My Mom's Pineapple Upside-Down Cake Recipe on Food52 (2024)

Cast Iron

by: Abra Bennett

April19,2010

3.6

13 Ratings

  • Prep time 5 minutes
  • Cook time 1 hour
  • Serves 8 (unless you decide to eat it all by yourself)

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Author Notes

My mother was a good cook, and made many memorable dishes. But when I try to think of just one that typifies what she taught me about cooking, it's hands-down this cake. It's a cake that invites another bite, another slice. My Mom taught me to bake it when I was in junior high school, and it tastes just as delicious today as it did all those years ago. You must bake this in a black cast iron skillet, and I still have the skillet my Mom baked this cake in for as long as I can remember. She's been gone for a very long time now, about 25 years (forgive me for not having a photo of her to upload), but her cake lives on and always bring tears of joy to my eyes. —Abra Bennett

Test Kitchen Notes

When reading up on the origins of the pineapple upside-down cake, I came across the connotation, instead, of an upside-down pineapple. It's probably inappropriate to get into the details of that here, so consider this an internet scavenger hunt gift.

Anyway...back to the cake at hand. Pineapple upside-down cakes—or really, any cake designed top-to-bottom, with the intention of being flipped right-side-up—have always held a special place in my jigsaw-puzzle-loving heart: There's something very sweet, very 1937-technicolor Snow White, about lovingly draping slices of neon fruit into a pan. This recipe from (two-time contest winner!) Abra Bennett is no exception. Sugar and butter bubble together to form a simple caramel that floods the bottom of the cake pan. Pineapple rings and clawlike pecans nestle into that buttery sugar, and get topped with billowy, eggy cake batter. As the cake bakes, the molten sugar shellacs the fruit and nuts, creating a stained-glass effect. As the batter lifts and puffs valiantly, it soaks in all those caramelized pineapple juices. (Cue the whistling woodland creatures here.)

After 45 minutes in the oven, the cake will be cooked through and the fruit tender and burnished. Don’t skip the 30-minute rest in the pan, which will help firm everything up for the big event: the flip. Cover the rested cake with a large enough plate and flip confidently and quickly (feigned confidence will sub in just fine here). Admire your work—if a pineapple ring or pecan has fallen out, just nudge it back into place. Cut into wedges, tame with dollops of unsweetened soft-whipped cream, and eat as you think about Abra Bennett cheekily eating the entire cake by herself. —Coral Lee

  • Test Kitchen-Approved

What You'll Need

Ingredients
  • 1/2 cupunsalted butter
  • 1 1/2 cupsfirmly packed brown sugar
  • 1 cuppecan halves
  • 1 20 ounce can pineapple slices packed in juice, reserving 5 tablespoons juice
  • 3 eggs, separated
  • 1 cupsugar
  • 1 cupall-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoonbaking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoonsalt
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. Melt the butter in a 9-inch cast iron skillet. Add the brown sugar and stir well to thoroughly combine, then turn off the heat. Arrange 7 pineapple slices in a single layer over the brown sugar mixture (your 9-inch skillet should accommodate 7 slices without overlapping). Fill the spaces between the pineapple rings with the pecans, centering one in the middle of each ring and arranging the rest as artistically as possible. Turn the pecans upside-down, so that they will be right side up when you invert the cake later. Set the skillet aside.
  3. Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl; set aside.
  4. Beat the egg yolks at medium speed until they are thick and lemon colored. Gradually add the sugar, continuing to beat. On low speed, add the flour mixture to the yolk mixture, and gently mix in the reserved pineapple juice.
  5. Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold the whites into the cake batter. Pour or spoon the batter evenly over the pineapple slices.
  6. Bake at 350°F for 40 to 45 minutes. Cool the cake in the skillet for 30 minutes; then invert it onto a serving plate.

Tags:

  • Cake
  • American
  • Pineapple
  • Pecan
  • Fruit
  • Make Ahead
  • Cast Iron
  • Summer
  • Winter
  • Spring
  • Fall
  • Dessert
Contest Entries
  • The Best Recipe or Technique Your Mother Taught You

Recipe by: Abra Bennett

I love to cook and create recipes!

Popular on Food52

35 Reviews

Smaug December 22, 2023

OK, but I like a cake with a bit more character for this. I usually use some cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon zest in mine (and butter). Pineapple juice by itself is a pretty weak flavor- I like to reduce it to about 1/4 volume; if more liquid is needed I use mango nectar, but something like orange juice would work well too.

morgan August 18, 2021

Fantastic recipe, doesn't take many ingredients and pretty quick, I used kiwifruit that had gone squishy instead of pineapple and it was a hit

Susan P. October 17, 2020

Made this as a birthday gift for a friend. Turned out so beautiful with amazing aroma and sweetness. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe! ❤️

Gloria M. November 25, 2019

This is the same recipe I have used for about 35 years, I found it in a yellow cover hardback
McCall's cookbook, it is excellent, everyone who has tried it says it tastes like candy cake, so cool to find it 🤗

bettye198 October 18, 2019

This is a great try. My Mom, R.I.P. loved this cake. However, never tried separating eggs and whipping whites to fold in. A new approach! Thank you because I hate using boxed cake mixes for pineapple upside down cake.

Anne P. April 21, 2019

You are right. Your mother was a good cook. I followed your recipe exactly and it was excellent. Thanks for sharing a family recipe. No problems whatsoever.

judith@hudsonvalleycooking March 12, 2019

I have not had this since I was a kid and want to try it but was nervous about the lack of butter in the batter. I will follow the advice in some of the comments. It will be nostalgia in a cast iron pan.

Marlys S. March 12, 2019

I have made Pineapple Upside down cake for years. I learned that lining my iron skillet or any other container with parchment works very well for turning out the cake from pan.

Tracey W. November 18, 2018

Thank you for sharing. This is a favorite in our home!

Kim R. May 5, 2016

Perhaps the cake sticks to the skillet because it is left to cool for to long before turning out;the pineapple glaze will stick to the pan, for me, ten minutes is long enough cooling time

EmJu March 4, 2016

I made this cake and it was very good. My husband loved it. However I will add some butter to the batter next time to make it more yummy :-)

wendy October 12, 2015

I made this cake but I would recommend using 1/4 cup butter and 1/2 cup brown sugar for the topping in the skillet and then use the other 1/4 cup of butter in cake batter. I've yet to see a pineapple upside down cake without butter or oil in the batter... The result was ok but the cake was seriously dense not having any oil.

Nicole L. May 10, 2015

What a great idea to use pecans in this recipe. I love love love this cake and now I will love it even more! Thank you for sharing!

carole_nelson_brown May 2, 2015

some times a bit of the toffee/sugar stuff stays in the pan when I invert it but I just scrape it all on to the hot cake and it all melts right in and once it's cooled, you don't notice. For the entire cake to not come out, the skillet might not have been seasoned enough yet?

akana May 1, 2015

So... my cake is refusing to leave its skillet home. Any thought?

Marcia April 15, 2014

No butter/shortening in the cake..was this an omission or is it done without shortening?? Love using my skllet for upside down cakes.

Abra B. November 30, 2013

I'd say it was the skillet. I was given one of those "pre-seasoned" ones and it took weeks of use before stuff stopped sticking.

Abra B. November 30, 2013

Gosh, I've never had that happen. Was your cast iron pan well seasoned? Did you bake it too close to the bottom of the oven? And if you actually did make it with fresh pineapple, perhaps that affected the outcome somehow.

Anneliese B. November 30, 2013

It was a brand new (but pre-seasoned) skillet... I was wondering if maybe I should have inverted it after 10 min instead of 30, as other recipes I've seen all say to do that. Did not use fresh pineapple.

Anneliese B. November 30, 2013

Just made it (haven't tasted yet...) and all's well so far, except that when I inverted it onto a plate after cooling the recommended 30 min, a 1/4" layer of toffee remained in the skillet. It still looks great, but I'm wondering where I went wrong... Thoughts?

Anneliese B. October 24, 2013

One more question (this will be my first upside-down experiment) - any tips for making this recipes with fresh pineapple?

My Mom's Pineapple Upside-Down Cake Recipe on Food52 (2024)

FAQs

Why is the top of my pineapple upside-down cake soggy? ›

SAM'S TIP: Make sure to blot your pineapple slices well with paper towels before placing them in your pie plate. This will absorb any excess liquid. If you skip this step it could make your cake soggy.

Why do you have to refrigerate pineapple upside-down cake? ›

Store pineapple upside-down cake covered in the refrigerator to retain the texture and moistness as much as possible and enjoy it within 2 or 3 days.

What is the best way to flip a pineapple upside-down cake? ›

Bake 50 to 55 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Immediately place heatproof serving plate upside down over pan; turn plate and pan over. Leave pan over cake a few minutes so brown sugar mixture can drizzle over cake; remove pan. Serve warm.

Why did my pineapple upside-down cake crack? ›

Garnish the pineapple upside-down cake

Turn the cake before it cools, and you get cracks like mine. But even if it does split, don't worry. It would taste just as good. After you've carefully flipped the cake and taken it out of the pan, you can crown it with maraschino cherries.

Is it better to make pineapple upside-down cake the day before? ›

You can prepare up to the point of baking, then cover and refrigerate up to 2 days before baking. You can prepare and bake completely, but leave it in the pan. Cool to room temperature, cover and refrigerate for 3 days or freeze up to 3 days.

When should you flip an upside-down cake? ›

I would recommend waiting at least 10-15 minutes for the cake to cool down slightly in the pan before attempting to invert it onto a serving platter. This will help prevent the cake from falling apart and ensure that the pineapple slices and caramelized topping stay intact.

Can I leave pineapple upside down cake out overnight? ›

This upside down pineapple cake can be left out overnight if covered, but it's best to refrigerate the cake for any time longer than that. Allow the cake to come to room temperature or rewarm before serving.

What is a substitute for maraschino cherries in pineapple upside down cake? ›

If you're looking for a substitute for maraschino cherries in a pineapple upside-down cake, fresh cherries or other preserved cherries can work well. Even raspberries, blackberries, or small halved strawberries could work.

Are you supposed to eat pineapple upside down cake cold? ›

This easy Pineapple Upside Down Cake recipe makes a delicious dessert served warm with cream or custard. Or serve a slice cold with morning coffee or afternoon tea. Either way this classic dessert cake is doddle to make and a fabulous treat.

Does nothing bundt cakes have pineapple upside-down cake? ›

Nothing Bundt Cakes - Take a bite of our Pineapple Upside Down bundt cake and you'll instantly be reminded of your favorite tropical getaway. | Facebook.

Do you let a cake cool before flipping it? ›

Cool Before Flipping

When you remove your cake from the oven, don't flip it out of the pan right away! Instead, let the cake cool for ten minutes in the pan. Then, placing the wire rack over the base of the cake, invert the pan. Peek under the wire rack and see if the cake has dropped out.

What are the effects of pineapple upside-down cake? ›

Pineapple Upside Down Cake strain helps with
  • Stress. 21% of people say it helps with Stress.
  • 18% of people say it helps with Anxiety.
  • 17% of people say it helps with Depression.

Can you reheat pineapple upside-down cake? ›

Make ahead: After baking, leave the cake in pan. Cover the cake with plastic wrap and refrigerate; aim to enjoy within 4 days. When you're ready to share the Pineapple Upside-Down Cake, reheat it in a 375-degree oven until warmed, about 4 minutes.

How do I make sure my upside-down cake doesn't stick? ›

Originally Answered: How do you keep pineapple upside down cake from sticking? You just have to spray the pan well with pan coating, after it comes out of the oven let it sit for about 5 - 10 mins to cool a bit and then run a knife along the edge of the pan and then put a large plate on it and flip it onto the plate.

Is pineapple upside-down cake bad for dogs? ›

Can Dogs Eat Pineapple Cake? You shouldn't share pineapple cake with your dog. Although pineapple itself is healthy, pineapple cake has too much sugar for your dog and could make them sick. There's also the risk of additional ingredients that are toxic to dogs, like nutmeg or xylitol.

How do you fix a soggy cake top? ›

You can also place your baked items in the fridge for a half hour, and this should cool and dry the surface as well. The fridge is known to be a dry environment as it naturally dehumidifies air by cooling the insides. Just don't leave it in there too long uncovered because it will completely dry out your baked goods!

What is the cause of soggy wet cakes? ›

A cake that's wet in the middle, in most cases, has not baked long enough. Put it back in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes. Be sure to check every 5 minutes with the toothpick test for any changes.

Why did my cake turn out soggy? ›

Odds are you didn't bake it long enough, or you added too much leavening. Underbaking is easy if you don't know what temperature your oven is at. Home ovens can vary a bit from the temperature shown on the display. Always use a tester to check that the midfle of a cake is done.

What causes a cake to be soggy? ›

Problem: The edges of my cake are soggy.

This happens when the cake isn't turned out onto your cooling rack soon enough and condensation has built up on the inside of the tin.

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