Easy, stunning, and delicious cake. This pineapple upside-down cake is baked with caramelized pineapple slices at the bottom of the pan and unmolded to reveal a golden, juicy, and perfect surface. With simple ingredients and a couple of foolproof tricks, it’s a classic recipe you’ll make again and again.
Since there’s no need to fill, frost, or decorate, this is a super-easy cake to make. And if you’re worried about the pineapple rings sticking or breaking when you flip the cake, I have a solution to address your concerns. Keep reading.
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My Favorite “Birthday” Cake
This pineapple upside-down cake, along with the traditional Venezuelan torta de queso criolla, was one of my favorite desserts for years. My aunt Nancy —who, together with my aunt Marisela, commanded the dessert department in my grandmother Ligia’s kitchen— was famous for her pineapple upside-down cake and her tres leches.
Since it turned out so delicious, it became a common practice for her to bake it for family gatherings and birthdays. That’s why this cake is one of those flavors I treasure from my childhood in Caracas. It transports me directly to the celebration days at my grandmother’s house, where dessert was always the perfect ending.
And although we Venezuelans swear this is a traditional recipe, the truth is that it wasn’t born in our kitchens. Its popularity is largely due to the American company Dole, which in 1920 organized a contest to find the best pineapple upside-down cake recipe.
They received more than 2,500 submissions, and since then, the pineapple upside-down cake has become a continental favorite. It arrived in Venezuela, surely, with the canned pineapple… and stayed forever.
ente, con las latas de piña… y se quedó para siempre.
Enri
Ingredients
Para hacer esta torta de piña, vas a necesitar los siguientes ingredietes:
- Butter
- Brown sugar
- Canned pineapple rings (reserve the juice)
- Sugar
- Eggs
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Whole milke
- Vanilla extracta
- Ron de Venezuela
- Maraschino cherries (better if they have stems)ino
How to Make Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
Prepare the pan. Grease the baking pan with melted butter and cover with brown sugar. Place the pineapple rings at the bottom and freeze while preparing the batter.
Make the cake batter. Beat the butter with the sugar, then add the eggs. Next, incorporate the flour and baking powder, alternating with milk and pineapple juice. Add rum, vanilla, and diced pineapple.
Bake. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until golden and cooked through the center.
Unmold. Wait a bit for the syrup to thicken, then unmold onto the serving plate.
FAQs
Other Venezuelan cakes you won’t want to miss
- Torta de jojoto (Venezuelan Corn Pudding)
- Torta de plátano con queso blanco (Ripe Plantain and White Cheese Casserole)
- Torta de queso criolla (Venezuelan Cheesecake)
- Torta tres leches (Venezuelan Tres Leches Cake)
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Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
Ingredients
For the topping
- 1 can (567 gr) pineapple rings in syrup, drained pineapple rings in syrup, drained
- 4 tablespoons (60 grams) melted butter
- 1 cup (200 grams) brown sugar
- Maraschino cherries with stems
For the cake
- 1/2 cup (113 grams) butter, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150 grams) white sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups (180 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 cup (180 milliliters) whole milk
- 3/4 cup (180 milliliters) pineapple juice
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon Venezuelan golden rum optional
Instructions
For the topping
- Drain the pineapple rings in a colander, reserving the juice.
- In a small pot or microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter.
- Add the butter to a 9-inch (23 cm) round cake pan, covering the bottom and sides.
- Sprinkle the brown sugar, ensuring it adheres to the pan walls.
- Place one pineapple ring in the center of cake pan, and distribute the remaining rings around. The idea is for the bottom of the pan to be covered with pineapple, so you can cut some rings to fill everything harmoniously and preferably symmetrically.
- Put the prepared pan in the freezer and freeze while preparing the cake batter.
For the cake
- Have all ingredients at room temperature.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
- In a large bowl, mix the flour with the baking powder and set aside as dry ingredients.
- In a separate bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter with white sugar for about 3-4 minutes.
- Add the eggs to the butter and sugar mixture, one at a time. Beat each egg for one minute to create the egg mixture.
- Incorporate the dry ingredients (flour and baking powder), alternating with the wet ingredients (milk and pineapple juice), continuing to beat until a smooth batter forms.
- With a spatula and folding motion, add the diced pineapple.
- Add the vanilla extract and rum, mixing well with the same spatula.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake in the preheated oven at 375°F (190°C) for 15 minutes.
- Lower the temperature to 350°F (175°C) and bake for an additional 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool on a wire rack for 20-30 minutes, then unmold it onto a serving plate.
Nutrition
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