Our Best Upside-Down Cakes

Citrus Upside-Down Cake with Sour Whipped Cream Recipe

Take advantage of in-season citrus fruits for this colorful and bright cake.

Strawberry Upside-Down Cake Recipe

This perfectly light summer cake comes out beautifully, either way you flip it.

Meyer Lemon Cornmeal Upside-Down Cake Recipe

A polenta cake from pastry chef Hannah Buoye, of A16 Rockridge in Oakland, was the model for this dense, moist dessert. As the sliced lemons bake under the cake and absorb butter and brown sugar, they take on a marmalade-like quality. Be sure the cake is fully baked before you remove it from the oven (see step 6), or it may sink.

Coconut and Fresh Pineapple Upside-Down Cake Recipe

This dutch-oven dessert cooks more evenly if you use charcoal rather than wood for fuel.

Apple Upside-Down Cake Recipe

Mild Rome apples are great for baking. You can also use Pink Lady, Honeycrisp, or Jonagold apples. Dollop the cake with a bit of whipped cream, if desired.

Gluten-Free Caramelized Pineapple Upside-Down Cake Recipe

The rum will ignite when you tilt the pan; this burns off the alcohol.

Peach Upside-Down Cake Recipe

Bright and fresh peaches make for a scrumptious summer dessert.

Chocolate-Peanut-Butter-Banana Upside-Down Cake Recipe

Grace Parisi uses one of the world's great flavor combinations for her unusual marble cake topped with bananas, which caramelize on the bottom of the pan (ideally a glass one).

Prune Upside-Down Cakes Recipe

Naomi Pomeroy likes cooking with dried fruit because it's easy to keep on hand. "Fresh fruit goes bad so quickly," she says. She poaches dried, local plums, then mixes them with a brown sugar caramel to make a topping for individual olive-oil cakes. Instead of prunes, try peach slices or apple chunks.

Maple-Apple Upside-Down Cake Recipe

This is one of the best upside-down cakes ever—the maple syrup infuses both the apples and the cake, making the dessert taste like a stack of apple pancakes.

Raspberry Upside-Down Cake Recipe

Try Raspberry Upside-Down Cake for a sweet and fruity dessert that satisfies. Fun to make and even more fun to eat!

Double-Cherry Upside-Down Cake Recipe

Juices released from the fruit make for a moist cake. The batter comes to the top of the pan and threatens to spill over. It shouldn't, but just in case, bake on a foil-lined baking sheet.

Peach Upside-Down Cake Recipe

If you’re looking for an easy dessert to showcase your fresh summertime peaches, the search ends with this peach upside down cake recipe. This light and airy peach upside down cake is dangerously tasty and knows how to please a crowd. Natural sugars in the peaches caramelize in the cast-iron skillet to create a glossy, decadent peach glaze. Not only is this flipped cake fun, but you can’t beat the beautiful presentation for a summer cookout or gathering. Top this heavenly peach upside down cake with freshly whipped cream, and grab a slice before it gets devoured.

Bananas Foster Upside-Down Cake Recipe

One quick flip and this bananas foster upside-down cake tumbles from the skillet perfectly golden and party ready.

Pineapple Upside-Down Carrot Cake Recipe

Upgrade your classic Pineapple Upside-Down Cake by adding this unique twist: Carrot Cake. Our users loved the easy prep and the huge hit the dessert was with their families.

Rhubarb Upside-Down Cake with Rosemary Caramel Sauce Recipe

We were intrigued, if skeptical, about trying this dessert of rhubarb, caramel, and rosemary from Brock Windsor, chef-owner of Stone Soup Inn in Vancouver Island's Cowichan Valley in B.C. But the unusual combo bowled us over. Though the recipe is time intensive, nothing is difficult.

Upside-Down Sour Cream Coffee Cake with Sherry-Roasted Pears Recipe

This old-fashioned, moist cake, jazzed up with vanilla bean and roasted pears, takes on even more flavor if you start the pears a day ahead so they can steep in their syrup. The recipe comes from Romney Steele, author of Plum Gorgeous.

Banana-Coconut Upside-Down Cake Recipe

Banana lovers can definitely find something to love with this rich and sweet cake.

Plum Upside-Down Pudding Cake Recipe

Use plums when they're in season for this delicious and moist cake.

Upside-Down Caramelized Apple Cake Recipe

The brown sugar, apple, and pecan mixture that’s cooked in the skillet and then topped with a spiced cake batter become a gooey, rich topping for the cake when it’s inverted.

Cranberry Upside-Down Cake Recipe

A tawny butterscotch syrup candies the tart cranberries in the topping.

Banana-Coconut Upside-Down Cake Recipe

The coconut gives this cake a tropical flair.

Cranberry Pumpkin Upside-down Cake Recipe

Caramel-coated walnuts and cranberries top this soft cake, which is also really easy to whip up.

Apricot-Cherry Upside-Down Cake Recipe

Pear Upside-Down Cake Recipe

Finish off this cake with a fine dusting of powdered sugar.

Apricot-Cherry Upside-Down Mini Cakes Recipe

This dessert spotlights seasonal apricots and cherries at the peak of perfection. You can also make these treats with nectarines or peaches; just be sure to use small ones (about the size of apricots) so they won't crowd the custard cups.

Cranberry Upside-Down Cake with Cognac Cream Recipe

Serve a slice of this delicious cake with a hearty dollop of cognac cream.

Peach Upside-Down Cake Recipe

The sugar and fruit juice tossed with the peaches create a caramelized glaze as the cake bakes.

Fresh Pineapple Upside-Down Cake Recipe

Topped with dried cherries and nuts, this cake offers a wide range of textures and a variety of flavors.

Pineapple-Lime Upside Down Cake Recipe

Fresh lime zest adds just enough of a zingy “something special” factor to our foolproof take on the classic pineapple upside-down cake. This easy cake is a fan favorite for good reason—it’s so simple to make and is loaded with a delicious balance of buttery-caramelized and tropically sweet flavors. Pro-Tip: Finish incorporating the ingredients by hand, this will prevent over-mixing your way to a tough cake. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream for a perfect finish. 

Banana Upside-Down Pancake Cake Recipe

This incredibly tender, delicious spice cake has a secret… Aunt Jemima pancake mix. That’s right, this brunch-worthy cake starts with boxed pancake mix (but no one would guess it). The added bonus of brown sugary caramelized bananas, toasted pecans, and a hit of rum only makes the idea of cake-for-breakfast all the more appealing. 

Dried Plum Upside-Down Cake with Crème Fraîche Ice Cream Recipe

Blueberry-Peach Upside Down Cake Recipe

This stunning upside-down cake is the perfect, easy dessert to showcase your bounty of summer fruit. The cake is tender and moist, with just enough of a delightful toothy texture from the incorporation of cornmeal into the batter. You’ll want to use juicy, ripe blueberries and peaches for best results; however, you could use frozen fruit in a pinch—just be sure to thaw and dry throughly. A few more tips to ensure upside-down cake success: Finish incorporating the ingredients by hand, this will prevent over-mixing your way to a tough cake. Also, aim to arrange the fruit as tightly as you can in the cake pan; fruit shrinks as it cooks and you don’t want too much unadorned cake poking through. Finally, if you want to skip the cornmeal, simply swap it 1:1 with all-purpose flour (for a total of 1 1/3 cups). 

Peach-Bourbon Upside-Down Bundt Cake Recipe

Fresh summer peaches turn sticky and sweet when baked in the bottom of a Bundt pan with butter and brown sugar. After you place the peach slices in the ridges of the pan, gently spoon the cake batter over the fruit, then smooth the top with an offset spatula.

Rhubarb Upside-Down Cake Recipe

A hint of fresh thyme gives this rustic cake a faint herbaceous quality that complements the warmth of cardamom and ginger and the tang of rhubarb. Be patient when turning the cake out of the pan; it may take several minutes for it to fully release. The surprise ingredient in the batter (mayonnaise) is an old-school trick for creating a supermoist cake. A dollop of Greek yogurt cuts through the richness of the cake—but you can omit it if you’d like.