This cake has sweet caramelized pineapple rings and maraschino cherries baked into a fluffy yellow vanilla cake and it is a family favorite that brings back joyful memories.
¼cupunsalted butter - ½ stick or 4 tablespoons or 2 oz.
¾cupbrown sugar - 150 grams
1-15 ½ozcan pineapple rings - about 6-8 drained - reserve the juice.
Maraschino Cherries - about 12 drained.
For the Yellow Cake:
1 ½cupall-purpose flour - 180 grams
1cupsugar - 200 grams
½cupunsalted butter - 1 stick or 4 oz at room temperature
½cupmilk - 120 ml at room temperature
2eggs - room temperature
2tbsppineapple juice - from the pineapple can
1 ½tspbaking powder
½tspsalt
½tspvanilla extract
¼tspalmond extract
Instructions
Pineapple base:
Preheat the oven to 375℉ and place the unsalted butter in a 9-inch round pan. Place the pan with the butter in the oven until it melts completely. Don’t forget about it! It should take just about 5-6 minutes or less if you cut the butter into smaller pieces.
Once melted, remove from the oven and sprinkle the brown sugar evenly around the base.
Arrange the pineapples starting with a whole ring in the middle. You could use whole rings around the entire base or cut rings in half and place them around the center pineapple ring.
Place a maraschino cherry in the center of each pineapple ring. If you’d like, you can also place them in the empty spaces between the rings (or half rings!).
Note the design here is up to you so do what feels and looks best to you too!
Yellow Cake:
In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, add all the cake ingredients together. Make sure your cold ingredients are now at room temperature.
With the mixer on low, beat until well combined, scraping the sides constantly to incorporate all the ingredients. Once combined, increase the speed and beat for 5 minutes for a hand mixer or about 2 minutes for a stand mixer. Constantly scraping the sides of the bowl.
Carefully pour the batter into the prepared cake pan on top of the pineapples, smoothing the top with a spatula and cutting through the batter to remove any large air bubbles. Be careful not to cut too deep or the design with the pineapples will move.
Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean or with just a few crumbs. The cake will be golden brown and should spring back slightly when pressed with your finger.
Cool in the pan over a wire rack for 10 minutes before unmolding.
To unmold, loosen the cake from the sides with a thin spatula. Using oven mitts, place a large plate on top of your cake mold and invert both. Now the plate should be at the bottom and the cake pan on top. Lift the pan straight up to discover a beautiful pineapple cake. The cake should release easily, however, if the fruit has stuck to the pan, lift it off with a spatula and replace it in the design of the cake.
Video
Notes
Make sure ALL cake ingredients are at room temperature before mixing them all together. Cool ingredients may result in pockets of fat trapped in the cake, leaving large holes.
Let the cake rest for 10 minutes in the pan before inverting. Inverting too soon may make the cake fall apart. Waiting too long and the caramel may set and make the cake stick to the bottom of the pan.
Flip the pan onto the plate confidently! Not doubting here is crucial for success.
Keyword Pineapple Cake, Pineapple dessert, Pineapple Upside Down Cake, Upside Down Cake