Homemade Pineapple Upside Down Cake - Caramelized top with sliced pineapples and maraschino cherries with a dense cakey crumb beneath it feels incredible yum. There is no frosting or decoration that you need to do. The cake comes out decorated.

The retro American dessert  - Classic Pineapple Upside Down Cake decorated with cherries on top. Making this dessert, I felt as if I am digging some old past which is still lustrous.

Since the time Pineapple made its way in our life, we have been thinking of ways to use it in many forms. Sometimes in the form of a cake, sometimes as a part of the chicken or sometimes as a part of our Barbeque recipes.

But, one recipe that has stood the test of time is this Upside Down Pineapple Cake.

 

Today was that kind of day when I wanted to make something amazing. It was just that kind of a day when the Sun shining bright on my face was telling me to go ahead and bake something exotic. The warm weather was telling me to make something fruity. I thought about cherries, I thought about blueberries and finally discarded all of those to come down upon Pineapple.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

So, that's how I decided to make Pineapple Upside Down Cake today. I wanted to give my family something for which they would shower me with applauses.

But, since this was an old-fashioned recipe that I wanted to get right, I thought, let's not google. Let's not refer to any cookbook too. Let's rather call up that one person who knows everything - My Mom!

Off I went to get the ultimate recipe for Old Fashioned Pineapple Upside Down Cake without cake mix. She helped me out with the exact measurements and some expert-level techniques that would ensure that I get it right.

You know what, I did turn out to be perfect. And, what''s more, is that it felt incredibly good to add one more name in the list of people who'd appreciate my work - My Mom. Though she wasn't here, I Facetimed her and showed her my cake. She even asked me to cut out a piece and show me if it has baked to perfection. And, she was happy. She said - "It's one of the best Pineapple Upside Down Cake I have ever seen in my life". Those words felt like the sound of thunder after a sultry hot afternoon.

How to Make Pineapple Upside Down Cake - An Overview

Well, the process is simple, though it looks complicated it's not. Even the execution is easy. The only thing that's hard is convincing yourself that you got this. If you are baking this for the first time,

It took me so much time to attempt this. I surely don't want you to wait. Come along with me as I teach you how to make this awesome old-fashioned Upside Down Pineapple Cake.

A Short Little Story about this Cake: So, earlier people used a cast-iron skillet to make an upside-down cake. They would keep the caramelized sugar with fruits on the bottom and pour the cake batter on the top. When they would turn, they would see the brilliant caramelized upside-down fruit cake.

Baking this cake is like opening up a beautiful, gorgeous, and outstanding cake with a caramelized fruity top and a dense, cakey bottom.

• Make the Topping: First, we melt the sugar and butter in a pan at low heat. Once the sugar has caramelized we pour it in the cake pan generously greased with cooking spray or oil or butter. As soon as you pour the caramelized sugar, we take the pineapple slices and decorate it the way we want. Let your imagination flow wild.

• Make the Cake: Once that is done, move on to make the cake. For the cake, first, cream butter and sugar at low speed for about 5-6 minutes until its light and fluffy. Add in egg, one at a time, whisk it in. Pour some Vanilla Extract and whisk it in. When you are done with your wet ingredients, move on to make the dry ingredients. For this, you'll need to sieve your ingredients. So, sieve flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Mix it lightly with the wet ingredients. Do not overbeat it as it will make your cake stiff.
• Bake: Now just pour the batter over your caramelized fruity base and bake it. It will be done.
• Cool: Once your cake is done, cool it down completely. Don't be in any kind of rush. Relax. Let it take its time. After about 1 hour of complete chilling at room temperature, you can flip it over and enjoy it. To cut the pieces perfectly, give it some time to set in the fridge.

Some of my tips to make the best Pineapple Upside Down Cake Ever

• Please don't skip eggs. I have tried making Eggless Pineapple Upside-down cake and it was awful. It had a very non-cakey king of texture.
• Please please please don't use chopped pineapple. Many people have asked me about including chopped pineapple in the cake batter. But, just don't. It will make it unnecessarily heavy and you might not get a proper cake at the end of the day.
• I have heard that many people use rum for this pineapple cake. It somehow reminds them of that typical tropical weather. However, I have never used any alcoholic in my cakes and I can't comment on that.
• Always use a combination of Baking Powder + Baking Soda. The Two combine to create a better lift for your cake.
• Try using Cake Flour instead of All-Purpose Flour. It is way lighter and cakier that All-Purpose flour and goes well with this recipe.

Why is it called an Upside Down Cake?

An Upside Down Cake is a kind of cake where the caramelized fruity top forms the base of the cake. We pour the cake batter on the caramelized fruits and when it is baked we turn it upside down. It comes out decorated as it is. This is the reason it is called Upside Down Cake.

Should I Use Canned Pineapple for Fresh Pineapple?

You can use either of the two. I generally prefer canned pineapple because it's a lot easier that way and you get it all round the year. But, yes, nothing beats the freshness of fresh pineapple.

How Do I Store this cake?

When your cake has cooled down completely, you can keep it covered in a dish and put in the fridge for up to 3 days. Since it contains fruit, so it has to be kept in the fridge. Don't keep it out on the counter by any chance.

In case you want to freeze this cake, then wrap it in a saran wrap and keep it in the freezer bag. It will stay fine for up to 30 days or 1 month.

Can I make an Eggless Pineapple Upside Down Cake?

Well, I know many people are making eggless versions of this cake. But, I have tried it and it is not that good. The taste is quite weird. The texture is just not cakey enough. However, you can skip the yolks to add just egg whites if you want.

What Kind of Pan is best to make this cake?

I would suggest you use a springform pan. It makes things really easy. Once your cake has cooled down, just open up the lock and flip it over.

Why is it recommended to use Cake Flour instead of All-Purpose Flour?

Cake Flour has less protein content and therefore has less gluten which in turn translates into soft cakes, light texture, and moist on the inside. On the other hand, AP Four has got medium protein which means medium gluten and therefore it is suitable for almost everything. But, in this case, I recommend you to use cake flour because we have a fruit cake over here. The weight of the pineapple slices will bring down the cake. We don't want that. Hence, cake flour will help your cake develop a light, moist, and soft cake which is equally fluffy and cakey.

In case you don't have cake flour at home, you can easily make it at your home. Follow this recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction and learn how to make cake flour substitute at home with just two ingredients.

How To Make Sure The Cake Doesn't Stick to the Pan?

Yeah! This was one of my main concerns. So, the trick is to generously grease the pan with butter, oil or cooking spray. Grease it completely. And, trust me, it will flip out completely.

How Much Should I wait before you Flip the Cake?

Wait for at least 20-minutes (at room temperature) before you flip it on the cake stand or serving pan. You might see that some of the caramelized toppings are flowing from the sides. This is completely normal. No need to freak out. In case you find the wait time too long and feel like popping it in the fridge to speed up the cooling process, STOP yourself there. You cannot put it in the refrigerator to speed up the cooling process. This will make the cake extra dense.

Should I Use Pineapple Rings or Pineapple Tidbits?

Pineapple rings make it look good. But, you can use pineapple tidbits or pineapple chunks or anything you want. Actually the rings make a good decoration. But, if you have some decoration in mind with pineapple chunks or pineapple tidbits, go ahead. Do that.

Should You have it Warm or Cold?

Well, it totally depends on you. You can serve it warm with some vanilla ice cream or Vanilla Rum Ice Cream or you can serve it cold. Both ways it tastes really good.