Upside-Down Cakes--Pineapple or Apple or Peach or Plum or Whatever You Want Cake

Upside-Down Cakes can be made with an endless variety of fruits to suit everyone's taste buds. 

I really didn't have any plans to make so many Upside-Down Cakes but sometimes things just happen without much planning and everything turns out just lovely. So it was with the cakes. 

First I made a Plum and Apple Upside-Down Cake because I had a small carton of plums that had to be used immediately.  I lost some of the plums because they were too-far gone to use so I supplemented the plums with a few apple slices in the middle.  This turned out to be a very delicious cake.  Don and I ate the whole thing. (Not at one sitting!)

Plum and Apple Upside-Down Cake

We enjoyed that Plum and Apple cake so much I decided to make an apple cake and a peach cake (as I had some canned peaches opened in the fridge) next but I knew we really didn't need two large cakes so I split the batter between two smaller dishes. I added a handful of golden raisins to the apple cake (because I like raisins) and a few frozen raspberries to the peach cake because I didn't quite have enough peach slices. We managed to eat both of these cakes without sharing with anyone. It took several days but we persevered until the last crumb of each cake was gone and found it no burden to do so.

Apple and Raisin Upside-Down Cake

Peach and Raspberry Upside-Down Cake

You'd think by this time we'd have had our fill of upside-down cakes but we had a church potluck coming up and I thought an upside-down cake would make a nice dessert to take.  This time I decided to make the classic Pineapple Upside-Down Cake for the potluck. I don't usually make this cake with fresh pineapple but as I had an overripe pineapple languishing on the kitchen table that's what I used. It was also delicious as was to be expected and we had none to take back home.

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake with cherries and pecans.

The last cake I made was a Citrus Upside-Down Cake with orange and lemon slices. I wasn't sure how this one would turn out and I needed some feedback before I could post it. So I also took this to the church potluck.  There were mixed reviews. Most people liked the flavour but some didn't like the peel and found it hard to chew.  I would agree with this. When I make it again I'll try to find thin-skinned fruit and cut them as thin as possible or even peel the fruit before cutting. (This cake was also eaten with no leftovers for home.)

Citrus Upside-Down Cake with orange and lemon slices.

As you can see there are endless varieties of upside-down cakes that can be made. It really depends on your taste and the fruit you may have in your cupboard, freezer or have picked up at a grocery store.  

A good upside-down cake also has a nice cake on the bottom. I like this plain one-bowl cake below as it is easy to make and sturdy (but not heavy or dense) enough to hold any fruit you can throw at it. It makes just enough to cover a 9- or 10-inch cake.  

Printable recipe at end of post.

Upside-Down Cakes

    Fruits to use for an upside-down cake. You may also use more than one fruit:

• Canned or fresh pineapple rings or chunks (398 ml/14 ounce can)
• Maraschino cherries for the pineapple cake
• Fresh, frozen or canned sliced peaches or nectarines, peeled (2-3 cups)
• Fresh apples peeled and sliced (about 4 apples)
• Plums, sliced or halved depending on size
• Fresh or canned pears peeled, slices or halves depending on size (2-3 cups) 
• Rhubarb and/or Strawberries (about 3 cups)
• Berries (about 3 cups)
• Other fruits or nuts you may wish to use

• ¼ cup very soft butter or margarine
• ½ cup brown sugar
• Enough prepared fruit to fill bottom of dish
• About 1 teaspoon cinnamon or other spices, optional
• Cake batter (see recipe below)

How to make it:

Lightly grease a 9 or 10-inch baking dish. I prefer a round dish.  Line dish with parchment paper letting the excess go up the side of the dish.  I found that lining the dish with the paper really helped when turning the cake upside-down. 

Spread the soft butter or margarine evenly over the bottom of the lined dish and sprinkle with the brown sugar. If you are using cinnamon or other spices sprinkle those over the brown sugar.

Prepare the fruit(s) you are using by draining, thawing, cutting, etc. It is hard to know exactly how much fruit is needed until you start arranging the fruit over the sugar. Have enough on hand to finish your cake. 

Arrange fruit on top of the sugar and butter layers. Put the fruit pieces as close together as you can, overlapping if necessary as in apple or peach slices. If there are any large gaps these can be filled in with berries, raisins, cherries or nuts. If you are making a pineapple cake place a Maraschino cherry in the middle of each pineapple ring and in the gaps between the rings. A few pecans are also nice with the pineapple cake. 

When the fruit has been arranged make the cake batter (see recipe below). Preheat the oven to 350 degrees as you start the cake.  Pour the cake batter carefully and evenly over the fruit.  Spread the batter to the edge of the dish.

Bake 40-50 minutes or until the top is golden brown and baked through the middle. I used a 10-inch dish and found 40-45 minutes sufficient.  If using a 9-inch pan you may need up to 50 minutes as the batter will be deeper. 

When the cake is baked remove from oven and let sit 10-15 minutes. To remove from pan run a knife around the side of the cake to make sure nothing is sticking to the side of the parchment paper or dish. Place the serving plate you will be using over the cake dish making sure any parchment paper is not caught under the top of the cake. Using oven mitts or a heavy dish towel grasp the plate and dish together with both hands and flip the whole thing over.  If you use a clear baking dish you can see the cake fall to the plate. Carefully remove the baking dish and peel the parchment paper from the cake.  If you do have any fruit that may have stuck to the paper remove it and place back on the cake. 

Serve the cake warm or at room temperature with whipped cream, whipped topping or ice cream.

Makes 8-10 servings.

Cake Batter for Upside-Down Cakes 

• 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1½  teaspoons baking powder
• ½  teaspoon salt
• ¾  cup milk
• ⅓ cup butter or margarine, room temperature 
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla* 

How to make it: 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Measure all ingredients into large mixer bowl.  Blend ½ minute on low speed, scraping bowl constantly. Beat 3 minutes high speed scraping bowl occasionally. 

Pour over prepared fruit in cake dish and bake as directed above.

*Any flavouring that would complement the fruit can be used. Almond extract could be used with a peach cake and lemon or orange extract would be lovely with a citrus cake. Vanilla goes well with everything.

Lightly grease a 9 or 10-inch baking dish. Line dish with parchment paper letting the excess go up the side of the dish. Spread the soft butter or margarine evenly over the bottom of the lined dish and sprinkle with the brown sugar. If you are using cinnamon or other spices sprinkle those over the brown sugar.

Arrange fruit on top of the sugar and butter layers. If you are making a pineapple cake place a Maraschino cherry in the middle of each pineapple ring and in the gaps between the rings. A few pecans are also nice with the pineapple cake. When the fruit has been arranged make the cake batter and pour carefully and evenly over the fruit.  Spread the batter to the edge of the dish.

After the cake has baked, let rest 10 to 15 minutes before turning the cake out on the serving dish. The cake can be served warm or room temperature with a dollop of cream or scoop of ice cream. 

The variety is endless when it comes to Upside-Down Cakes!

To print click on arrow upper right side.⇩