Pineapple Upside Down Cake with Cinnamon Whipped Cream

I know I'm not making any new and exciting culinary breakthroughs with this recipe. It's not gourmet, it's not even made from scratch. What it is, is GOOD. I'm sure there are probably 11,000 recipes out there just like this. That's probably because it's simple and it works. The great thing about this dessert is that you can literally throw it together while dinner is on the stove, or when company comes knocking at the door, and it will be ready to eat in under an hour.

I use a boxed vanilla cake mix for this, but if you have a fantastic, go-to, scratch made vanilla cake recipe, use it! I do not. I should get one of those. All I ask is that you please add some pineapple juice to your cake mix somewhere. One can of Pineapple Rings will yield approximately one cup of pineapple juice, so plan accordingly. Use pineapple juice in place of water when following the directions on your cake mix. It makes all the difference.

Cinnamon Whipped Cream recipe to follow.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

2 oz butter
.5 c brown sugar
1 can pineapple rings (juice reserved)
1 batch of your favorite vanilla cake mix prepared with pineapple juice in place of water
Optional: shredded coconut, maraschino cherries, pecans

Melt 2 oz of butter in a 9"x13" cake pan. I like to just throw it in the oven while it's preheating.
Sprinkle brown sugar over butter and stir until incorporated.
Arrange pineapple rings on the bottom of the pan over sugar mixture.
If you're using any optional ingredients like nuts or cherries, now would be a good time for them to join the pineapples.
Pour cake batter evenly into the pan.
Bake according to your cake's directions.

Let cake cool for 15 minutes and then turn it upside down onto a platter. I like to store this covered tightly in plastic wrap because it helps the cake retain it's moisture.


Cinnamon Whipped Cream

.5 c whipping cream
.25 c confectioner's sugar
.5 tsp cinnamon

Combine cinnamon and confectioner's sugar in a small bowl.
Pour whipping cream into prepared mixing bowl and begin beating on low with a hand mixer.
Slowly add in cinnamon-sugar mixture.
Increase speed to high and beat until cream is desired consistency. This usually takes me about 3 minutes.


This works best if you're working with cold cream and cold tools. I usually put the beaters and mixing bowl in the freezer for 10 minutes before making this. It's also ideal if you use whipping cream straight from the fridge. Don't let it sit out for very long before making this topping.
You can make this in advance and store it in the refrigerator covered. If it gets soupy or watery, just beat it with the hand mixer and it will come right back to life.

Or, just use Cool Whip. Enjoy!