Recipes & Food Styling

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Fewer things than Pineapple Upside Down Cake bring back warm memories of childhood like! One of the most popular desserts in the early- to mid-century, it was the perfect dessert for our Route 66 Festival planning meeting!

It’s a dessert that is simple to make, super delicious and so fun all at once!

For the meeting, I used my vintage leaf tumblers from the 1950s and bought a variety of 1950s soft drinks. The dessert plates were that aqua color that was so popular in the 1950s. Little race cars and license plates added to the fun of this nostalgic dessert theme!

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

By Martha Stewart

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, plus 3 tablespoons (cut into small pieces) for preparing the top

1 cup sugar, plus 2/3 cup for preparing the top

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup milk

7 thin rounds cored pineapple

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

With an electric mixer, cream 6 tablespoons butter and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat until combined. Add flour mixture in 3 additions alternately with the milk in 2, beginning and ending with the flour. Mix just until combined

In a 10-inch cast-iron (or ovenproof nonstick) skillet over low, add remaining sugar and butter and cook, stirring, until the mixture is a light caramel color. Remove from heat and top with pineapple rounds.

Carefully spoon batter over pineapples in skillet. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes.

Let cake cool in pan 5 minutes. Run a knife around edge of cake, then carefully invert onto a platter. Serve warm or at room temperature.