pineapple upside-down cake
Well, then what do I want to do? I want to go to the beach, and I want to go to barbeques. I’ve got goals, you see: I want to perfect the mint julep this summer and uncover a way to travel with all the trappings of a freshly squeezed Tom Collins. I want to bring buckets of just-made slaw, make more of my famous vegetable skewers that could fit on eight grills and I want to arrive with the kind of cake you don’t have to make a big deal out of; no frosting, no filling, no baubles, jimmies or piping and a minimal number of bowls. The kind of cake you’ve been eating your whole life yet a bite of it in the off-season will bring you back to a lazy spring weekend and a pinata filled with airline bottles of Petron.
If you’ve stopped eating pineapple-upside down cake because you were rightly scared off by the seventies wallpaper-like pattern of rubbery pineapple rings filled with unnaturally bright maraschino cherries and the bland, almost pointless cake within that are all-too-accepted as the bakery standard, fear not, you can start again. Just two things separate a great pineapple upside down cake from a cake with, uh, pineapples on top are two things, three if you include the absence of red fruit-like gems: fresh pineapple and a layer of freshly-made caramel.
Don’t be put off by the caramel; if you have a 10-inch cast iron pan, you can make it right in the bottom, and use that as your baking dish. If not, it’s only one extra dish and takes less than five minutes to make. Fresh pineapple is the real turning point, though, and I was deeply saddened to not be able to find any this weekend (that is, until after I made the cake, naturally). It’s sharp, tropical flavor is unmatched by canned version, but in a jam, the can is your friend as it also comes packaged with the pineapple juice required for the cake.
And that’s all the fancy there is to this. You can make and bake in about an hour and a half, tops, and be that much more welcome anywhere you go. I know I was.
This cake is my contribution to Barbara Harris’ of WinosandFoodies.com A Taste of Yellow Event, in which food bloggers from all over the globe create a yellow food to show support for Lance Armstrong’s LIVESTRONG Day, May 16. The event is grassroots advocacy initiative to unify people affected by cancer and to raise awareness about cancer survivorship issues on a national level and in local communities across the country. You can make a donation to the Lance Armstrong Foundation over here.
Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
Adapted from Gourmet, February 2000
The original recipe for this cake had three teaspoons of cardamom in it, alternately loved and loathed by recipe reviewers. Having no interest in a chai-flavored cake — or chai-flavored anything, ever –I took it out and was left with the most flawless and easy go-to upside down cake, something I look forward to making every summer.
Topping:
1/2 medium pineapple, peeled, quartered lengthwise, and cored
3/4 stick unsalted butter
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
Batter:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon dark rum
1/2 cup unsweetened pineapple juice
2 tablespoons dark rum for sprinkling over cake
Special equipment: A well-seasoned 10-inch cast-iron skillet. If you lack a cast-iron skillet of this size, make the caramel in a small pot and scrape it into the bottom of a similarly-sized cake pan. (I used a 9″ cake pan in the pictures above.)
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Make topping: Cut pineapple crosswise into 3/8-inch-thick pieces. Melt butter in skillet. Add brown sugar and simmer over moderate heat, stirring, four minutes. Remove from heat. Arrange pineapple on top of sugar mixture in concentric circles, overlapping pieces slightly.
Make batter: Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, then gradually beat in granulated sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla and rum. Add half of flour mixture and beat on low speed just until blended. Beat in pineapple juice, then add remaining flour mixture, beating just until blended. (Batter may appear slightly curdled.)
Spoon batter over pineapple topping and spread evenly. Bake cake in middle of oven until golden and a tester comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Let cake stand in skillet five minutes. Invert a plate over skillet and invert cake onto plate (keeping plate and skillet firmly pressed together). Replace any pineapple stuck to bottom of skillet. Sprinkle rum over cake and cool on plate on a rack.
Serve cake just warm or at room temperature.
Do ahead: Cake may be made one day ahead and chilled, covered. Bring to room temperature before serving.
mmm, I think I’ll try it out this weekend! Thanks deb!
I may have a barbecue just so you will bring this!
My empanada’s were stolen. My heart is completely broken. All I want is an empanada. I am so depressed. Please make more, I promise not to lose them this time.
Oh, and BTW, that cake was tasty! Yum.
This looks perfectly delicious. Love the cake saver.
I’m going to admit something, I’ve never eaten Pineapple Upside Down Cake. Yup, you heard it here first. *hides with Jocelyn’s empanada’s – yummy*
You empanada thief! Ugh. Well at least you are better then me. I am apparently a salad molester. Yes, it is true. I’m disgusting.
Ooops, premature posting. But, I would love to try it one day. Though, baked pineapple and cake, I don’t know how I’d do with that kind of combo. It’s all about the texture. Is the cake overly wet or just the right amount of softness? Also, is the pineapple really sticky in your mouth with the caramel?
I saw that you had an affair with the baby greens. I hope that they were good to you in the morning and at least cuddled a bit.
mmmmmm. I LOVE that you wrote about Pineapple Upside Down Cake. This has been a favorite of mine since i was little and so many people are all “Pineapple WHAT cake? Never heard of it.” My recipe is a little different, but probably a mixture of the ‘boring’ and this, which sounds wonderful and i WILL have to try sometime!
Mary — The cake carrier I use is actually a 10″ Kaiser springform pan, but when you pop the side off, you can use it to carry more than cheesecake. I wouldn’t call it the most rugged of carriers (I don’t trust the handle and instead drop the whole thing in a bag), but certainly more pretty than others that I’ve seen.
Joc — It’s not my fault you let Tim make you cocktails and proceeded to forget the empanadas. Sounds like the early birds got the egg. ;) Speaking of, when Alex and I left at 9, it was still a fairly civilized affair. Then RGD came over last night having not been home yet from the day before. You people make me feel old.
Jenifer — I don’t think it’s really sticky. The caramel sinks in a bit, because it’s baked right into the cake. It just adds extra flavor and an ever-so-slight crunch to the top. You just know I’m dying to make the caramel next time with salted butter, btw. I’ll let you all know if I do.
I think we must have an ESP(N) thing going on. I’ve been wanting to make a pineapple upside down cake for a few weeks now, and here you are with a recipe for exactly that! Thank goodness the boyfriend isn’t allergic to pineapple.
I am so unhappy with that answer. Please please please make me empanada’s. Don’t make me cry.
Cast-iron? Anything to whip out the BIG pan. Or at least, the heaviest. Can you help me lift if off the hook of the pot rack?
I made this once over the winter with gingerbread spices and I concur, it’s delish, would’ve never thought of it for summer, but the pineapple’s perfect. I think I sprinkled some extra sugar on top and bruleed it b/c I felt like the top wasn’t as pretty as I’d like.
This looks very similar to Ina’s plum cake she made for me the other day (me and millions of other viewers). I’m guessing it’s basically the same, just a different fruit and different liquor. Yumm.
Yes! In fact, I’ve always wanted to make Ina’s plum cake but 1) Alex is wrongly put off by plums in desserts (he won’t be after this summer, I promise) and2) I remember reading a blog where someone hadn’t loved the recipe. I’ve long forgotten what it was. I think Ina also makes an apple version, but she calls it her “tarte tatin cake.” I’d like to try another version of this, however, and I’m thinking of either playing around with mangoes, strawberries or even pears.
Merecedes — Gingerbread spices, I’ve never heard of that! Perhaps the caramom addition isn’t as off-base as I’d thought.
Brandon — Ha! I can’t even lift my own. And the 7.5 qt. Dutch oven counts as my bicep curls any day I wash it.
Looks gorgeous! I just love pineapple upside-down cake… yum! Oh, and if you are serious about perfecting your mint julep this summer, here’s an idea for you: I had the most delicious mint julep of my life recently at a nearby restaurant, and it was so absolutely simple. They filled a glass with a few scoops of a homemade mint sorbet, then poured a couple shots of classic Kentucky Rebel Yell Whiskey on top! The sorbet melted into a cloudy and fragrant alcoholic pool of deliciousness that I simply cannot give justice to with words. Give it a try! I just need to find a really good mint sorbet recipe now…
Pineapple upside-down cake should be in everyone’s repertoire. I have a friend who requests it regularly but refers to it as “bend-over cake” (English is not her first language). I love your recipe, particularly the rum — and I love the idea of using salted butter. I sometimes make it with browned butter, and with freshly-grated nutmeg — more subtle than cardamom, and perfect with pineapple, I think.
something very strange happened…i swear i had left a comment earlier…seems to have vanished ! well this is a beautiful entry for a taste of yellow, although i’m not a big fan of pineapples and specially upsidedowns i like your twist with the caramel and omitting those scary n gaudy cherries. this one has got me rethinking my choices.
I was just pondering what to do with the pineapple that I bought yesterday, all ripe and smelling good. Problem solved!
Nor, this sounds truly wonderful, but being a simple, benighted European I have to ask: how much is 3/4 of a stick of butter? How much butter is there in a stick, anyway? I’d love to know the weight – I’ve spent too much time pressing butter into a measuring cup and getting it out again to be really happy with cup measurements…. Apart from that, the cake looks and sound great, and I’d love to try it!
OOOHHHH top with whipped cream!!!!
great Taste of Yellow cake! and i’ll just have to take your word on the caramel… its a daunting task in a small apartment kitchen with a microstove
Delicious! Absolutely delicious.
Mangoes would be delish. I wonder what liquor would go well with that ? Maybe rum again. Pears and brandy would be a good combo. Obviously I don’t cook/bake, I just like to find good alcohol pairings for you. :)
Ok Deb I think I’m channeling you. I made a pineapple upside down cake this weekend! I used the Joy of Cooking recipe (pecans – no red cherry things). It was delicious but yours looks like I have to try it. Another cake is in my future!!!
That’s like a work of art Deb. Great entry. Thanks forjoining A Tatse of Yellow.
The thought of that tart pineapple up against the sweet caramel just made me drool a little bit before I caught it. Must go in the recipe queue.
I’m such a ham for this cake (ha ha.)
I saw these cute leetle tiny pineapple upside-down (indiv.) cake pans at Sur La Table the other day.
The strange thing is, no matter how old I grow, this cake always makes me smile and think of Amelia Bedilia.
See you in Coney Island in June?
I looks terrific, Deb – gotta try it soon!
This looks great! Since you owned up to using canned pineapple, how much did you use? Yeah, I know fresh is better. But so is being lazy sometimes.
No comment on the post…well, I do like pineapple upside down cake and probably haven’t had it in….oh, at least a few years, if not more – so I suppose I am due for some soon….but really have to say that Alex not thinking plums in desserts are any good is pure craziness!!! I have this great plum pudding cake that my fiance’s mom has passed to us and in August when the plums are plentiful here, I will risk the discomfort of raising the house temperature yet another few degrees just to bake it! I can scrounge up the recipe if you like, but it sounds like you have plans for plums in baked goods already!
What to make a friend for a pirate themed birthday party? Yar, matey! A pineapple upside down cake doused liberally in rum! But seriously, holy smokes this was tasty. Frankly, it’s lucky it made it into the oven at all, because even the batter tastes amazing! Dunno if you have the Facebook, but here’s a pic of it if you do. http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=139237&id=577420559
Just made this for Memorial Day. All six guests loved it. What a treat. Thanks Deb.
I just made this for my boyfriend’s birthday… and it was DELICIOUS. I hardly ever make cakes, but this was a huge hit. I didn’t have dark rum, so I used spiced rum…. it came out great. I already have requests for a repeat performance.
Mmm.. Made this last night and between the boyfriend and I it is nearly gone.
I added coconut extract, coconut shavings and extra vanilla to the batter. Plus, thought about adding a bit of coconut milk to make a Pina Colada type deal.
Thanks for the great recipe!
I made this cake last week since it was finals week for my classmates. The first time I made it I found it to be TOO sweet. So I cut the sugar in half and used a 1/2 cup of pineapple juice concentrate. The cake was great – it was almost juicy – the pineapple flavor quite pronounced. I highly recommend the change.
Excellent recipe! I’m thinking it’s one of the best I’ve come across…..ever. The pineapple juice in the batter make it a number of steps past fantastic.
Do not do not do not use a springform. Trust your instincts and ignore comments on epicurious that say a springform works. I wish I had. I lost all the caramel and my oven is a disaster and I want to cry.
I JUST pulled this out of my oven. And I can’t tell you how excited I am about it!
This was one of those ‘go to’ recipes my mom always made when I was growing up. She felt that dinner wasn’t complete without some sort of dessert on hand.
I had a hankering, and used your little search feature. (I can’t tell you how many times you’ve had exactly what I was looking for!)
One little tidbit to add as to why this is so exciting. I didn’t have a 9″ round cake pan, and though I know it would work in a rectangular one.. I wanted round!
What I did have, was a clay bowl that Ive been too scared to use.
I used it. It came out great!
Thanks for helping conquer my own cooking fear!
MK
I made this yesterday for a BBQ. I doubled the recipe, used fresh pineapple, 9 inch rounds in a convection oven next to each other and also omitted the cardamom and I gotta say, you saved me again. I loved PUDC (pineapple upside down cake) as a kid, but knew that just wouldn’t fly with the adult me let alone my equally picky friends. it was a kabob and grilled pineapple bbq, so this was the perfect reason to try it out – and it was a hit! it was easy (I did it last minute after a day of canning pickles) and it was flawless. I cooked the caramel a smidge longer than suggested to get it a bit darker and found it to really work well for travel and have moist without the sog. thank you a million!
Deb – hold on to your hat, because I am about to blow your mind. I made this cake for Thanksgiving…as a Cranberry Upside-Down Cake. Exactly this recipe, but anytime you see the word ‘pineapple,’ replace with ‘cranberry’ and replace all instances of ‘rum’ with ‘brandy.’ I used 100% cranberry juice in the batter and it turned a really beautiful shade of pink. The cake is gorgeous and it has kind of nice, sour pucker to it. I hope you’ll try it!
The plum cake sounds good but my boyfriend won’t eat anything by Ina because the whole BAREFOOT Contessa thing creeps him out.
I’m currently making this cake. However, my batter seemed kind of dry. I could be wrong because this is my first from scratch cake. I’ve only ever made boxed cake.
Wish me luck!
It was terrible!!! =( I think my oven is broken. The center was completely raw but the outside half was dense and overcooked like a brick. I’ve never made a cake in this apartment. I think I’m going to make a box cake to make sure it’s my oven and not just me.
Dear Deb,
I discovered your site about 3 weeks ago and have been reading it diligently every day since. The thing that really attracted me to your kitchen was not the mouthwatering photos but your writing, whose level of excellence makes your site truly stand out. One can find any number of great pictures on the net; a long, grammatically sound sentence, however, let alone subtle play word or self reliable humor that does not need the ubiquitous smiley face to indicate to the simple minded reader that this is the place to laugh, is a rarity on the Internet.
You do not use language solely as a coarse tool for conveying information; you do not use language, you create with it: the atmosphere, the taste, the mood, the texture, the very soul of the cooking experience – all these things come not from your photos, but from your writing. Oh, I don’t underestimate the importance of a beautiful photo, but I belong to the school that dispenses with the truism that “a picture is worth a thousand words.” No, a picture is worthless without a thousand words to bring it alive, to make your experience ours, at least in the world of cooking.
Thank you for making our experience complete.
I did not realize the expression of my admiration would take up so much space. This is my first time participating in a site like this and I don’t know what the rules about posting are. Please forgive me if I am violating the posting etiquette. The real reason for this post was to relate my experience with the pine apple cake. I’ll start another one for it.
Now for the cake, finally:
This is my first experience with the upsidedown pineapple cake, both eating and baking it. I am not a novice baker however.
Things that I had to change:
Used dark brown sugar instead of light (that’s what I had in the cupboard)
Used a 12” cast iron skillet (don’t have a smaller one)
Used orange juice from a freshly squeezed orange (forgot to buy pineapple juice)
Used fresh pineapple but one that had already been peeled and cored (sold in the fresh produce isle, along with other precut, cleaned, peeled, etc. fruit). While this is not as flavorful as the pineapple you peel and core yourself, it is infinitely better than the canned variety.
Things that presented unexpected difficulty:
The caramel: While I’d done tons of work with all sorts of sugar/water combinations, I’d never had a chance to make the butter caramel, nor had I used brown sugar for it before. First of all, I went about it the wrong way, I guess. Not having read you directions carefully, I put the butter and sugar in the skillet together (as I would with water based caramel). So the butter was melting along with the sugar. Since I was used to making water/white sugar caramel, I was using the same process: let dissolve on low heat, bring to the caramel consistency on high. Apparently this does not work with butter and brown sugar. Somehow everything took much less time than I had expected. (The additional difficulty, was that since it was brown sugar, I could not go by the color indication of the state of the caramel – it was dark from the start). So I realized that the caramel was ready when the smoke started rising from it quite heavily. I should have turned it off about two minutes earlier. As it was, it was almost burnt. But I decided that the sweetness of the pineapple will dilute the intensity of the caramel.
The rest of the preparations went smoothly. (By the way, you mentioned that the batter might look curdled in the end. I think to avoid it, one should be very careful when adding the vanilla/rum to the butter/egg mixture. Add it almost drop by drop, mixing well after each addition, to prevent butter from separating. After that step, the batter should end up smooth and pretty. Also, I folded the last addition of the flour mixture with a spatula).
Even though I had a large skillet, the batter filled it nicely.
The baking time was about 47 minutes.
The cake was a very beautiful color: amber/golden. I almost did not want turn it upside down.
The cake came out very easily, surprisingly, with only one piece stuck.
The caramel, as I suspected, was overcooked and patches between the pineapple looked nearly black. However, these pieces were a delicious excuse for picking off the cake while waiting for it to cool down.
With a superhuman effort I resisted cutting it until this morning (It came out of the oven last night around midnight).
Today I had a slice for breakfast: heavenly!!!!!!!!! I had no idea that this is what a pineapple cake tastes like. To be honest, I used to be suspicious of the whole idea: wouldn’t pineapple get soggy?, wouldn’t the tropical taste be too much with the rich batter?, etc.
Well, after today, I am certainly a convert.
I will make this cake again, but with some changes:
Definitely less sugar in the batter next time. The caramel and the pineapple itself provide plenty of sweetness.
I will sprinkle the rum on the hot cake while it is still in the skillet, before being turned out. I found that the rum did not penetrate the layer of the caramel and stayed mostly on top of the pineapple.
I will leave the skillet size as is, however. The cake rose nicely, the overall height is about 1.5 inches, which is perfect for this very rich cake.
Overall, very pleased with the experience; will repeat. Thank you so much!
OMG! This was the BEST PUSD cake EVERRRRRRRRR!
I made it for a funeral today. The fresh pineapple and seasoned cast iron skillet method def makes all the difference. I must admit, I was terrified to flip it onto the platter because once I did… I couldn’t really see the middle of the cake to tell if the center was REALLY done. But of course… it was perfect! My cake didn’t look as perfect as the pic, but close enough. I received so many requests for the recipe. I will make this again and again.
I was looking for desserts and this was selected for me by the “Surprise Me” gadget. What a good choice it was too. It is just delicious. I used the fresh pineapple and also added the dreaded cardamom, but only a half tsp; barely noticeble. My only problem (and it was indeed my problem) was tipping it out of the pan. My plate was exactly the same diameter as the pan and it slipped as I turned it out. Half was on the counter and the other half on the plate. Grrrrr!
Fortunately, it broke exactly in half so I was able to rescue it with my long metal spatula and glue it back together with the caramel and hide it under some well placed pieces of pineapple. Moral of the story? Mind the plate size!
I found this site while looking for a pineapple upside-down cake recipe and I’m very glad I did. I made it tonight, and it was fantastic! I don’t bake very often, and still I had no trouble making this. I love how the caramel makes the outside chewy. I will make this again and share the under-appreciated dessert with friends and family. Thanks!
Oh and your writing and photography are deliciously mouthwatering.
I just clicked on this to see if it’s anything like the P.U. cake I always make. Well, it IS the one I always make. But I’ve made a few tweaks over the years, and I like it even better now.
Sometimes I use coconut oil (the healthy kind) instead of butter in the cake part. Tastes really nice with the rum and pineapple. I also cut the amount of sugar in the cake by at least a third, and make a little less caramel. Pineapple is already so sweet, the cake hardly needs two cups of sugar on top of it.
I think you should consider the cardamom. It doesn’t make your cake taste like chai at all. Far from it. I do 1.5 tsp of it. I think it’s what makes the recipe unique. People can’t usually pinpoin what it is, only that it’s got a special flavour.
I made this cake last night (for the season finale of Lost!) — it was my first experience making or eating pineapple upside down cake, and it was excellent! I was a little worried, because the sides of the cake were getting a little blackened looking in the oven, but it turned out perfectly, though I would probably cook it about three minutes or so less. I used dark brown sugar, which made the caramel a little bitter, but it was delicious (and I tossed a little salt into the butter/sugar mixture, because I love salted caramel). Thanks for the recipe, Deb! I can’t wait to make it again.
Hello -
I know that this might be a little belated, but can someone provide some more information about how to do a proper caramel and what to look for? I tried my first caramel a little while back and completely made it burnt and bitter (unfortunately not realizing it until I added it to my pie and bit into it, ruining the whole thing) Since then, I am deathly afraid of caramels. Help!
Hi Christina — My friend David has a great caramel tutorial, with pictures. I bet it will help. And everyone burns it the first time — just dump it and start again if it happens. It’s otherwise (as you found) impossible to lose that burnt flavor.
I’ve been looking for the *perfect* pineapple upside down cake, have made a few and gotten close but this recipe……..THIS ONE is absolutely THE best upside down cake I have EVER tasted.
After the first bite I thought I’d died and gone to sweet, buttery heaven, it’s just THAT good!!!
Thank-you soooooooooooooooooooooo much for sharing!!
hey deb, long-time listener/first time caller here. just put the cake into my oven, only to realize that the recipe says 3/4 STICKS of butter, not 3/4 cup. will let you know how it turns out.
the cake was delicious… but i had a bit of a stomach ache afterwards. so, probably best not to double the butter.
My boyfriend’s birthday is coming up and I want to make this cake but I want it to be vegan. Does anyone think this wouldn’t come out as well if I used egg replacer instead of eggs (and earth balance instead of butter)???
Hi,
I made this cake for Thanksgiving. Turned out pretty well—flavors were good, but no crackly caramel on top at all. Guess I better view that tutorial from your friend David, because I wouldn’t even call this *flavor* caramel. When I was making the caramel in the iron skillet, it was like a weird little science experiment; it was very shloopy and rolly-polly,slipping all around the skillet. The cake itself was mostly good, but a little mooshy on top. Also, the pineapple was a little tough; I used fresh, but maybe it was a little too thick here and there. Maybe i just didn’t bake it long enough. Sigh. Next time… Thanks for the recipe though!
Hello again. Just looked at your friend’s tutorial on making caramel. Hmm. Very clear now, when I made the PUD cake, I did NOT make caramel…
for vegans, I would recommend replacing butter with coconut oil, but I’ve never made this particular recipe with coconut oil, so I can’t be certain.
I made this lovely cake for a Hawaiian themed office party, and it was all gone in the blink of an eye. It disappeared so quickly that I didn’t even get to taste test it, though I’m pretty sure it came out well, judging from my coworkers’ comments.
After getting home, I decided to make another one just for myself, and decided to double (no, actually triple) the amount of rum in the cake batter. (It essentially turned into a very delicate rum cake with pineapples on top, which is also delicious)
By the way, the first time I made this cake, I didn’t realize how much syrup would come out of the pan when the cake was turned over, so I made a huge sticky mess on the kitchen counter. Now I know why you included keeping the plate and skillet firmly pressed together in the instructions.