Last updated on August 23rd, 2024
Pineapple Upside Down Cake is a throwback dessert with has a rich, brown sugar glaze over pineapple rings filled with maraschino cherries on top of a tender sponge cake. This vintage inspiration for Retro Pineapple Upside Down Cake comes from my 1976 Better Homes & Garden New Cook Book. This is a classic retro cake inverted upside down.
Vintage inspired recipe baked it modern:
- added oil in addition to the butter to keep it moist
- added more salt which our modern palettes are accustomed to
- doubled the recipe
- added rum to boost flavor
- used a 9×13 pan instead of a 8×8 square
- swapped out the syrup and water mixture and used buttermilk
How to make Pineapple Upside Down Cake:
Ingredients:
Use both butter and oil for a tender cake:
Using butter in a cake provides flavor, while adding oil makes it super moist. So even if your cake recipe calls for just butter or just oil, you can combine them together to maintain the flavor from butter and use some oil to keep the texture of baked goods moist. Be sure to use an oil that is has a neutral and light flavor like canola oil or extra light virgin olive oil.
Canned vs. fresh pineapple in baked goods:
The recipe calls for canned pineapple in syrup as that was popular during that time. It also referred to steps such as using part of the syrup in the pineapple mixture and saving a portion of it mixing it with water and using in the batter. However, I used canned pineapple in 100% juice, so it didn’t make the cake too sweet. Drain the juice and measure it out before adding to the batter. Although you may want to use real pineapple, I found out after testing the recipe, not to do so. Reason being, is that fresh pineapple contains enzymes that change texture when baked. During this process, the pineapple releases too much liquid and making the cake soggy.
Buttermilk or sour cream yields a tender cake:
For a light, moist tender crumb in cakes, add buttermilk or sour cream. If you don’t have buttermilk, simply make it by placing 1 1/2 tsp. of white vinegar into a liquid measuring cup and add milk to the 1/2 cup line. Dry buttermilk is good to keep on hand in your pantry to mix up as needed.
Baker’s Tips:
Bakeware:
An aluminum, 9×13 is the best cake pan to use for this cake because it helps conduct even heat. My favorite brand of cake pans are Fat Daddio’s or Nordic Ware or a glass 9×13 pan. I wanted to keep this cake traditional, however, you could always try different sizes of pans as well such as round or even a bundt pan lining the pineapple slices up and around the sides.
Pineapple Upside Down. Cake
Ingredients
BOTTOM LAYER
- 1/3 c. butter
- 3/4 c. brown sugar
- 2 T rum
- 8 pineapple slices drained, reserve juice
- 5 jumbo maraschino cherries (whole) sliced in half
CAKE BATTER-DRY INGREDIENTS
- 1 3/4 c. unbleached flour
- 2/3 c. sugar
- 1/3 c. brown sugar
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. salt
CAKE BATTER-WET INGREDIENTS
- 1/2 c. butter
- 1/4 c. oil
- 3 eggs
- 2 tsp. vanilla
- 1/2 c. pineapple juice reserved from can
- 1/3 c. buttermilk or sour cream
- 2 T. rum
Instructions
PREP
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Drain pineapple slices, and pour the juice into a liquid measuring cup (save for batter).
- Slice the jumbo maraschino cherries into halves.
- Mix together dry ingredients and set aside.
BOTTOM LAYER
- Place butter and brown sugar in a 9×13 pan and put in oven for 3 minutes until melted together.
- Add the slices of pineapple onto the melted mixture. Place one sliced cherry in the center of each pineapple slice.
CAKE BATTER
- Beat together the butter, sugar and brown sugar. Add eggs, oil, and vanilla and mix until light and fluffy.
- Add in the dry ingredients and mix.
- Add remaining wet ingredients: buttermilk, pineapple juice, and rum. Pour cake batter over the bottom layer of pineapple slices.
BAKE
- Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Let cake cool about 10 minutes before inverting out onto a platter.
Notes
– You can make batter ahead and store in the fridge up to 1 week until use. VEGAN
– In place of the buttermilk, use unsweetened oat, coconut or almond milk.
– Swap out butter with vegan butter sticks. My favorite is Country Crock Olive Oil Sticks
– To replace the egg, add 1 tsp. soda to the batter with 1 T. vinegar poured on top of the soda.
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Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and tag @vintagebakedmodern on Instagram and hashtag it #vintagebakedmodern
