Mean Chef's Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

SO good. The cake itself is dense and buttery, not too sweet with a gentle tang from the creme fraiche. And the caramel is beautiful. I only wish there were more of it! I think next time I may add a couple more tablespoons of butter and another 1/4 cup of brown sugar before adding the pineapple. I used 1/2 of a fresh pineapple that I cut in chunks and drained well. And I wavered on whether or not to add the pecans, but I am SO glad I did. I thought they really added to the flavor and richness. I even went so far as to top the cake with a big scoop of butter pecan ice cream :) Yum. Just yum.
**Made this again for a potluck and added half again as much butter and brown sugar in the topping. Even better!!! I did have to omit the nuts because one of the gals has a nut allergy, but added dried cranberries to the topping which was almost as good as the pecans :)

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I followed your recipe exactly. Even made my own creme fraiche and waited 24 hours just so I could try this recipe. It was well worth the wait! This recipe produced a delicious, moist cake with a texture and taste which hinted at cheesecake. And talk about a stunning presentation! I've been making Upside Down Cakes for years and never thought to place half slices of pineapple along the sides of my cast iron skillet. The only change I made was that I cut Marischino cherries in half and placed the halves in the gaps between the pineapple slices and left the pecan halves in the middle of the slices. This added a little color. Really got some raves on this cake!! I think I will retire my old "stand-by" recipe, this one is definitely a keeper! Thanks for sharing, Mean Chef.

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I loved this cake, will be lucky to get another piece, DH loves it too!! The only change I made was to use fresh pineapple instead of canned. DH made the comment that this cake would also be awesome using an apple pie filling recipe on top instead of the pineapple. I liked that this recipe didn't use a box cake mix, this was so much better and worth the extra effort.

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I made this cake on Wednesday night and this Saterday morning we ate the last piece! The cake is beautiful moist firm and slightly dense with a real smooth texture we love pecans so that is what we used instead of cherries. This is a cake I will make over and over again. Thanks for posting newspapergal!

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OUTSTANDING!!! I used fresh pineapple cut into chunks and chopped pecans. I was also out of bourbon (*gasp*!) so I subbed spiced rum. I had to cook it about 10 minutes longer (I live in a high altitude), but this came out beautifully!! It's been years since I've had PUD cake in years and I was so glad I tried this one - thanks for posting!

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I cook every week for friends & this was a huge hit! The best PUD cake ever! I used sour cream instead of creme fraiche. Thanks!

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This my first time making pineapple upside down cake and it's absolutely delicious!! I think this is the most delicious cake I've ever eaten.I used fresh pineapples because that's what I had.I also used dried cranberries instead of pecans.For the batter,I used half sour cream /half yogurt ,as there wasn't enough sour cream.For the flavoring I used rose water along with some vanilla sugar.The end result was outstanding with a cake that is dense and gooey in texture and a topping ,which complimented it so well .Thank you for posting.

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Delicious!! I used a cast iron skillet and sour cream, and this came out moist and dense and amazing! The sour cream balances out the sweetness in the topping and the cake really well. I also cooked it for almost 40 minutes, instead of the recommended 20-35. I made this for my husband's birthday, and he said that it was one of the best (if not the best) pineapple upside-down cake he's ever had!

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This is a great cake. I've been baking it for many years, since this is one of the few cakes that my husband, who says that nearly all cakes are too sweet for him, would eat. I always used an oven-safe wok. The texture of the cake is perfect, moist and crumbly, and the pecans add complexity, so I suggest not replacing them by cherries.

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I've never made pineapple upside-down cake before, so this was a whole new experience for me. While I didn't have a cast iron pan I did have a regular non stick pan that I used the same way. It turned out AMAZING!! I also didn't use pecans I used maraschino cherries, but still really good!!

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This makes the most delicious Pineapple upside down- cake I've ever had. Very simple to make. The only thing I did different is to replace the sourcrean/cream fraiche with plain non-fat yogurt which worked wonderfully. THanks for sharing Mean Chef

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I have to say that this is THE BEST Pineapple Upside Down Cake that I have EVER made! I made 2 today, one for a friend and one for dessert. I tried a small piece of one, before I gave it away... and it was DELICIOUS! I have to say, that I had to make a couple of substitutions... but it still was Yummy! I used Sour Cream, instead of creme fraiche... I used Rum Extract, instead of Burbon... I didn't have dark brown sugar, so I drizzeled a little bit of Molassas on to the brown sugar when I was melting it... and I added Maraschino Cherries. Soo, with saying that... I think that if you followed the recipe to the T, it might even taste Better! I loved it, and I know that the kids & husband will too! I am hard to please, but they love anything with sugar. :) This recipe is my new favorite! Thank you

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Very Very Rich! And Yummy! This is so good. I took it to a church social, and it was gone so quickly. I will be making it again for our 4th of July cake auction, I am sure it will be bid high on since many members have had a sampling of it already! I am going to try to make them in cupcake form in some ancient cast iron muffin tins I have. I'll post if they come out well!

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I think the batter produces a deliciously rich, yet light cake that combines well with the butter/brown sugar mixture in the cast iron pan to carmelize the pineapple & cake edges. Made the cake w/o the alcohol & it was very good. I have a 10 1/2 inch cast iron skillet & after 35 minutes the toothpick was still wet so I baked it for about 10 or so more minutes. A bit hard to flip the heavy skillet & watch out for hot caramel drippings!

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Delicious cake and I loved it with the pecans. I used sour cream which I think added moistness to the cake.

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I made this yesterday for my boyfriend for Valentine's Day. It was absolutely delicious! I used cherries and chopped pecans amongst the pineapple rings and I thought it looked and tasted great! The cake was dense and moist - yet very fluffy. I will be making this again. My boyfriend, who believes that vanilla ice cream belongs on top of every baked good I make, actually said this cake was stand-alone wonderful! Big compliment!

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This is a wonderful recipe -- very moist cake. I would have liked a little more goo on top and may increase butter/brown sugar next time. Flipping it out of the cast iron skillet was a real challenge!

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This was very good. I used sour cream and followed the recipe exactly. It was much easier than my first glance led me to belive. the cake was moist and very tasty. This one is a keeper!

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Such A Great Cake!!! I followed directions exactly. I had no cast iron so I mistakenly used a spring form pan and most of my topping leaked out :( Even still the cake was superb! I quickly made some extra sauce to pour on top :) I used sour cream in mine and did not use bourbon or nuts (didn't have either). I will keep this recipe and make it often, thank you for the wonderful dessert! Also, it took 50 min for mine to bake.

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Overall, an excellent recipe. Based on another review, I used the baking powder I had on hand, knowing it had aluminum in it. Big mistake! The cake batter didn't have a metallic taste, but the finished cake did. That was entirely my fault. The author addressed this point in the ingredient list. The topping was excellent! I added extra cherries instead of pecans, just my preference. I will make it again, without the aluminum baking powder. I used a regular size bundt pan, and had about 1 full cup of batter that wouldn't fit.

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