Mini Pineapple Upside Down Cakes

These mini pineapple upside down cakes are so pretty and so easy to make! They’re such an impressive looking (and DELICIOUS) dessert! I’ve never made an upside down cake before now, but these ended up being really simple.

The only catch is that you need to have jumbo muffin tins to make them. Regular muffin tins are too small, so the pineapple slices won’t fit in the bottoms. If you don’t have a jumbo muffin tin – because honestly, how many of us already have a jumbo muffin tin!? – Check Amazon, because it’s totally affordable. I’ll include a link to a great option from Amazon in the list below.

I really wanted to make these mini pineapple upside down cakes – like NOW – I was so excited to try them! So I went to my bulk store to see if they carried over sized muffin tins (because it’s the only store nearby that I could think of that sells odd baking pans??). They had them but they were… wait for it… $30 for ONE 6 cup muffin pan!?!?

I’m having some definite buyers remorse. Of course all cake pan sales are final and the moment I got back into my minivan with my brand new jumbo muffin pan it dawned on me that I should have bought it from Amazon. I sat there and checked my phone app, and sure enough I could have bought not one but TWO of these jumbo muffin tins for $13 with next day delivery. Ugh!!!

So our family is going to have to eat a lot of mini pineapple upside down cakes to make up for that mistake!!! LOL Good thing the kids really liked this recipe!

Mini Pineapple Upside Down Cakes

The full printable recipe is at the end of this post, but here’s a list of affiliate links showing what you’ll need:

• Jumbo Muffin Tins (<— These are a WAY better deal than what I bought!)


• 1 package yellow cake mix


• 2 cans pineapple slices


• maraschino cherries


• butter


• brown sugar

I followed the recipe from the Dole website and it worked really well. You can use any yellow cake mix. If you want to make the cake from scratch, you can try the recipe over at Baker By Nature.

I was only making this as a fun dessert for my kids and I, so boxed cake mix was just perfect for us. Nice and easy for a weeknight treat, but tasty enough that you could totally serve it to guests. No one needs to know how easy it is to make!

How to Make The Mini Cakes

Again, the full recipe is at the end of this post, but here’s the run down:

1. Add the butter and brown sugar mix to the bottom of each muffin cup.


2. Place a slice of pineapple into each cup along with half a maraschino cherry in the middle of each pineapple.


3. Pour cake batter to each muffin cup (about 1/2 to 2/3 full).


4. Bake at 350F until a toothpick comes out clean.

You Can Also Make a Full Sized Cake!

Since I only invested in one highly over priced jumbo muffin tin (again, see the Amazon link in the list above for jumbo muffin tins that are affordable!), I had a lot of pineapple and cake batter left over.

So I followed all the same instructions using a 9″ round cake pan and made one full sized pineapple upside down cake in addition to the 6 mini cakes.

The full size cake is beautiful too! I kind of liked the combination of the mini cakes along with the full sized cake.

When it Comes Out of the Oven…

After the mini pineapple upside down cakes come out of the oven, you’ll want to let them cool in the pan for about 5 minutes. Then put a cookie sheet on top and flip it over so the mini upside down cakes come out onto the cookie sheet. (Same thing for the full sized cake)

So pretty, right!? I was pretty much breathing a sigh of relief that everything came out of the muffin pan so perfectly!

There is something so beautiful about these cakes! And I LOVE the tropical taste of the pineapple, cherry and the super moist cake.

The butter and brown sugar mix make a bit of a warm, gooey glaze that makes the bottom (tops?) of these cakes sooooooo yummy!

How Many Servings Does This Recipe Make?

With this recipe you can make either 18 mini cakes, or you can make 6 mini cakes and one 9 inch full sized cake. It really depends how many muffin pans you have (or are willing to invest in).

Again, you can’t use regular muffin tins here, they have to be the jumbo sized muffin pans or you won’t be able to fit the pineapple inside.

Print Recipe

Mini Pineapple Upside Down Cakes

This is such an easy dessert recipe that is simple enough to make at the last minute on a weeknight but beautiful (and DELICIOUS!) enough to serve to guests!

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time25 mins

Total Time40 mins

Servings: 18

Ingredients

• 2 cans pineapple slices 20 ounce cans
• 1/3 cup butter melted
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• maraschino cherries cut in half
• 1 box yellow cake mix

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350F. Spray the muffin tins with non-stick cooking spray. Open the cans of pineapple and save the juice.
• Mix together the melted butter and brown sugar until combined. Add a spoonful of the mixture to the bottom of each muffin cup, distributing it evenly.
• Prepare the cake mix according to the package directions except instead of water, use the juice from the canned pineapple.
• Add a well drained pineapple slice to the bottom of each muffin cup. Place half a maraschino cherry in the middle of each pineapple slice with the cut side facing up.
• Add about 1/4 cup to 1/3 cup of cake batter into each muffin cup.
• Bake at 350F for 20 to 25 minutes or until the tops have turned golden and a toothpick comes out clean.
• Pull them out of the oven and let them cool for 5 minutes. Loosen the edges if needed, then place a cookie sheet on top of the muffin pan and carefully flip them over so the mini cakes come out onto the cookie sheet.
• Enjoy!

Notes

You NEED to use a jumbo muffin pan for this recipe - a regular muffin pan is not big enough.

This recipe makes enough for 18 mini cakes. Alternatively, if you don't have enough jumbo muffin pans to make 18, you can also make 6 mini upside down cakes and one 9 inch round upside down cake.

These mini pineapple upside down cakes are so pretty and they’re REALLY SIMPLE to make! This is such an easy dessert recipe that is simple enough to make at the last minute on a weeknight but beautiful (and DELICIOUS!) enough to serve to guests! That warm, gooey glaze that comes out with the pineapple is soooooo good!!

If you’re looking for more tropical dessert ideas check out our recipe for Pineapple Sunshine cake here:

For another super easy and delicious cake idea, try our no-bake chocolate eclair cake. This one is always goes over really well!

Be sure to check out our new book Low-Mess Crafts for Kids for 72 fun and simple craft ideas for kids! The projects are fun, easy and most importantly low-mess, so the clean up is simple!

Source : onelittleproject.com
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