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!?!? 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:
You Can Also Make a Full Sized Cake!
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 10-12 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.
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!
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