This easy pineapple upside down cake recipe has a buttery brown sugar pineapple topping and a moist, tender cake that melts in your mouth.
The simple cake batter is flavored with vanilla and lime, giving it a lovely tropical flavor that works so well with the fresh pineapple and brown sugar.
I love this pineapple cake so much and cannot wait for you to try it! For more tropical desserts like this, see our butter rum pound cake, coconut cream pie, or my favorite key lime pie!
Key Ingredients
- Pineapple: For the best flavor, I love using fresh pineapple. It’s lighter and more tart than canned pineapple. If you don’t have any fresh pineapple, canned slices packed in water or light syrup work too!
- Butter: I use butter in two ways in this recipe. First, I spread it on the cake pan, then sprinkle brown sugar over it before adding the pineapple. This creates a delicious caramel-like topping that’s nice and gooey when you turn the cake upside down for serving. I also use butter in the cake batter to make it rich and flavorful.
- Sugar: I use brown sugar for the topping and granulated sugar for the cake batter.
- Eggs: To get the perfect texture, I separate the eggs. The yolks are beaten into the butter and sugar, while the egg whites are gently mixed in at the end. I’ve tried making this cake with whole eggs like in other cake recipes, but the batter rises too much and overflows the pan. By gently stirring in the egg whites (unbeaten), we limit the air in the batter and prevent it from overflowing in the oven.
- Baking Powder: This helps the cake rise.
- Flour: I use all-purpose flour, but you can substitute a 1:1 gluten-free all-purpose flour blend if needed.
- Sour Cream: This helps to make our upside down cake tender and moist. Plain yogurt works well if you don’t have sour cream.
- Spices: I use a combination of cinnamon, lime zest, vanilla, and salt. The cinnamon isn’t traditional, but it adds a lovely warmth to the cake.
Find the full recipe with measurements below.
How to Make Pineapple Upside Down Cake
Tip 1: Make a brown sugar topping. Grab your cake pan and spread softened butter all over the bottom. Scatter the brown sugar and cinnamon over the top, then place the pineapple slices on top.
As the cake bakes, the pineapple releases some of its juices and sweetness, which runs out into the brown sugar topping. Once the cake bakes and you turn it upside down onto a plate, you’ll have a delicious, gooey brown sugar topping.
Tip 2: Make the cake batter. We like to use our hand-held electric mixer to make the cake batter, but a stand mixer works, too. Beat butter, sugar, and lime zest until light and fluffy, then add vanilla and egg yolks (saving the whites for later). Add the flour, baking powder, and salt.
Tip 3: Add egg whites and sour cream last. Finish the cake batter by mixing in the sour cream and (unbeaten) egg whites. We add them later to keep our cake tender and moist, and to make sure it rises just how we want it to. (I’ve added whole eggs to this cake before, earlier in the steps, and the cake overflowed.)
Tip 4: Cool the cake in the pan before flipping. Spoon the batter into the cake pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Then, let the cake cool for a few minutes in the pan before inverting it onto a serving platter (watch me do this in our video).
Tip 5: Fix any holes. If, when you remove the cake, some pineapple sticks to the bottom of the pan, remove it and press it into place, using a spoon to even out the brown sugar layer. No one will ever know!
Serving Suggestions
This pineapple upside down cake is lovely all by itself, but it’s even more delicious with a spoonful of coconut ice cream or vanilla ice cream, homemade whipped cream, or this dairy-free coconut whipped cream (which is lovely with the tropical pineapple). And if the brown sugar topping isn’t enough for you, you can always add an extra drizzle of homemade caramel sauce (yum!).
More Cake Recipes
Fresh Pineapple Upside Down Cake
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
We love this easy pineapple upside down cake recipe! For the best results, use fresh pineapple. If you can only access canned pineapple, use pineapple in the lightest syrup you can find.
We ask that you separate the eggs for this upside down cake. You will beat the yolks with the butter and sugar, then gently mix the unbeaten egg whites into the batter at the end. This creates a more tender, moist cake while preventing too much air from being incorporated into the batter, which can cause it to overflow when baking in the oven.
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
8 ounces fresh pineapple, a quarter of a pineapple (225g)
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, divided (170g)
½ cup brown sugar (100g)
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup granulated sugar (200g)
2 teaspoons lime zest or lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, separated
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour (195g)
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
½ cup sour cream or plain yogurt (125g)
Directions
1Prep: Position an oven rack in the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Set aside an 8-inch or 9-inch cake pan that is at least 2 inches tall. We do not recommend using a springform pan for this recipe as the brown sugar topping tends to leak out of the bottom.
2Prepare pineapple: Remove the ends and peel the pineapple. Cut into four long wedges, and then cut away the core. Slice two of the wedges into ½-inch thick slices. You will need most of these for the cake. (Watch our video to see how we cut the pineapple.)
3Make brown sugar topping: Spread 4 tablespoons of the butter over the bottom of the cake pan. Scatter the brown sugar and cinnamon evenly over the butter. Arrange the pineapple wedges in one even layer over the butter and sugar.
4Mix wet ingredients: In a large bowl, beat the remaining 8 tablespoons of butter, granulated sugar, and zest with an electric mixer on high speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the egg yolks and vanilla and beat until smooth. Save egg whites for later.
5Mix dry ingredients: In another bowl, whisk or sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together.
6Make batter: On low speed, mix half of the flour mixture into the butter and egg yolk mixture until only a few streaks of flour remain, then mix in the remaining flour. Add the (unbeaten) egg whites and sour cream. Mix on low speed until blended.
7Bake: Spoon the cake batter onto the pineapple in the pan, then spread it into an even layer. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes.
8Cool and serve: Cool the cake in the pan for 5 minutes, then run a knife around the edges and invert it onto a plate to cool. If some pineapple slices stick to the pan, use a spatula to transfer them back on top of the cake, then spread some gooey brown sugar sauce over them to cover them up. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Storing: You can refrigerate the leftover cake for up to 3 days. Freeze it, wrapped well in foil, for up to 1 month. Thaw it overnight in the fridge. You can rewarm slices in the microwave for about 10 seconds.
- Leftover pineapple: Beyond enjoying juicy pineapple in fruit salads or alone, you can also broil slices or sear slices in a pan with some butter. Serve warm with a little whipped cream or ice cream. I also love making this pineapple avocado salsa!
- Recipe adapted and inspired from Alice Medrich’s “Sinfully Easy Delicious Desserts”
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.
I’ve made this 3 times and the whole family loves it. I’m wondering whether it works with gluten free flour as I’d love to make it for some guests who don’t eat gluten?
Hi Carly, I have not made this cake with gluten-free flour. I would imagine that a standard GF all-purpose blend will work, though.
Thanks – I gave it a go and added an extra egg to help bind it without the gluten and it turned out perfectly!
This cake was amazing. It’s now my new favorite (used to be a 4-layer coconut). The lemon zest really shines through. I cut my pineapple pieces smaller and tossed in a few Fabbri Amarena Wild Cherries.
Just made this for a family gathering. Best ever pineapple upside down cake. Thank you for sharing.
Im gong to make this due to the ingredients and the reviews, but I wanna thank you for not having so many pop-ups on your site that I can’t get to the recipe – a dream come true!
So my previous comment I said my cake was baking… Just came out the oven and WOW!!! The aroma, the texture, the flavour is a 10/10. Definitely my go to. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Yay! So happy you loved your cake 🙂
This is probaby the most delicious cake I have ever had!!! We are heading to Maui next month so I have been thinking of my favorite foods to eat there. Thanks so much for this recipe and getting me in the mood for tropical treats!
Such a straightfoward and easy recipe, luckily I had everything in my pantry but the lime. Didn’ want to waste pineapple got a lime and went to work. My family loved it. I can see why some of us had made it again I know iI surely will. thought we’d have eft over but nope great summer treat. Thaks for the recipe.
Absolutely awesome recipe. I was so amazed by how good it tasted! Thank you!
This is a fantastic recipe and I’ve currently made it 3 times. I dream about eating it, it’s that delicious! I’m not a great baker but the recipe is straightforward and foolproof. I’m in the uk so I used caster sugar not granulated (does this affect anything?) And also I only had dark brown sugar for the topping, but it worked well with the cinnamon. I love American and Canadian recipes, they have much more flavour- cinnamon, lime, vanilla – and moisture from sour cream or buttermilk. If this was a recipe from the UK it would have none of those! This recipe is dfinitely a keeper.
Just made this & was a bit skeptical…came out great!! I softened my butter for the bottom of the pan, just a bit & used dark brown sugar (it’s what I had) I cut my pineapple a bit too thick and should have cut in small pieces it was delicious but would have been easier to eat if cut in little wedges. Made fresh whipped cream & what a winner. The taste was perfect! Thanks for a great recipe. Also I used a solid 8 inch square pan ( a good quality one) I think that helps with the carmelization. I definitely would not use a springform unless you lined it with parchment you want to save all that gooey syrup!! Yum yum
We are thrilled you loved the recipe 🙂
Absolutely lovely recipe. Was a super hit across three generations. I reduced sugar by 30%. Thank you. this one is a show stopper and a keeper!
Lovely recipe! Writing this as my cake is in the oven (2nd time I’m making this recipe). First run through I followed the recipe exactly, second time through I made a few adaptations as I had some missing ingredients. I’ve found this recipe to be super forgiving and delicious. I only have push base tins so I just lined the base of mine with foil or parchment paper and that seemed to work well. Adaptations: -Ran out of natural yoghurt so subbed with double cream and lime juice. -Low on butter so topped up with melted coconut oil (for the brown sugar topping not the filling)
Absolutely great pineapple upside down cake. It is now in the special dinners dessert lineup!
This pineapple upside down cake is delicious. The crumb is tender, buttery and sweetly flavored. I did not use cinnamon this time, but will try it the next time. And I did not have enough lemon or lime, but used both to make two teaspoons of zest. It was so good!