Throwing it back to the 1970’s with this vegan version of mom’s fav dessert!
Pineapple Upside Down Cake is the stuff childhood memories are made of!
For us “oldies” there is a good amount of nostalgia attached to this cake
All you need is a can of pineapple rings and a simple one bowl mix of vanilla cake!
Notes for Success:
Re: Maraschino Cherries: I believe they are a blaspheme to nature and they would not be considered vegan due to the ingredients list
Preferrable to use a more natural maraschino cherry from Chukar Cherries *not sponsored
The recipe below makes 12 individual jumbo muffin sized cakes or 1-9″ family style cake
Be sure to use the Professional Bakery Pan Grease Recipe for the pans to ensure they don’t stick!
No matter what pan you are baking with you will not let the cakes cool all the way like we normally do.
The sugar mixture, if allowed to cool to cold, will be very difficult to unmold so be sure to tip these cake into a cooling rack while the pans are still almost hot to the touch
Can be made completely gluten free by using a 1:1 GF Blend
Although I am not an avid gluten free baker I have learned that by allowing the batter to sit for about 30 minutes before baking will help the final texture
As well as baking for an additional 5-10 minutes longer than the recipe specifies to prevent a gummy raw cake
*this time is dependent upon the size of the pans you are using
As you can see I have baked mine into individual portions simply by using a jumbo muffin pan
The mini bundt pan variation turns this little cake into a whole new desert experience
With pineapple buttercream filling for the center!
Take 1½ cups of American Style Buttercream and add ½ cup of crushed well drained pineapple
See how easy you can convert this cake recipe to low sugar!
CLICK HERE TO WATCH HOW TO MAKE PINEAPPLE UPSIDE DOWN CAKE
Pineapple Upside Down Cake
Ingredients
For the Sugar Schmear:
- ⅔ cup Vegan Butter 150g
- 1⅓ cup Light Brown Sugar 275g
For the Cake Batter:
- 1½ cups Plant Milk 355ml
- 1½ Tbs White Vinegar
- ½ cup Vegan Butter 113g
- ½ cup Vegetable oil 117ml
- 1¾ cup Granulated Sugar 350g
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 3 teaspoons Vanilla Extract 15ml
- 3 cups All Purpose Flour 375g
- 2 teaspoons Baking Soda
- 1 Can Pineapple Rings
- 1 Jar Maraschino Cherries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F & grease your muffin pans or cake pan generously with professional bakery pan grease DO NOT USE PARCHMENT PAPER LINERS
- First prepare the sugar schmear by melting the vegan butter in a medium sauce pot then add the brown sugar whisking constantly while heating until the sugar is dissolved
- Remove from the heat then pour about 2 Tbs into each of the greased cavities of the muffin tins or pour the entire sugar mixture into greased cake pan for the larger family style cake
- Arrange the pineapple slices into the cake pan on top of the sugar mixture *if using a muffin pan place one pineapple ring into each muffin cavity
- Place a maraschino cherry into the center of each pineapple ring
- Next prepare the cake batter by combining the vegetable oil with the melted vegan butter together & vanilla extract in a small bowl & set it aside
- Combine the plant milk with the vinegar and let stand for 5 minutes to thicken.
- Sift all the dry ingredients including the sugar together in a large mixing bowl
- Pour all the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients & whisk smooth
- Pour the cake batter over the arranged pineapples & cherries in the cake pan or scoop the batter into each muffin hole filling each cavity almost to the top with batter
- Bake immediately in a preheated 350°F oven for about 20-25 minutes or when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs
- If baking in the larger 9" pan it may take a few minutes longer, but the toothpick test if the best indicator to know when it is done
- Let the cake cool slightly in the pans but not enough to let the sugar cool or it will stick in the pans or they will be impossible to unmold. I usually let them cool for just 5 minutes
- While the pans are still hot unmold onto a wire cooling rack with parchment paper under it to catch the excess sugar drips
- I like to serve these cakes still warm, but read more below for storage information
Video
Notes
Thank you for sharing your recipes! So I used a circle 9 inch pan that was 1 inch deep and there was wayyy to much batter. I will be using a bigger pan next time 🙂
Can you use fresh pineapple?
Yes! Sure!
Really yum!!! Made them to sell at a restaurant I work in and everyone loved them! The only issue whilst cooking is that the Schmear overflowed and the oven got quite messy…any tips to avoid that? I already tried using less schmear
Hey there, so in the video I mentioned that I do the sugar syrup (cooking it first) because that was the way I did it in my bakery, we would just make a bulk batch of sugar shmear and leave it in the fridge for the daily bakings of pineapple upside down & things like sticky buns too!
I probably should note it here though (since not everyone watches the videos) that it is ok to just add about 1 Tbs brown sugar to the bottom of a WELL BUTTERED pan (I would still grease it first though because these things love to stick in the pan!)
This may prevent the overflowing of the syrup, because well… there is no syrup to start with LOL
But alternatively you could place a sheet pan under the pan you are using, just in case there is any messy overflow
Thanks a lot for the tip! I’ll try just adding the sugar next time as mentioned ????
Hi. Can you use gluten free flour? I have a gluten free vegan customer. I have a cup to cup gluten free flour.
yes it works great 1:1
Hello, what is the separate cake flour ingredient? I am unable to locate the recipe for it in your blog. Is it a store bought yellow cake mix?
Hello, I often use a blend of cake flour & all purpose flour (aka Plain Flour) in my recipes but I know many countries so not carry Cake Flour
In which case you can use all Plain flour *all purpose flour
CLICK HERE for more info about CAKE FLOUR
so is it box cake flour from grocery store? which one did you use for this recipe?
Thank you
Yes store bought it’s called Swans Down