Best Pineapple Upside Down Cake With Dried Cherries Recipes

PINEAPPLE-CHERRY UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Put 1/2 cup butter into a 9x13-inch cake pan and heat in the preheated oven until melted. Remove from oven and brush sides of pan with some of the melted butter.
• Evenly sprinkle brown sugar over the melted butter in the pan. Place pineapple rings on top of the sugar-butter layer. Place maraschino cherries in the middle of the pineapple rings and decorate in between as desired. Reserve 1/2 cup crushed pineapple and fill the gaps with remaining crushed pineapple to completely cover the pan. Drain the reserved crushed pineapple very well.
• Combine cake mix, 1 cup pineapple juice, eggs, and 1/2 cup melted butter in a large bowl; beat using an electric mixer on low speed until moistened. Increase speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes. Mix in rum and the reserved 1/2 cup crushed pineapple. Stir to thoroughly combine. Pour batter into the prepared pan and smooth out with a spatula.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, making sure not to push all the way through the bottom of the cake, 30 to 35 minutes.
• Remove cake from the oven and immediately run a knife around the edge of the pan to thoroughly loosen it from the sides. Let cool in pan for a few minutes. Place serving platter upside-down over the pan while cake is still warm and, holding both together, flip over and leave pan on for a couple minutes. Slowly and carefully lift cake pan from cake.

PINEAPPLE UPSIDE DOWN CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C).
• Pour 1/4 cup melted butter into an ungreased 9×2 inch pie dish or round cake pan. (Make sure the pan is 2 inches deep. I recommend this pie dish, which is 1.8 inches deep but I never have an overflow issue.) Sprinkle brown sugar evenly over butter. Blot any excess liquid off the fruit with a clean towel or paper towel. (The wetter the fruit, the more likely the cake could overflow or the topping could seep over the sides when inverted.) Arrange about 6-7 blotted pineapple slices and all the cherries on top of the brown sugar. I like to halve 3 pineapple rings and arrange them around the sides of the pan, too. See my photo and video above for a visual of the arranged topping. Place pan in the refrigerator for a few minutes as you prepare the cake batter. This helps solidify or "set" the topping's arrangement.
• Whisk the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Set aside.
• Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the butter on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Add the sugar and beat on high speed until creamed together, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. On high speed, beat in the egg whites until combined, then beat in the sour cream and vanilla extract. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl as needed. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Turn the mixer onto low speed and as the mixer runs, slowly pour in the pineapple juice and milk. Beat on low speed just until all of the ingredients are combined. Do not over-mix. You may need to whisk it all by hand to make sure there are no lumps at the bottom of the bowl. The batter will be slightly thick.
• Remove topping from the refrigerator. Pour and spread cake batter evenly over topping.
• Bake for 43-48 minutes, tenting foil on top of the cake halfway through bake time to prevent the top from over-browning before the center has a chance to fully cook. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out mostly clean- a couple moist crumbs are OK. Don't be alarmed if your cake takes longer or if the cake rises up and sticks to the foil. (We serve the cake upside down anyway!)
• Remove cake from the oven and cool on a wire rack for just 20 minutes. Invert the slightly cooled cake onto a cake stand or serving plate. Some of the juices from the topping will seep over the sides- that's ok. You can slice and serve the cake warm, but the slices will be messy. I find it's best to cool the cake completely at room temperature before slicing and serving. Do not refrigerate the cake to speed up the cooling process because it could end up tasting overly dense.
• Cover leftover slices and store for up to 3 days in the refrigerator or 3 months in the freezer. Thaw at room temperature. I don't recommend freezing the cake as a whole because the topping arrangement doesn't thaw very nicely. See make ahead instructions below.

CLASSIC PINEAPPLE UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°. In an ungreased 9-in. square baking pan, combine butter and brown sugar. Drain pineapple, reserving 1/3 cup juice. Arrange 9 pineapple slices in a single layer over sugar (refrigerate any remaining slices for another use). Sprinkle pecans over pineapple; set aside. , In a large bowl, beat egg yolks until thick and lemon-colored. Gradually add sugar, beating well. Blend in vanilla and reserved pineapple juice. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; add to batter, beating well. , In a small bowl with clean beaters, beat egg whites on high speed until stiff peaks form; fold into batter. Spoon into pan., Bake 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes before inverting onto serving plate. Place a cherry in the center of each pineapple slice. If desired, serve with whipped topping.

PINEAPPLE UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE WITH PECANS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees.
• Make the topping: In an oven-safe 10-inch skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add the brown sugar, lemon juice and salt, and whisk until the brown sugar melts, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Let cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture starts to smell like caramel and darkens slightly, about 1 minute longer. (Don't walk away or the mixture may burn.) The mixture will clump and separate, but that's OK.
• Add fruit and nuts, gently tossing to coat with the caramel. Remove from heat and arrange fruit into an even layer on bottom of skillet. Ignore any sugar clumps; they will dissolve during baking.
• Make the cake: In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, sugar, vanilla and lemon zest until thoroughly combined. Whisk in eggs, one at a time. Add sour cream and whisk until well mixed. Sprinkle in baking powder, baking soda and salt into the batter, one at a time, and whisking vigorously after each addition. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in flour until just incorporated. The mixture will be lumpy, but that's OK. Don't overmix. Scrape batter into the skillet over the fruit and spread evenly.
• Bake until surface is deeply browned all over (with darker brown edges) and the fruit is lightly bubbling along the sides of the skillet, about 35 to 45 minutes, rotating halfway through. A toothpick inserted into cake will come out clean.
• Once the cake is out of the oven, immediately run a butter knife or offset spatula along the edge of the skillet. Let sit for 10 to 15 minutes to cool slightly. Carefully invert cake into serving platter. If some fruit or nuts stick to bottom of the skillet, gently remove them using offset spatula or knife and place back onto cake. Let cake cool until the fruit topping sets, at least 30 minutes to 1 hour, before serving. Cake is best served on the day it is baked.

PINEAPPLE UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Place cherries in a small heat-proof bowl. Bring 1 cup water to a boil in a small saucepan. Pour over dried cherries, and soak for 10 minutes. Drain well, and coarsely chop. Using a wide Japanese mandoline, slice whole pineapple as thinly as possible. Set aside. Sift together flour and baking powder. Set aside.
• Heat 1/2 cup of granulated sugar in a 10 1/2-inch cast-iron skillet. Cook until deep amber, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. Add 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon. Spread caramel evenly to coat the bottom of the skillet, and sprinkle with dark-brown sugar.
• Center one piece of pineapple in the skillet. Place pineapple slices in a tightly overlapping circle. Make a second ring, completely covering the bottom and continuing at least halfway up the sides. Place one remaining slice in the center of the skillet on top of the circles. (Be certain that there are no gaps as the bottom will be the top upon inversion).
• In a heavy-duty mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream remaining butter, remaining 3/4 cup of granulated sugar, and vanilla-bean scrapings. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Pour in milk and almond extract. Slowly add sifted flour, scraping sides as needed. Using a rubber spatula, fold in chopped cherries. Pour batter into pineapple-lined skillet. Spread batter evenly with an offset spatula.
• Place skillet on a prepared baking sheet, and transfer baking sheet to oven. Bake until golden brown and cake tester comes out clean, about 45 minutes.
• Meanwhile, pour cream into the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer. Add rum. Whip on high speed until stiff peaks form, 45 to 60 seconds. Remove cake from oven, and pour excess liquid from skillet into a measuring cup. Carefully invert onto large cake plate, and pour reserved liquid over cake. Serve with rum-spiked whipped cream.

PINEAPPLE UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. In 9-inch square pan, melt butter in oven. Sprinkle brown sugar evenly over melted butter. Arrange pineapple slices over brown sugar. Place cherry in center of each pineapple slice.
• In medium bowl, beat remaining ingredients with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly. Beat on high speed 3 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour batter over pineapple and cherries.
• 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. Store cake loosely covered.

CRANBERRY PINEAPPLE UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a small bowl, mix brown sugar and butter; spread onto the bottom of a greased 13x9-in. baking pan. Top with pineapple slices. Place a whole cranberry in the center of each pineapple; sprinkle remaining cranberries around pineapple., For cake, in a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. In another bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and allspice; add to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream, beating well after each addition. Fold in cranberries; spoon over pineapple., Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 50-60 minutes. Cool 10 minutes; invert onto a serving plate. Serve warm; if desired, top with whipped cream.

EASY PINEAPPLE UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). In 13x9-inch pan, melt butter in oven. Sprinkle brown sugar evenly over butter. Arrange pineapple slices on brown sugar. Place cherry in center of each pineapple slice, and arrange remaining cherries around slices; press gently into brown sugar.
• Add enough water to reserved pineapple juice to measure 1 cup. Make cake batter as directed on box, substituting pineapple juice mixture for the water. Pour batter over pineapple and cherries.
• Bake 42 to 48 minutes (44 to 53 minutes for dark or nonstick pan) or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Immediately run knife around side of pan to loosen cake. Place heatproof serving plate upside down onto pan; turn plate and pan over. Leave pan over cake 5 minutes so brown sugar topping can drizzle over cake; remove pan. Cool 30 minutes. Serve warm or cool. Store covered in refrigerator.