Pineapple Upside Down Pound Cake
Published Jun 02, 2023
Updated Oct 27, 2023
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How about a sweet, rich, moist, cake topped with fragrant pineapple slices? This showstopping Pineapple Upside Down Pound Cake is the cake to make whether celebrating the holidays or if you just want a good breakfast.
Pound cakes are some of my favorite cakes to make! They are easy, they are so customizable and they just work, whether for breakfast, brunch, or for parties.
This Pineapple Upside Down Pound Cake is taller than a traditional Pineapple Upside Down Cake which is a one-layer cake.
If you love tasty pound cakes, be sure to check out this Southern Lemon Pound Cake Recipe, Old Fashioned Fresh Apple Cake Recipe, and this Vanilla Pound Cake.
And if you love pineapples or if you bought a lot because they were on sale (ha!) make this Pineapple Lemonade and Pineapple Jam.
Table of Contents
Upside Down Pineapple Pound Cake
Working on this Pineapple Upside Down Pound Cake recipe was such a joy to me! The flavorful pineapples on the cake add fruitiness.
As the pineapple slices bake, they become jelly-like, soft, sweet, melt-in-your-mouth fruit which is just so good!
And then there are the maraschino cherries on top which just adds to the presentation of this show-stopping cake.
It was a joy serving this cake to my large household and just seeing everyone consume it with joy and give me rave reviews.
From kids to adults, this Pineapple Upside Down Pound Cake pleases everyone. You should definitely make it. This is definitely no ordinary pound cake. It is the pound cake to make to impress!
Ingredients For Bottom Of The Pan
You need ingredients to line the bottom of the pan and ingredients for the pound cake batter. The ingredients placed at the bottom of the pan give pineapple upside-down cakes their signature look with pineapples and cherries.
Here are the ingredients needed for the bottom of the pan:
- Pineapple rings: You could use pineapple rings from a can or you could get pineapple rings from a fresh pineapple by coring the pineapple with a pineapple corer.
- Light brown sugar: Dark brown sugar could work as well.
- Maraschino cherries: Use maraschino cherries with stems removed.
- Melted butter: Unsalted butter is preferred but salted butter would work in a pinch.
Ingredients For The Pound Cake Batter
For the batter, you need standard cake ingredients plus cream cheese for tang and more richness and nutmeg, a warm spice that goes well with pineapples. Here is everything you need for the pound cake batter:
- All-purpose flour works well in this recipe.
- Cream cheese adds a slight tang and richness that improves the flavor profile of this cake. It is incredibly tasty!
- Eggs should be at room temperature.
- Buttermilk acts as a leavening ingredient adding rice to the cake. If you can’t find buttermilk, substitute by measuring 1 tablespoon of vinegar and adding enough whole milk to make one cup.
See the recipe notes at the bottom for more ideas.
How To Make A Pineapple Upside-Down Pound Cake
- First, grease and flour the pan. Grease a 10-inch angel food cake pan or a 12-cup bundt pan with butter. Add a tablespoon of flour to the pan and tap the pan to coat it with the flour. Discard the excess flour.
- Cover the bottom of the pan with pineapple rings. Add a maraschino cherry in the middle of each pineapple ring. Sprinkle with brown sugar and drizzle on melted butter.
- Make the cake batter. Beat together butter, cream cheese, and sugar, add buttermilk or buttermilk substitute, add dry ingredients, and add eggs one at a time.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake the pound cake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit or 180 degrees Celsius until a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake at 3 different spots comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool in the baking pan for 10 minutes.
- Turn the cake onto a cooking rack and let it cool completely. Then slice and serve.
Don’t over cream the butter and sugar when making a pound cake. Start with lightly softened butter then slowly cream the butter and sugar together on no higher than medium speed on your mixer.
Also, check out this Pumpkin Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting.
Serving Suggestions
This Pineapple Upside Down Pound Cake is great on its own. But it can also be served with:
- Vanilla Ice Cream
- Whipped Cream
- Fresh Fruit
More Cake Recipes
Recipe Frequently Asked Questions
Your pineapple upside cake could be runny because you added too much milk or buttermilk or because you didn’t bake it long enough.
Make sure you grease every inch of the pan with butter. Then equally coat the pan with flour to ensure the cake releases easily from the pan.
Gummy cake results from over-creaming butter and sugar. Cream the butter and sugar at not more than medium speed and once every ingredient is combined, stop mixing the cake batter.
If you make this recipe please leave a star rating below. Your rating helps others find the recipe plus I love hearing from you! Thank you!
Pineapple Upside Down Pound Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened, plus 1 Tablespoon more for greasing pan
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup buttermilk or milk + vinegar, Note 1
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 6 large eggs room temperature
Bottom of Pan
- 5 pineapple rings from fresh pineapple, cut using a pineapple cutter, or from a can of pineapple rings.
- 5 maraschino cherries no stems
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉ (180 ℃).
- Rub a 10-inch bundt pan with butter then add a tablespoon of flour to the pan and move the pan around to ensure it is coated by the flour. Discard the excess flour.
- Cover the bottom of the pan with the pineapple rings. Place a maraschino cherry in the middle of each pineapple ring. Sprinkle the brown sugar over the pineapple rings then drizzle on the melted butter.
- Add butter and cream cheese into the bowl of a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl. Beat to combine. Add the sugar and cream together until light in color and fluffy.
- Add the buttermilk and vanilla extract then mix to combine.
- Add the flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg. Mix until just combined.
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating each time until just combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan ensuring it is distributed evenly. Level the top using a rubber spatula.
- Bake in preheated oven for about 1 hour and 10 minutes until golden brown on top and a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. If the cake is getting too dark towards the last 10 minutes, cut a piece of aluminum foil large enough to cover the cake and tent it with foil.
- Let the cake cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. Run a knife gently around the edges of the pan then turn the cake onto a wire rack to cool.
I just love everything you do when it comes to baking and cooking. Your recipes are so perfect.
Thank you so much, Rosemary!
An absolute delicacy. I really love it and I love how the recipe is broken down. Makes it so easy to recreate. I had an absolute blast with this one. Thanks Precious;
Hi Amah, this totally made my day. Thank you for the great feedback!