With 5 simple ingredients this recipe for Crock-Pot Pineapple Upside Down Cake is a easy & delicious dessert recipe that the whole family is going to love!
Slow Cooker Pineapple Upside Down Cake
I am really loving my newest crock-pot the Casserole Crock-Pot. I love the rectangular shape and extra surface cooking area that allows me to make more dishes that are normally cooked in the oven…without having to heat up the oven. I find myself wanting to try more and more recipes in this new casserole dish crock-pot. And I hope to be able to share more of them with you too!
For some silly reason I always thought that pineapple upside down cake was a very hard dessert to make. I mean, it just looks so complicated and fancy. Maybe that was just me seeing from a younger version of myself.
The funny thing is…this has got to be one of the easiest “fancy” cakes to make and making it in your slow cooker makes for a moist and tender crumb on your cake.
There really is only a few ingredients in this cake…a box of yellow cake mix (plus eggs and oil to make the cake according to the directions on the box) , brown sugar, butter, canned pineapple rings and maraschino cherries. That is it.
As far as prep work goes…you need to melt some butter. I just popped it into the microwave for a few seconds but you could do it in a small saucepan on the stove too.
After your butter is melted you mix in the brown sugar. Spread the butter and brown sugar mixture in your crock-pot. Arrange the pineapple slices so that they don’t overlap then place a maraschino cherry inside the hole in each pineapple slice.
In a bowl you are going to make the box of yellow cake mix according to the package directions by adding oil and eggs and instead of the water required you are going to use the same exact amount of pineapple juice from the can of pineapple rings. Mix that all together (you don’t need a mixer…a sturdy spoon or spatula will work just fine here). Pour your cake batter over the pineapple in the crock-pot and let it cook.
The recipe calls for cooking the cake for 3 to 1/2 hours. The mine was cooked exactly 3 hours. Yours may take a little bit longer. Stick a toothpick in the center of your cake and if the toothpick comes out clean your cake is done.
Remove the crock dish from the slow cooker and place it on a heat proof surface to cool for about 10 minutes. Then run a butter knife around the edges. Flip your cake out onto a cutting board, platter or even a baking tray so that the pineapple is right side up.
You can serve this cake warm or at room temperature.
My family adored this yummy dessert. My silly kids were allowed to put a little chocolate syrup on their slices…they thought it was like an ice cream sundae in cake form…minus the cake.
And with most of my crock-pot cooking recipes I like to have my good neighbor John take a taste. While he is not the biggest fan of pineapple he said it was very good and the cake part was his favorite…nice a moist!
Special Diets
Gluten Free | Low Calorie | Low Cholesterol | Low Fat | Low Sodium | Vegetarian
Crock-Pot Pineapple Upside Down Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 box Yellow Cake Mix (plus the vegetable oil and eggs as required to make the cake mix. To make this recipe gluten free you can use a box of GF yellow cake mix such as Betty Crocker brand)
- ½ cup Brown Sugar (lightly packed)
- ¼ cup Butter (melted)
- 20 ounces Canned Pineapple Slices In Juice (juice reserved)
- 12 whole Maraschino Cherries (drained, stems removed)
Instructions
- Spray a 3.5 quart casserole crock-pot OR a 5 quart or larger oval or round crock-pot with non-stick cooking spray.
- In a small bowl mix together the melted butter and brown sugar.
- Spread the butter/brown sugar mixture evenly on the bottom of the crock-pot dish.
- Drain the pineapple juice into a cup. Set aside for the cake mix.
- Arrange the pineapple slices on the brown sugar mixture cutting them as needed to fit in one layer without overlapping the slices of pineapple.
- Add a cherry in the middle of each slice.
- In a large mixing bowl mix together the cake mix according to the box substituting the water with the pineapple juice that you reserved from the can of pineapple slices. If you do not have enough pineapple juice, add water until you have enough.
- Pour the cake batter over the pineapples evenly.
- Cover and cook on HIGH for 3 to 3 1/2 hours or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
- Allow the cake to cool.
Nutrition
How much brown sugar? I cold not find thatin the ingredients
Sorry about that Gina…I swear this heat is frying our brains…the recipe has been edited to include the brown sugar…1/2 cup lightly packed. Can be either dark or light brown sugar.
This is very timely. I got a request for a pineapple upside down cake and planning to make on this weekend. This will be my first time to try making one and I am excited.
Awesome! Hope you enjoy the recipe Sheila!
Can you use fresh pineapple in this?
It is a bit more work but it should work OK. We have never tried it Shirley but if you do give it a try please come back and let us know how it turns out for you!
Can i use a 4 qt crock pot?
Hi Donna, this recipe has not been tested using a 4 quart slow cooker. However, it may work but your cake may be thicker and require some watching to see when the cake is done.