greek yogurt may be substituted)
- 3 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- In a small, microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter, about 1 minute on high power.
- Pour the butter into a 9-inch springform cake pan. Use your finger to run a bit of butter around the side of the pan so it’s well-greased.
- Evenly sprinkle the brown sugar over the butter.
- Add 1 whole pineapple slice to the center of the pan.
- Halve the remaining slices vertically. Stagger them in a fan-like fashion going around the cake. I used 12 slices.
- Place the remaining slices around the sides of the cake pan with the curved side pointing down toward the bottom of the pan (see photos for reference). There will likely be bare side patches with no pineapple coverage, that’s okay.
- Place 1 cherry in the center of the whole pineapple slice in the middle of the pan.
- Place 1 cherry in the center cutout of all the fanned pineapple slices; set pan aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, optional salt; set aside.
- In a separate small bowl, whisk together the next 5 wet ingredients (through vanilla).
- Add the wet mixture to the dry, mixing lightly with a spoon or folding with a spatula until just combined. Small lumps will be present, don’t overmix or try to stir them smooth.
- Gently turn batter out into prepared pan, being careful to not disturb the pineapple slices on the sides or bottom. Fill pan only to about 3/4-full. If you have a little extra batter, discard it rather than overfilling your pan.
- Place pan on a cookie sheet (to catch anything that does overflow) and bake for about 40 minutes, or until center is set and not jiggly, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter. Only go down about 1-inch with the toothpick, not all the way to the bottom where you’ll hit gooey pineapple juice.
- Place pan on a wire rack and allow cake to cool for at least 30 minutes before inverting, slicing, and serving. I allowed cake to cool overnight, covered with a sheet of foil, before inverting.
Notes
- Cake will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- Cake base adapted from Blueberry Muffin and Buttermilk Pancakes Cake.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Easy Pineapple Desserts:
Layered Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting – A tender and moist classic two-layer carrot cake with tangy-sweet cream cheese frosting!
Pineapple Coconut Oil Banana Bread — Banana bread spiked with pineapple and coconut oil that’s so good!
Hummingbird Cake — A super SOFT and moist cake with bananas, pineapple, coconut, cream cheese frosting, and pecans!! Makes a huge cake that’ll feed a crowd!
Pineapple Poke Cake With Pineapple Glaze — A pineapple version of a poke cake with a pineapple glaze that you’ll adore!
Tropical Escape Pineapple Crumble Bars — Soft, tender bars that have a great crumble topping that will remind you of the tropics!
Angel Pineapple Lush Parfaits — This is a 4-ingredient, no-bake dessert that’s ridiculously easy, you don’t need a mixer, and you don’t have to turn your oven on.
Pineapple Coconut Bars — Eat your piña colada rather than drinking one with these fast, EASY, no-mixer bars that taste TROPICAL!! Pineapple, coconut, white chocolate, and cherries!!
Recipe originally from March 2014 and reprinted in May 2018
Hi! Â Making this for a family dinner this weekend….did you serve with whipped cream or ice cream?
Neither because it doesn’t need it in my opinion but do as you prefer.
Thank you and were the pineapple slices in juice or syrup?
Juice.
I made this cake for some dinner guests as I hadn’t made one in decades, and I thought it would be a nice change. Â I actually do quite a bit of baking, but I’ve never made one of these from scratch before. Â My pan did not leak at all and when it was baked, looked exactly like your photos. Â I waited for about an hour or so before inverting it. Â I unlatched and inverted, but at least half of the cake and pineapple did not release. Â The cake flavor was absolutely fantastic and no one minded the appearance, but I was so disappointed that it looked so messy. Â No one else seems to have had that problem. Â Any ideas what would have made it stick? Â It was a brand new pan and I rinsed it and dried it thoroughly before pouring in the butter and other ingredients but didn’t wash it in hot soapy water first. Â Wondering if there was some residue, though I could not detect any. Â Just guessing here. Â I plan to make it again within the next couple of days because it was SO fantastically wonderful, but I really want it to look like yours. Â Thanks for any tips you can provide.
Hmmm it sounds like some cake and fruit got stuck and that would lead me to believe it was in the pan or not enough non-stick spray being used before hand. It could have been, like you said, a fluke reaction with the coating on the first time use. I would suggest REALLY spraying it well with cooking spray and trying it again. If you still have the same problem, it’s the pan and replace it. This is the one I use. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008BULFWS/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B008BULFWS&linkCode=as2&tag=lovvegyogruna-20&linkId=CFPCZPPILNDWXCQG I’ve never had it stick at all, super easy release. If I’ve used it for 20 cakes, I would say that 19 times it has been fine. One small leaker, but that could have been because I was in a hurry and it was my error re-latching it. Keep me posted how things turn out!
Oh My Gosh! This really is the best Pineapple Upside Down Cake recipe. I made two over the weekend, and both were absolute hits!Â
Thanks for trying the recipe and glad it came out great for you! And that you made two!
My husband loves Pineapple cake. i want to make this recipe in a heart shaped pan. what suggestions can you give me to make sure that the cake comes out without tearing up
I really can’t offer any advice because I’ve never tried making it any other way than what I wrote. Honestly this cake while it isn’t a hard cake to make, it’s a little more time-consuming that others because you have to layer down all the fruit and you definitely do need a springform pan and I would recommend just making it as written in a regular springform pan.
Thank you for sharing your wonderful recipes and beautiful photography! Made this cake and had great success. Tasted great and the presentation impressive. It is such a pretty cake with the pineapple half slices that allow more cherries. And your photography is to be admired! My cake looked good, but yours was awesome with every plump cherry exactly the same size. I bought a spring form pan and it leaked too. :-) But I did put it on a cookie sheet and that saved my oven. Next time I will also add foil around bottom of pan. The only change I made to your recipe was to use part of another can of pineapples so I could have full coverage around the sides of the cake. Even prettier! And the leftover pineapple was used elsewhere.
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! Thanks for the compliments on my food styling and photography!
Springform pans can be pesky but glad the cookie sheet was a helpful trick.
You don’t really need a springform pan for those who have a problem with theirs leaking. You can use a regular cake pan but line the bottom
With parchment paper and if you want, the sides too. That will prevent the cake from sticking and will come off smoothly.
Most regular cake pans are not deep enough for this recipe, they’re 9-inch rounds and 2-inches high, which isn’t at all deep enough for this cake and it will overflow! Not advised!
Thank God I was smart enough to put the pan while it baked, everything leaked. followed exactly. the batter was not enough…its baking now – hopefully something was salvaged or i will have to bake a new cake for tomorrow.Â
Sorry that your pan leaked. Sometimes springform pans can do that! I suggested that in the recipe tips as well, just as insurance!
I made this the other week and it turned out beautifully :) I actually had a similar concern as another, that there might not be enough batter…but it turned out perfect. Â It is a delicious recipe that brought back the nostalgic feelings of eating this for the first time way back when. Â I could definitely see boozing up the caramel sauce to make it a bit more adult ;)
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! And I love your idea of boozing up the caramel sauce :)
Discard extra batter?!!! Are you crazy?!!! I see pineapple up-side down extra batter cupcakes in my future. I’ve baked a lot of this kind of cake before, and I’ve never tried it in a springform pan. Very interesting.
I would totally make cupcakes too if I had extra batter….or just…eat it :)
I want to make this cake for Thanksgiving, because it is one of my dad’s all time favorite cakes. I have all the ingredients on hand, but I was wondering if I could substitute cake flour for the all purpose. I have some cake flour to use up, so just wondered if you ever tried.
Cake flour and AP flour aren’t interchangeable in baking and I don’t recommend using it with this recipe as it wasn’t tested and developed that way. Enjoy the cake!
I’m planning to make this cake on Saturday for my mother’s 65th birthday. PUC is her favorite! I’m noticing lots of reviews mentioning springform leaks and that was also my main concern when reading the recipe. That leads to my question…what’s the benefit of a springform pan versus a regular cake pan?
With a springform pan you’re guaranteed that this very sticky cake will release from the pan; with a regular cake pan, it’s a gamble plus it’s simply not deep enough. The cake would overflow.
Leaks all depend on the pan itself. Some are more trustworthy than others. Hope your mom enjoys the cake on her bday!
My mouth is watering as i type. Its been ages since i had this.Â
just one question, can i use regular plain yogurt for sour cream?
Was just wondering how you used the springform pan to invert the cake. Did you leave it latched or did you unlatch it? Thanks!
Unlatch, then invert. Enjoy!
Was just curious to know how you inverted the cake since you used a springform pan-did you unlock the pan or leave it latched, did you just flip the bottom piece over…? I’ve never made a cake in a springform to invert it. Don’t want to get it made and then damage it when I invert it lol
Thanks!
My husband loves pineapple upside down cake, but I could never find one that I liked as well. Until now. I baked one and took it to Easter with the in-laws, it was a major success, I should have made two of them. Now they ask me to make them for every family get together.
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you and that now you bake it for all the family get togethers! What a great story and thanks for sharing :)
Hi Averie,
Just made this cake. Turned amazingly delicious. Am an avid fan. Could you tell me please if I can substitue the egg for something else?
Thanks,
Ritu
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! In terms of subbing the egg, I haven’t tried and don’t know in this case how well this cake would fare being egg-less. I honestly wouldn’t tinker with it if it came out great for you :)