Sourdough Pineapple Upside Down Cake

4.80 from 5 votes

Sourdough Pineapple Upside Down Cake

A true retro classic, this Sourdough Pineapple Upside Down Cake is moist and soft with a brown sugar caramel pineapple and cherry topping that soaks into a buttery yellow cake.

Prep Time45

Cook Time1

Total Time2

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: slices

Calories: 397kcal

Author: Hannah Dela Cruz

Equipment

10-inch round cake pan don’t use a smaller cake pan or your caramel may overflow as it bakes
Kitchen scale
small saucepan
stand mixer or hand mixer you’ll need an electric mixer to cream the butter and sugars to aerate your batter

Ingredients

Topping

150 grams brown sugar
143 grams pineapple juice or whatever is left after measuring out 75 grams for your batter
28 grams unsalted butter
56 grams Bourbon optional

Batter

150 grams all-purpose flour
7 grams baking powder
10 cardamom posts about ½ teaspoon
84 grams unsalted butter softened
200 grams granulated sugar
113 grams sourdough discard
2 eggs large
4 grams vanilla extract
75 grams pineapple juice

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Prep: Preheat oven to 325 F.
Make the topping: Combine the brown sugar and pineapple juice in a small saucepan. Stir and cook over medium heat. Turn the heat down and bring to a simmer until the mixture is thickened, about 15 minutes (make sure the mixture has thickened or your batter may overflow as it bakes). Remove the mixture from the heat, stir in the butter and Bourbon, until fully incorporated.
Assemble the topping: Pour the caramel into the cake pan and nestle the fruits in. Arrange 7 pineapple slices on the bottom of the pan, cut 3 of the slices in half and arrange them around the sides of the pan. Dot the cherries around the pan.
Make the batter: Whisk together the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and set aside.
In a separate bowl, using a hand mixer with beater attachments (or a stand mixer with a paddle attachment), cream the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add the discard, eggs, pineapple juice and vanilla into the creamed butter.
Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients a third at a time, waiting until all of the flour has been hydrated before folding the remainder in. Don’t over mix or your cake may turn out dense and rubbery.
Bake: Pour the batter gently into the prepared cake pan, trying your best not to disturb your topping. Bake for 50 to 1 hour or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean or with only a few crumbs.
Serve: Set the baked cake on a wire rack and let the cake cool for 5 minutes. Place your serving platter over the baked cake and quickly turn the pan over. Carefully lift the cake pan off. Place fruit that’s stuck on your pan back to your cake.
Enjoy and store: This cake is excellent warm or cold. Store any leftover slices in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Notes

When in doubt, use weight over volume measurements
Use canned pineapples in juice not syrup
Drain pineapple slices, but save pineapple juice, you’ll be using all of it for this recipe
Use a 10-inch cake pan for this cake, do not use a smaller baking vessel or the sugary topping may overflow as your cake bakes
You’ll need an electric mixer for this recipe to cream the butter and sugar together, this aerates the cake and makes it lighter and softer
To use cardamom pods, crush the outer shell, gather the seeds and grind them using a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder
Don’t overmix your batter or your cake may turn out dense and rubbery
Don’t be afraid to put any fruit that gets stuck on your pan back on your cake
Do not let your cake cool completely in the pan or it will get stuck

Nutrition