Pineapple Upside-Down Bundt Cake is a tradition that I grew up with and absolutely adore to this day. It’s the perfect balance of sweet and fruity as well as rich and decadent. It truly is my family’s favorite dessert!
My Grandpa used to make this for us, it was his signature dessert. We used to go on big campout trips with friends and family and he would make this at least once while we were there. He had a massive cast iron dutch oven, it must have weighed 200lbs, and he would dig a hole on the ground and bury this Pineapple Upside-Down Bundt Cake with hot coals and let it cook for a couple hours. It was epic!
I have scaled the recipe down and prefer to cook it in a bundt pan because it gives it the same crispy edges and caramelization that the dutch oven did. I also opted to use Italian Amerena cherries instead of Maraschino cherries because I just prefer the flavor. If you cannot find Amerena or Luxardo, you can totally use Maraschino.
Yellow Cake Mix is a timesaving hack in this recipe, I have made this cake without the mix and it just wasn’t the same. I do upgrade the batter with melted butter, pineapple juice and melted butter. You can never have too much butter!
Give this Pineapple Upside-Down Bundt Cake a try and leave a comment on how you liked it 🙂
Pineapple Upside-Down Bundt Cake
Equipment
- Bundt Cake Pan
Ingredients
- ¾ cup Melted Butter
- ½ cup Dark Brown Sugar
- 8 slices Canned Pineapple Ring Slices cut in half
- 16 Cherries Amerena, Luxardo or Maraschino
Cake Batter
- 1 box Yellow Cake Mix
- ½ cup Pineapple Juice from the same can
- ½ cup Milk
- ¾ cup Melted Butter
- 3 Eggs
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F degrees.
- Combine the melted butter and dark brown sugar, mix well but they will not completely combine. Pour the mixture into the bundt pan.
- Lift the bundt pan and carefully swirl the butter up the sides of the pan making a butter layer up the pan.
- Place the pineapple slices the bundt pan forming an equal design. Place one cherry in between each pineapple slice.
Make the Cake Batter
- Add all the cake batter ingredients in a large bowl. Use a whisk to combine the batter. Whisk just until the lumps are gone, do not over whisk or the cake will become starchy.
- Pour the batter slowly over the pineapple slices and immediately place in the oven. Try not to shift the pan or the pineapple slices might fall in the batter.
- Bake for 40- 50 minutes, until golden on top and a knife comes out clean.
- Let the cake sit for 15-20 minutes. Place a large plate on top of the bundt pan and carefully flip the cake over, it should drop out of the pan and display your beautiful pineapple and cherry design. Let cool at room temperature and enjoy!
