If You Have Yellow Cake Mix And Canned Pineapple, You Have The Start Of An Easy Vintage Cake

Although recipes for pineapple upside-down cake have been printed for over 100 years, the vintage dessert is often associated with the 1950s and 1960s. And no wonder: During an era when busy housewives and working women were looking for convenience and affordable shortcuts, pineapple upside-down cake was a revelation thanks to the easy, breezy recipe that was built on canned pineapple and jarred cherries. And with today's shortcuts like boxed yellow cake mix, making this retro dessert has never been easier.  

To make a pineapple upside-down cake, all you need is a can of pineapple slices, a jar of stemmed maraschino cherries, brown sugar, butter, and a box of yellow cake mix. You can use a round cake pan, a 13-by-9 baking pan, or a cast iron pan. A cast iron pan will help caramelize your pineapples, but it will make flipping your cake a bit trickier compared to using a nonstick pan.

The crispy pineapples mixed with the tender, fluffy yellow cake make for the perfect bite. It's lightly sweetened and full of rich pineapple flavor. Many people also add nuts to pineapple upside-down cake, which adds great crunch and earthiness to round out the bright, citrusy flavor. 

This showstopper dessert requires surprisingly little effort. Melt the butter in your pan, then sprinkle it with brown sugar. Carefully arrange your pineapple slices to cover the bottom of the pan, and place a maraschino cherry in the center of each slice (some people also like to add chopped pecans or walnuts here). Then prepare your yellow cake mix according to the directions on the box, using the reserved pineapple juice from the pineapple can instead of water, and pour it on top.

After baking, allow the cake to cool for a few minutes before flipping it over onto your serving plate. To make flipping your cake easier, line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper or spray it generously with nonstick cooking spray.

If any of your pineapples stick to the pan, you can carefully place them on top. It's a forgiving dessert: You can cover any obvious flaws with pretty spirals of whipped cream or by putting additional cherries on top. Serve it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or additional whipped cream.