Photo of Five-ingredient pineapple upside-down cake by WW

Five-ingredient pineapple upside-down cake

8
Points®
Total Time
1 hr 10 min
Prep
10 min
Cook
40 min
Serves
8
Difficulty
Moderate
We took a rich, old-fashioned favorite, lightened it up, and gave it a convenience food spin in the way of baking with cake mix and canned pineapple rather than starting from scratch. This means dessert fit for a party in just about an hour with far fewer dishes than if it was full-on homemade. It'll look like you spent lots of time in the kitchen creating, and the cake's delectable caramelized fruit top always gets plenty of oohs and aahhs. Adding some reserved pineapple juice ensures an enviably soft cake crumb. Whip up this cake when you're hosting a fall or winter pot luck party. Or go completely old school with it, and end a mid-century-inspired meal of a casserole or pot roast with this nostalgic sweet.

Ingredients

Unsalted butter

¼ cup(s), divided

Packed light brown sugar

¼ cup(s)

Canned sliced pineapple in juice, drained

15 oz, 1/4 cup juice reserved

Egg

1 large egg(s)

Unprepared vanilla cake mix

¼ pound(s), about 1 scant cup

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375˚F.
  2. Melt 2 tbsp butter in a 9-inch round, flameproof, aluminum pan over medium-low heat (make sure to cover entire pan bottom); sprinkle sugar over top. Carefully place pineapple rings in a single layer in bottom of pan (you'll use about 7 slices). Increase heat to medium-high and cook until pineapple caramelizes, flipping once, about 2 minutes per side; remove pan from heat.
  3. Melt remaining 2 tbsp butter on stove top or in microwave. In a medium-size mixing bowl, beat egg with melted butter. Add cake mix and reserved pineapple juice; combine well.
  4. Pour batter over pineapple; bake until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, about 30 to 35 minutes. Allow cake to cool for about 15 to 20 minutes; when still warm, loosen sides with a knife and invert cake onto a serving plate. Slice into 8 pieces and serve.
  5. Serving size: 1 piece of cake