Pineapple upside-down cake with slice taken out

Pineapple upside-down cake

By Sara Buenfeld
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(303 ratings)
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Prep: 15 mins Cook: 40 mins

Easy

Serves 6

Retro rocks. This classic pineapple upside-down cake makes a fun centrepiece for afternoon tea and brings back many childhood memories.

Nutrition and extra info

  • Freezable

Nutrition: per serving

  • kcal407
  • fat23g
  • saturates14g
  • carbs49g
  • sugars36g
  • fibre1g
  • protein5g
  • salt0.87g
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Ingredients

    For the topping

    • 50g softened butter
    • 50g light soft brown sugar
    • 7 pineapple rings in syrup, drained and syrup reserved
      Pineapple

      Pineapple

      pine-ap-pel

      With its tuft of spiky, dusty green leaves and cross-hatched, golden orange skin, the pineapple…

    • 7 glacé cherries

    For the cake

    • 100g softened butter
    • 100g golden caster sugar
    • 100g self-raising flour
    • 1 tsp baking powder
      Baking powder

      Baking powder

      bay-king pow-dah

      Baking powder is a raising agent that is commonly used in cake-making. It is made from an alkali…

    • 1 tsp vanilla extract
    • 2 eggs
      Eggs

      Egg

      egg

      The ultimate convenience food, eggs are powerhouses of nutrition packed with protein and a…

    Method

    1. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4.

    2. For the topping, beat 50g softened butter and 50g light soft brown sugar together until creamy. Spread over the base and a quarter of the way up the sides of a 20cm round cake tin. Arrange 7 pineapple rings on top (reserving the syrup for later), then place 7 glacé cherries in the centres of the rings.

    3. Place 100g softened butter, 100g golden caster sugar, 100g self-raising flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp vanilla extract and 2 eggs in a bowl along with 2 tbsp of the reserved pineapple syrup. Using an electric whisk, beat to a soft consistency.

    4. Spoon into the tin on top of the pineapple and smooth it out so it’s level. Bake for 35 mins. Leave to stand for 5 mins, then turn out onto a plate. Serve warm with a scoop of ice cream.

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    Comments, questions and tips

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    Lorraine Scott's picture
    Lorraine Scott
    3rd Jul, 2020
    Remember making this at school a very long time ago Still my favourite pudding
    abuokasha
    15th Jun, 2020
    4.05
    I've made this twice now and it has been delicious both times! Thanks loads for posting the recipe!!! Big thumbs up!
    Kent365
    15th Jun, 2020
    5.05
    Have made this twice now, once with pineapple syrup and once with juice and both tasted lovely. So easy to make as well. I wouldn't change a thing!
    socagirl
    7th Jun, 2020
    5.05
    Delicious recipe! Using eggs makes a very nice cake but the first time I baked this recipe I didn't have eggs so substituted them for a banana and think this makes the cake even better! I have baked this cake with banana at least five times now and it's still a family favorite. Also to note - I use whichever type of sugar is in the cupboard and all still make a lovely cake. Also I use fresh pineapple (and then use orange juice in the batter instead) and it still works brilliantly but if you're using a removable bottom tin, put another pan below in the oven to catch leaking pineapple juice!
    Saranya's picture
    Saranya
    2nd Jun, 2020
    5.05
    Great recipe. I made a bigger batch as my family loves cake. I multiplied the quantity by 5 but I made sure to calculate the baking powder, so you never want to multiply baking powder exactly, for expected 5 teaspoons I put 4 and the recipe came out amazing. Delicious cake.
    Alison Fox
    8th May, 2020
    5.05
    Made this a few times now and it always comes out great. Although it says serve warm, it also tastes great at room temperature and was still really nice a couple of days after I made it.
    bethbiscuits's picture
    bethbiscuits
    6th May, 2020
    5.05
    ckdown cake so I didn’t have all the right ingredients, but it still worked. Had to use brown sugar throughout . Only had plain flour and cream of tartar as a raising agent, but it worked nevertheless . Only had fresh pineapple, but used someone else’s suggestion of adding milk instead of pineapple syrup to add some moisture to the batter. Didn’t have any glace cherries. I was initially concerned as the first stage where you cover the bottom of the tin and a quarter way up, there didn’t seem to be enough mixture. But in hindsight it was ample, anymore would have just been sickly.
    Vikksta
    5th May, 2020
    5.05
    This recipe was easy to follow and a family winner! Delicious!
    jyotisohal's picture
    jyotisohal
    4th May, 2020
    I’ve made this twice recently, good recipe to follow, and quite a simple cake to make! I left it in the oven for 45 mins rather than 35 mins and that worked out a treat! Used Demerara sugar for one cake topping, and light brown sugar for the other topping - both cake out well with a crispy edging!
    seren1980
    18th Apr, 2020
    Beautiful cake - eating it took me right back to childhood! I made it to use up some fresh pineapple so it was topped with chunks rather than rings - if you do this, I found 7 rings equates to about 250g. Obviously no syrup to add to the cake batter so added a splash of milk instead to ensure it had enough liquid. My cake was baked after 25 mins but my oven is a bit of a beast. Will definitely make again.

    Pages

    Carito Mendez's picture
    Carito Mendez
    13th May, 2020
    5.05
    Hi there! I don't have self raising flour, does it work if I use all purpose flour adding baking powder? if so how much should I use? Thank you all!
    lulu_grimes's picture
    lulu_grimes
    14th May, 2020
    Hi, Yes you can use baking powder with plain flour for this, you need 1 1/2 tsp baking powder for 100g flour. Lulu
    Carito Mendez's picture
    Carito Mendez
    30th May, 2020
    5.05
    Worked great! thank you :) kiddos loved it
    anglo1
    9th May, 2020
    Hello, I remember my mum making this cake when I was a kid! I wanted to ask, 100g for a cake seems very little, not sure it'll even cover the pan. In fact in one of the tips someone said they did one and a half the cake mix because the cake was very flat. Can I do that? Or even double the cake mixture? Or will it be too cakey and spoil the effect?
    lulu_grimes's picture
    lulu_grimes
    12th May, 2020
    Hello, This isn't a very deep cake, it's dessert sized rather than a 'cake'. You could increase the cake mixture by half if you wanted but you won't get as much 'gooeyness' to cake as in the picture. I hope this helps. Lulu
    skinno
    28th Dec, 2019
    Easy recipe but.... almost impossible to get pineapples in syrup these days and spring form tins are useless..... any tips?
    seren1980
    18th Apr, 2020
    I used a silicon cake pan for this recipe and it worked perfectly. I also used fresh pineapple - around 250g is approx 7 rings.
    lulu_grimes's picture
    lulu_grimes
    30th Dec, 2019
    Hello, Thank you for your comment. In more recent recipes we have used fresh pineapple or pineapple in juice, if you use pineapple juice you can reduce it down to a syrup and then use 2 tbsp. We often use spring form tins as they are easier to release cakes from, you could use another tin if you wanted, this recipe calls for a 20cm round tin. I hope this helps.
    mezz
    13th Feb, 2015
    im new here! need help,did it today very simple n easy.but the cake tasted dry even though i followed all details.can someone tell me why!?o by the way i used fresh pineapple.
    goodfoodteam's picture
    goodfoodteam
    17th Feb, 2015
    Hi mezz, thanks for getting in touch and we're sorry to hear that you did not have success with this recipe. For this recipe we suggest using canned pineapple in syrup because 2 tbsp of the syrup from the can goes into the cake to help keep it moist. If you are tempted to try it again please do so with canned pineapple or cooked fresh pineapple and include the 2 tbsp of syrup or maple syrup. Hope this helps, let us know how you get on. 

    Pages

    ChilliYoghurt
    31st Aug, 2017
    5.05
    This tasted fabulous. For a cake with the diameter shown you needed to make 50% more mixture or it will be flat. I’m going to make it again now with apples.
    Chlo36005
    25th Aug, 2015
    I would only cook this for 20 minutes as when I put mine in for 35 it burnt a little bit
    HV1
    13th Oct, 2019
    Probably your oven. Can't blame the recipe.
    luckypenny123
    3rd Nov, 2014
    I stumbled upon this tip accidentally you see, when I was baking I didnt see the label on the almond extract so I put it in by accident. Turns out it was gorgeous with it in so put almond extract in for extra flavour.Also if you dont have cherries put in sliced almonds instead!!
    Stoo1701
    12th Oct, 2014
    This is the thurs thing I've ever baked, after two Lemon cakes.. It came out a treat. Use glacé morello cherries for a nicer cherry flavour :D
    Jingoistic
    7th Aug, 2014
    I wanted to make a cake to use as dessert. I began and found I had no tinned pineapple. I simmered about 20 Australian dried Apricots until soft in a small amount of water and used these in place of the pineapple. The result was superb. I then reduced the simmering water and added a Tbs. Lemon juice and about 1/4 cup sugar and served this syrup with the cake. The comments were, "Always make it with apricots . The apricot version is great. The reason for specifying Australian apricots is that they are not plumped up artificially and so the flavour is lovely and tart. Everything else. About the recipe was according to that written.
    goodfoodbinder
    9th Jun, 2014
    4.05
    Incredible amount of sugar in cake, half the amount in cake mix and still the cake is sweet enough
    HV1
    13th Oct, 2019
    So, so very wrong. Not the correct consiy IMVHO. Be happy.
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