Easy Vegan Pineapple Upside Down Cake

You're going to love this delicious retro cake! I love turning old favorites into vegan versions, and this Vegan Pineapple Upside Down Cake is every bit as delicious as the original. With juicy pineapple and sweet maraschino cherries atop a fluffy, perfectly moist vanilla sponge.

this recipe

Growing up in Australia, I thought Pineapple Upside Down Cake was so fancy! It was the kind of cake that grown-ups brought out to eat at BBQs and 'Bring a Plate' dinners, while the kids got all excited about ice cream. The golden rings of glossy pineapple with the pretty -yet to my childish tastebuds- weird tasting lurid red cherries were so beautiful to me! That retro vibe hasn't lost it's appeal, look how pretty those glossy rings are! This delicious cake will have you and your guests wondering why this fantastic cake ever went out of fashion!

I love making cakes with fruits and vegetables in them, for both their flavor and looks. If you're into lemon cakes, my Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Cake has the same basic moist vanilla cake as this Pineapple Upside down cake, just in a different format. Or why not my all time favorite Vegan Carrot Cake which also uses aquafaba to bind it and keep it light and fluffy.

Jump to:

• 🍍Ingredients
• 👩‍🍳Instructions
• 🍒Substitutions & Variations
• 🔪Equipment
• 🥫Storage
• ❗Top tip
• ❓FAQ
• More Cake?
• Maybe a cookie?
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

🍍Ingredients

For the full ingredients list and quantities for this vegan Pineapple Upside Down Cake, head down to the recipe card.

• Tinned Pineapple Rings - Make sure you buy pineapple slices in JUICE not in syrup. When I was testing this recipe the first time I accidentally bought the ones in syrup and the cake ended up overly sweet and quite insipid.
• Pineapple Juice- The juice from the tinned pineapple rings.
• Maraschino Cherries- The pretty red cherries have improved in flavour since I was little (or maybe my tastebuds have changed.) They're slightly redolent of amaretto or almond which adds a lovely flavour profile
• All Purpose Flour /Plain Flour: ordinary plain flour is perfect to use for this cake.
• Vegetable Oil: I prefer a neutral oil such as sunflower oil, but you could use coconut oil or olive oil
• Vanilla Extract: This balances beautifully with the tangy pineapple.
• White Sugar: For my US readers, make sure this is a vegan sugar- some sugars in the USA are refined with bone (eww). Everywhere else, eg UK, Europe, Australia etc- that's not a thing so don't worry!
• Baking Powder: For lift and fluffyness. Make sure it's a fairly fresh packet, and not one that's been hanging around the back of your cupboard for years.
• Non-Dairy Milk- I use oat milk as my favored vegan milk, however soy milk or almond milk is also fine.
• Aquafaba- I use aquafaba to replace the eggs in this recipe. Simply open up a tin of chickpeas (preferably unsalted) and whisk in. This helps bind the cake together. Use up your chickpeas by making a crunchy snack like these Crispy Salt & Vinegar Chickpeas.
• Vegan Butter- Use your favourite vegan brand.

See recipe card for quantities for this vegan pineapple cake.

👩‍🍳Instructions

Prepare the pineapple slices, cherries and sugar mixture, and lay them out on the well buttered bottom of the cake pan, before making the cake batter.

Let the cake cool completely before running a knife around the edge and flipping it upside down and removing the tin. The caramelized pineapple on the bottom of the tin is now the top of the cake and should look beautiful. If you're clever, you'll pop the cake right out onto a serving plate, ready to slice!

Hint: Grease the cake tin REALLY well so that no pineapple bits get left behind.

🍒Substitutions & Variations

There are a number of ways you can create variations with this Vegan Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

1. Gluten-Free- be sure to use a good quality gluten free-flour.
2. Other types of Milk-Choose an unsweetened plant milk- Almond milk, coconut milk or soy milk are all great options.
3. Flax Egg in place of Aquafaba- Mix 1 Tablespoon of ground flax meal (ground linseed) in with 3 Tablespoons of water and use to replace the aquafaba. You will find little specs of brown flax in the cake but that's ok.
4. Coconut Sugar- to replace the regular sugar. This will make the cake a little darker in colour.
5. Fresh Pineapple- You can in theory use chunks or slices of fresh pineapple in place of the canned pineapple rings. Make sure the slices are thin, or they won't cook through and might make the cake soggy.
6. Other Berries or Cherries to replace the Maraschino Cherry- fresh raspberries or blackberries or even de-stoned fresh cherries would be nice.

🔪Equipment

The most important piece of equipment apart from a large mixing bowl and whisk and spatula is the cake tin itself.

The first time I made this cake, I used a springform tin, which if you do choose to use, you will need to put some aluminum foil around, (see images below) then put onto a baking tin to avoid the melted vegan butter and sugar from escaping. THIS time I found a handy tin with a removable base that has a silicone ring around it (called a Pushpan) , which allowed for easy removal of the cake from the tin, but didn't give any spillage.

🥫Storage

This cake recipe stores in an airtight container for up to 7 days. You can freeze the cake, however it will be quite dense afterwards. Bring to room temperature before eating!

❓FAQ

More Cake?

Would you like another slice? Here are some more cakes to try.

Maybe a cookie?

Cookies are always a good plan, try one of these to share.

📖 Recipe