Tipsy Pineapple Upside-Down Rum Cake

Pineapple upside-down cake is one of my favorite kinds of cake. I have fond memories of enjoying the box-mix version throughout childhood but decided to attempt one from scratch once I got to college and had my own kitchen. The cakes made back then tasted great and looked pretty good, too. I had never perfected my recipe until last weekend when I made this one. Then I made it even better by adding rum! The pineapple flavor in this cake is delicate and perfectly complemented by a generous hint of spiced dark rum. In addition to the rum flavor, the presentation of this tipsy pineapple upside-down rum cake is what sets it apart. There are a few different methods of layering the fruit in a bundt cake but this is the prettiest, in my opinion.

A bundt cake takes a little longer to bake than, say, a sheet cake but the result is undeniably gorgeous. This is the showstopper you want to serve a dinner party. As far as the boozy-infusion, there are just a couple of extra steps to make this magic: poke the baked cake with holes all over then return it to the pan and slowly pour on a rum butter glaze.

The cake will soak up all of that boozy goodness and be even better tasting for it. Voila! Tipsy Pineapple Upside-Down Rum Cake. The glaze is comprised of melted butter, sugar, pineapple juice, and, of course, dark spiced rum. Don’t worry, the finished product is moist without being soggy

This is a grown and sexy cake, meaning the rum is NOT really cooked out of  it so it isn’t necessarily family friendly. But, if you know me, you know I’m usually cooking for adults! You might also know that I love supporting companies that are local, small, minority-owned, and/or woman-owned. Texas Pure-Milling makes high-quality traditional flours and baking mixes with local ingredients in support of Texas farmers and, after receiving a few of their products, I decided to try out the all-purpose flour in this recipe. It worked very well and I plan to try one of the baking mixes next to stay tuned for that. If you follow me on Instagram, you know I was on a baking and drink-making spree this past Saturday! We are in the thick of cherry season and I am testing cherry recipes of all types. I have pounds and pounds of cherries to work with so I would love to hear from y’all about what you want me to make. Let me know in the comments below if you have ideas.

If you like boozy cakes, check out my Naked Bourbon Carrot Cake and if you want more pineapple, here’s my Pineapple Pound Cake. Thanks for reading!

In partnership with Texas Pure Milling. As always, all opinions are my own.

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Tipsy Pineapple Upside-Down Rum Cake

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

50 mins

Total Time

2 hrs

 

An indulgent cross between a pineapple upside-down cake and a classic rum cake beautifully presented in a bundt shape.

Servings: 14 servings

Ingredients

Cake

• 1/2 cup milk
• 3/4 cup butter softened
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 cup brown sugar packed
• 3 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Rum Glaze

• 1/4 cup pineapple juice
• 1/3 cup butter melted
• 1/2 cup spiced dark rum
• 1/2 cup sugar

Cake Topping

• 1 can sliced pineapples and juice cut slices into half circles
• 10 ounce jar of maraschino cherries
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add butter from topping ingredients into bundt pan and place in oven to melt for a couple of minutes.
2. Meanwhile, combine flour sea salt and baking powder in one bowl. In another bowl, mix 1/2 cup pineapple juice from the can of slices, milk, butter, brown sugar, vanilla, and egg.
3. Add wet to dry and mix well. Set aside. Remove pan of melted butter and mix in brown sugar to create topping. Arrange pineapple slices and cherries in topping as shown. Carefully pour cake batter over top.
4. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove cake from oven and let sit for about 10 minutes then invert onto a platter and poke small all over the top and sides with a skewer or toothpick.
5. Combine rum syrup ingredients in a small bowl and mix until completely uniform. Place cake back in pan and poke more holes on bottom of cake. Slowly pour rum syrup into holes and allow cake to soak for about an hour before flipping again and serving.