The majority of pineapple upside down cake recipes begin by having you first melt butter and brown sugar to create a sauce that will glaze the fruit and absorb into the cake. The sauce is the best part and it’s crucial to get the right texture and balance of flavors. Thomas Keller suggests rather than starting with a melted butter and sugar syrup, a better approach is to use a schmear made from softened butter and brown sugar. As the cake bakes, the butter and brown sugar will slowly caramelize the pineapples without overcooking them. This technique will also solve any issues with cakes that are too wet, dry or dark. Like most TK recipes, using softened butter sounded like a lot more work but, as usual, the results were worth it. I flipped the pan over to reveal a beautiful cake topped with golden pineapples glazed in a sweet, buttery toffee-like sauce. This was a far cry from other recipes where the cake failed to come out or the pineapples tasted like burnt maple syrup.

You can use this butter schmear along with any yellow cake recipe but I’ll also include my tried and true hack for a boxed mix.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake Schmear

This recipe makes enough to schmear the bottom of (2) 9-inch pans or (1) 9X13 pan. There might be some butter leftover depending on how light or heavy you want to go with the sauce. The leftover butter can be refrigerated or frozen to make future cakes. Maybe, next time try it with peaches, apples or plums!

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon dark rum (optional, IMHO)
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
kosher salt

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, honey, rum, brown sugar and vanilla. Beat until smooth and well blended. Your schmear is now ready.

Yellow Cake Batter - yields enough batter for (1) 9x13 pan or (2) 9-inch rounds.

1 box yellow or butter cake mix (I use Pillsbury Golden Butter)
1 cup sour cream
3/4 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

In large bowl, beat cake mix, sour cream, water, oil, eggs and vanilla with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes. Your batter is now ready.

Canned Fruit

(2) 20 oz Cans Sliced Pineapple Rings, drained and rings blotted with paper towels.
Or try other fruits such as peaches, plums, pears or apples.

Assemble the Cake

Spread 2/3 cup (or up to 1 cup, if desired) of the schmear over the bottom of a 9x13 cake pan (be sure to spray the sides). Sprinkle very lightly with salt. Place blotted pineapple rings over the butter in a pretty pattern (remember, this will be the presented side of your cake). Top with cake batter and bake in a 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let the cake cool for at least 20 minutes, loosen the sides with a knife, place a platter on top of the pan and then flip it over. Hopefully, it all comes out in one piece :)

If you’re using (2) 9-inch rounds, use 1/3 to 1/2 cup of schmear per pan, divide the cake batter evenly between the two pans and adjust baking time to 20-25 minutes. If you don’t want to make 2 cakes, use a cake recipe that give you enough batter for just (1) 9-inch round. Obviously, you will have more schmear butter leftover.