Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Pineapple Upside Down Cake a.k.a. Pineapple Cake na Pabaligtad :-)

I found an old recipe book called Mga Bagong Lutuing Pantahanan (Modern Home-cooked Meals). It was a book my mom bought when I was in grade school (or maybe high school, can't remember). The book has no author but was published in 1993 by the Philippine Publishing House.

The book was in Filipino/Tagalog. I didn't realize how hard it is to follow directions in straight Tagalog. What do you mean by "binithay na harinang panglahat na gamit"? Oh, sifted all-purpose flour!

One recipe that caught my eye was the "Pineapple Cake" na Pabaligtad (Pineapple Upside Down Cake). When I was about to make the cake though, I couldn't find the darn book! So, off I go to Yummy magazine to see if they have a recipe. I went through 4 issues just to find this!

Pineapple Upside Down Cake
Recipe from Yummy Magazine April 2011 issue

For the pineapple topping

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 small can pineapple slices
• 1 small can crushed pineapple
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons butter (or less than 1/4 cup)

For the cake

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 2/3 teaspoons butter, softened (or less than 1/2 cup)
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Simple ingredients :-) The recipe called for fresh pineapple but shortcuts are there to make life easier. Del Monte is more than willing to help :-)

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray an 8-inch round cake pan with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.

Strain syrup of pineapple slices and crushed pineapples. You will see later why I had pineapple slices and crushed pineapple. Set aside.

Make the batter. Whisk flour, baking powder and salt.

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time while beating.

Mix in dry ingredients alternately with milk. Beat in vanilla.

In a small saucepan, combine brown sugar and pineapple slices over medium heat. Do not cook crushed pineapples. Cook until pineapple slices turn a bit brown.

Remove pineapple slices from pan and continue cooking brown sugar until it turns syrupy. Turn off heat.
Add butter and vanilla extract and whisk till butter is melted.

Pour the caramel mixture into the cake pan. Arrange pineapple slices over the caramel mixture. I placed the crushed pineapples into the holes of the slices and the spaces in between.


Transfer batter into the cake pan over the pineapples. Make sure to spread evenly.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.

Cool for 15 minutes. Invert cake into a plate and serve with a smile :-)

Wow! You should smell this!

Look at how the caramel is dripping down the sides of the cake...Mmmmmm....

The cake was heavenly! It's not too sweet and the pineapples are cooked just right

Pawis rating 3 of 5 easy! I'll definitely make this again!