Works well and tastes good. Need a Hawaiian recipe? This... is a tasty example! Mmmmm!!

This is the way I make a Pineapple Upside Down Cake. Best ever! Use a rich and moist cake mix and ignore those people who scoff at mixes; A 'scratch' cake is seldom, if ever, better.

My Mother used box mixes because they have real cake flour, not All-Purpose flour, and she didn't care to keep both on hand. She liked the mixes because they had precisely adjusted the leavening for a perfect rise. She added eggs and oil or butter, and she did the mixing and the baking, so what does it matter if Duncan Hines or Betty Crocker had pre-measured the flour.

Sorry John, but I have to vigorously disagree with you. Cake mixes taste like chemicals and sugar and are disgusting. They also have no "body" and are like trying to eat chemically flavored air. There is NO SUBSTITUTE for FRESH chemical-free butter and egg and natural flavor tastes in a cake. People's palates differ in sensitivity to tastes, and so some people probably can't taste the difference but I sure can, and the people I cook for can always tell. Use your mixes if it tastes okay to you, but you'll never find me wasting my time preparing that garbage.

I love this! A yearly favorite for my girl's birthday.

Of course after reading the ingredients on a box cake mix I have not been able to use another box cake since. Go for the scratch.

The testy reply indicates deeper issues regarding food. Were you deprived as a child?? We can disagree w/o being nasty!!

You are a real b----. Everyone does what they can, in the time they have and to their liking. Not everything is about you. I have made it both ways and I prefer it from scratch because of the texture. I have made it from a cake mix and it is too fluffy for me. I do not condemn anyone elses likes or dislikes.

I don't know what cake mixes you've used. But I always use a cake mix with even my red velvet devils food! My icings are homemade and that's what makes the cake! My carrot cake is the only one I use cake flour! Sorry, but I have to agree with John!

I have to agree with the cake mix comment. They are always moist and good. I find most scratch cakes very dry...

Great cake. I have two desserts, pineapple upside down cake and pecan pie. Kim is, sadly, mistaken no one can tell the difference between bought and prepare your own. Actually the mixes are somewhat better. I think John is correct.

I agree with the folks who prefer a cake made from scratch as opposed to a box cake. Most if not all food you can buy ready made or just add a few ingredients is mostly all chemicals, extracts of ingredients, etc. Real food ingredients always makes the best tasting food. It is also nutrient dense as opposed to the stuff created in a food lab by scientist. The food industry is NOT doing our health any favors, in fact they are destroying it. All this industrial pre-packaged food has little to no nutrients in it. As a matter of fact the reason their industrial food even taste good at all is because of the high amounts of salt, sugar and unhealthy fats. Without those ingredients this food would taste absolutely putrid. The other thing they are causing is a major surge in metabolic disease (heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer etc. The best thing one can do for their health is to get back in their kitchen & start cooking from scratch using whole foods (real food - nutrient dense) & watch your health improve.

Yeah, like real Butter and SALT. good for the heart... ;-(

It doesn't say here how long to bake. So, how long?

Hi Amy,

The recipe says, "When the cake is done". This is known as a "test" in baking and cooking and is the most accurate way of not overbaking or underbaking a cake because everybody's oven and baking conditions are different.

The only way for you to obtain consistent results in all of your baking is for you to test when your cake is done under your own baking conditions.

To "test" if your cake is done, insert a wooden toothpick or a cake tester into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, then the cake is done. If crumbs adhere, the cake needs more baking. Don't test the cake while the center looks damp. Another way to test is when the cake looks dry in the center, touch it lightly with your fingers and it should spring back. The cake will also begin to leave the sides of the pan.

Hope this helps!

-- CM

This is how I remember my Mom making her famous Pineapple Upside-Down cake & it is every bit as good! Any time I see a recipe that's been submitted by "CM", I know it's going to be great - & thanks for the clear, concise instructions! Will be making this cake several more times this year!!

I made this yesterday to take to our friend's home for Easter. It was a big hit! Made the scratch cake, didn't use a box mix. It's definitely the way to go. This came out perfectly! You can never go wrong with one of CM's recipes! One additional suggestion to put a different twist on this: soak the pineapple in any rum of your choice and then drain before using. Very yummy!

Everybody forgot the "cake" part of this recipe is just that. If you are using a mix, follow the directions on the box. If you are using a scratch recipe, follow the directions for baking time on that recipe.

Turned out great, very buttery and rich. Made the cake from scratch as I too, won't use conventional box mixes anymore. This is actually my first cast iron skillet version and it was done in about 30 minutes. I think I could have actually taken it out at 25 minutes. My only concern was that the cake was somewhat dense like a pound cake and I wonder if I'd mixed in some of that butter that was pooling around it when I poured the batter over the pineapple if it would have had a lighter texture? Something to experiment with!

It had been so long since I did this that I wasn't sure. Among all the recipes I searched, this was the simplest and most straight forward, especially the "scratch" cake part. I love that it is dense...my childhood memories recall it that way at the old church covered dish lunches. :-) Take care and God bless!

I reserve the pineapple juice and use it instead of water for the cake... if you don't have enough juice, then add rum to bring it up to required amount. I also stir a cup of shredded coconut into the batter... so, this is more of a "Pina Colada" cake, but everyone loves the way I make it.

Yum!! Great ideas!! Making it this way for hubby's bday tonight. :)

I have made this recipe about 5 times and everyone love, love, loves it! It's easy and tastes wonderful.

SO GOOD.
half stick butter and a good 5 tablespoons of brown sugar. DELICIOUS. !!!

This is THE best recipe ever (and I've tried a lot!)! I use a Pineapple cake mix instead of a plain yellow mix. Thank you!!!

Good idea!!

Yummy and very easy. I've also used fresh pineapple and it works great too. I used coconut cake mix this last time and it was excellent. Make sure you use the proper size cast iron skillet, an 8-inch will overflow during cooking. It usually takes about 45 minutes in my oven, but my oven is a little slow, I have to set 365°F for 350°F.

I had to be different. I made this recipe using a Bundt-cake pan and after it was done and cooled, I cut off the top of a fresh pineapple and placed it in the top hole of the Bundt cake and then took a pineapple glaze and decorated the cake in crisscross pattern to resemble a real pineapple....It was a hit and everyone was afraid to cut a slice because it looked so awesome... Lol.

Very "clever" using the pineapple top (leaves).

Just made the scratch cake, its wonderful... so easy! I had fresh pineapple from Christmas. Why anybody would use a prepared cake mix is beyond me!

Amazing, delicious. Yum yum!!

Birthday party hit. Wonderful recipe, mom couldn't remember the measurements and this turned out exactly like what I remembered as a child... used cake mix, may try scratch next time!

This cake is absolutely delicious! I use the Betty Crocker gluten-free yellow cake mix because several of my family members have wheat allergies. I change the recipe on the box for the cake mix by using pineapple juice for half of the water and double the amount of the vanilla. I like to serve it warm.

This recipe was easy and delicious. My family loved it. Will definitely be making it again and again!!