Best Pineapple Upside Down Cake

This shop, Pineapple Upside Down Cake, was compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. 

Call me crazy, but I love hosting large dinner parties. On any given Sunday, you’ll find 10-16 family members at my dinner table.

For these special times together, a delicious dessert is a must. Pineapple Upside Down Cake is easy to make and tastes as good as it looks.

Thankfully, when I do all the cooking on Sundays, the kids and grandkids all pitch in to do the dishes. I’m the type who cleans as I go so there’s usually not a big mess. 

One of the things I love about Pineapple Upside Down Cake is that you don’t need to make a frosting. The brown sugar/pineapple topping is baked right in. 

Ingredients You’ll Need (Full Recipe Card Down Below)

• 1 (20 oz.) can of pineapple slices, well-drained
• butter, melted
• packed brown sugar
• yellow cake mix
• pure vanilla extract
• 15-20 maraschino cherries (optional), well-drained

You’ll notice that I didn’t use cherries in this recipe because I have picky eaters that don’t like them. 🙂

Steps For Making Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Spray a round cake pan with nonstick cooking spray. Stir together melted butter and brown sugar and place in cake pan. Place drained pineapple slices in a single layer over the brown sugar mixture.

(If you’re using the cherries, place a well-drained cherry in the middle and around the edges of the pineapple slices.) 

Prepare the yellow cake mix according to the direction on the package. Pour cake batter evenly over pineapple.

Bake at 350º 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes. Loosen edges and turn out onto a serving platter.

A boxed cake mix saves time when I’m preparing for a large dinner party.

To make a boxed mix taste better, do one or more of the following:

• Add an extra egg for a richer taste.
• Use whole milk instead of water.
• Use melted butter in place of vegetable oil.
• Stir in a teaspoon of pure vanilla extract (my personal fave).

Your guests will never know you used a box mix when you add one or all of these tricks.

You Will Also Love These Recipes!

• Cream Cheese Pineapple Pie
• Pineapple Cheese Ball
• Chocolate Cupcakes With Peanut Butter Frosting
• Pineapple Pudding
• Southern Pineapple Casserole

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Yield: 8-10 servings

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

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Pineapple Upside Down Cake is so good and easy to make.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Additional Time 10 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 (20 oz.) can pineapple slices, drained
• 2 Tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 package yellow cake mix (plus ingredients listed on box to make the cake)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 15-20 maraschino cherries, optional

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350º F.
2. Spray a 9" round cake pan with cooking spray.
3. Stir the butter and brown sugar together and spread in the cake pan.
4. Arrange pineapple slices (and add maraschino cherries if using) on top of the brown sugar mixture.
5. Prepare cake mix according to package directions and pour cake batter evenly over pineapple.
6. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center of the cake comes out clean.
7. Cool for 10 minutes. Loosen edges and turn out onto a serving platter.

Nutrition Information

Yield

10

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 274Total Fat 4gSaturated Fat 2gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 1gCholesterol 6mgSodium 403mgCarbohydrates 57gFiber 1gSugar 36gProtein 2g

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