There is nothing better than homemade brown sugar pineapple upside down cake. This fluffy one layer cake is perfectly sweet and moist. It’s a classic that cannot be beat. Ideal for Spring holidays, summer backyard parties or to satisfy that sweet tooth anytime of the year.
If you read nothing else – give this a once over.
Read this for a successful brown sugar pineapple upside down cake.
When I went to culinary school we made a few cakes and there was one technique that really stood out and I used it for this recipe to achieve the “coffee cake” texture. I promise you it’s easy. I use this same cake batter for my apple cake and berry upside cake.
In the recipe below you will have two bowls and liquid measuring cup, in the first bowl will be your dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, lemon zest, salt), the second bowl will cream together the butter and sugar, and then add in your egg and almond extract (the wet ingredients). Lastly, the third one will be a measuring cup of 1/2 cup of milk at room temperature.
The goal is to fold the flour and milk into the wet ingredients. Folding is a technique that allows the ingredients to combine without over mixing, using a spatula, scoop up from the bottom rather than stirring around vigorously.
For this recipe you will need to divide your flour mixture into thirds, just eye ball it, it doesn’t have to be perfect and your milk into half. Alternate folding in your flour and milk, ending with flour.
Step-By-Step Instructions
- Into the wet ingredients bowl, fold 1/3 of your flour, scrapping up from the bottom of the bowl with your spatula or spoon until incorporated into the wet ingredients. To avoid over mixing, it does not need to be completely homogenous before adding the milk (step 2).
- Pour in 1/2 of the milk (1/4 cup) and fold the ingredients to be combined.
- Repeat the steps: After the first 1/4 cup of milk is folded in, fold in another 1/3 of your flour.
- Fold in the remaining milk.
- The last fold will be of the remaining flour, fold until all ingredients are completely combined. It should be thick.
Take it step by step, it can seem intimidating but it’s quick and you’ll get the hang of it.
Brown Sugar Pineapple Topping
We all have seen the old fashioned pineapple upside down cake with the maraschino cherries. For this recipe I opted out of using those and kept the topping simple. After the flip upside down, this pineapple upside down cake is doused in a caramelized buttery brown sugar topping with sweet pineapple rings it is perfection.
Brown Sugar Pineapple Upside Down Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 1½ cups All Purpose Flour
- 2 tsp Baking Powder
- 1 Lemon worth of Zest
- ¼ tsp Salt
- ½ cup Butter - at room temperature 1 stick
- ¼ cup Brown Sugar
- ½ cup Sugar
- 1 Egg
- 1 tsp Almond Extract
- ½ cup Milk - at room temperature any kind
Buttery Brown Sugar Pineapple Topping
- ¼ cup Butter - Melted
- ½ cup Brown Sugar
- 20 oz Can of Pineapple Rings about 7 rings
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F.
- In a bowl measure the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, lemon zest and salt) whisk to combine and set aside.1½ cups All Purpose Flour, 2 tsp Baking Powder, 1 Lemon worth of Zest, ¼ tsp Salt
- Using a mixer, cream together your butter and sugars, mix until pale yellow and homogenous.½ cup Butter - at room temperature, ¼ cup Brown Sugar, ½ cup Sugar
- After the butter and sugar are mixed together. Add in your egg and almond extract. Mix until completely combined.1 Egg, 1 tsp Almond Extract
- Divide your flour mixture into thirds and the milk into half. You will want to alternate folding in your flour and milk into the butter and sugar mixture, ending with flour, it will be thick. See blog notes for more explanation if needed.Set aside as you prepare the topping for the pan.½ cup Milk - at room temperature
- In your cake pan, add the melted butter. Carefully tilting your pan cover the bottom and sides of the pan with the butter. Generously sprinkle half of the brown sugar to cover the bottom of the pan. Lay down the pineapple rings so that they touch side-by-side to cover the bottom of the cake pan.¼ cup Butter - Melted, ½ cup Brown Sugar, 20 oz Can of Pineapple Rings
- Sprinkle the remaining brown sugar over the pineapples.
- Dump the cake batter on top of the prepared topping. It will be thick, slowly and carefully press with a spatula to spread out the cake batter so that it evenly fills the cake pan.
- Bake at 350F for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Let it cool on a rack for 10-15 minutes.
- To flip upside down, place a serving plate. Carefully and slowly pull the cake pan straight up. The cake pan may still be warm but you want to get it out before it cools down completely.
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