Food Recipes Desserts Fruit Desserts 11 Exceptional Upside-Down Cake Recipes, From Peach to Pineapple These cakes are all about the caramelized fruit. By Ashley Day Ashley Day Ashley Day is Food & Wine's associate editorial director. She's edited and directed food and travel content at USA TODAY, the Institute of Culinary Education, and Chef & Restaurant magazine, and contributed to The Food Institute, The Daily Meal, and the recipe app meez. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Published on July 25, 2024 Close Photo: Photo by Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Emily Nabors Hall / Prop Styling by Christina Daley The simple technique of caramelizing fruit and arranging at the bottom of a cake pan, topping with cake batter, and flipping after baking and cooling yields a timeless classic: upside-down cakes. The method embeds seasonal fruit with concentrated flavor into the top of a cake and produces a beautiful presentation. These upside-down cake recipes celebrate peaches, pineapple, and berries for summer occasions, apples and pears for autumn, citrus in winter (or whenever), and stunning rhubarb in the spring. Here's inspiration to bake an incredibly simple and showstopping cake. 01 of 11 Apple Upside-Down Cake Cara Cormack You only need two Golden Delicious apples for this buttery, vanilla-scented cake created by Grace Parisi. Get the Recipe 02 of 11 Vegan Peach-Almond Upside-Down Cake Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Heather Claire Spollen Nutty almond meal adds a soft texture to this cake and helps it hold together as the peaches soften and sweeten during baking. Choose a gluten-free flour blend and nut-based nondairy milk for a vegan, gluten-free summer treat. Get the Recipe 03 of 11 Rhubarb Upside-Down Cake with Orange Zest Photo by Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Emily Nabors Hall / Prop Styling by Christina Daley Balance tender pieces of tart rhubarb with a brown-sugar topping on this vanilla- and orange-scented cake from Anna Theoktisto. Get the Recipe 04 of 11 Lemon Upside-Down Cake © Thomas Heinser Cal Peternell uses sweet Meyer lemons for this quick upside-down cake that would work well with figs, blood oranges, or pineapple, too. Get the Recipe 05 of 11 Pineapple Upside-Down Cake © Tina Rupp Kristin Ferguson infuses fresh pineapple pieces with vanilla bean, sugar, then bakes the fruit with this sour cream vanilla cake that's earned five-star reviews. Get the Recipe 06 of 11 Maple-Apple Upside-Down Cake © Con Poulos Joanne Chang infuses Granny Smith apples and vanilla cake with maple syrup for rich, warming flavor. Get the Recipe 07 of 11 Bumbleberry Buttermilk Upside-Down Cake Victor Protasio Caramelize a medley of blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries to top this tender, lemony buttermilk cake from Gail Simmons. Get the Recipe 08 of 11 Plum Upside-Down Cake © Nicole Franzen Top Joanne Chang's moist and buttery cake with sweet and tangy caramelized plums for a picture-perfect summer treat. Get the Recipe 09 of 11 Spiced Upside-Down Apple Bundt Cake © Con Poulos David Guas bakes a crisp, salty streusel of pecans and toasted rolled oats to pack over the top of this spiced Granny Smith apple cake as it cools. Get the Recipe 10 of 11 Ginger and Pear Upside-Down Cake © The Jewels of New York Grace Parisi turns very firm Bosc pears into a tender topping for this vanilla cake spiced with cinnamon, ground ginger, and nutmeg. Get the Recipe 11 of 11 Fresh Pineapple Upside-Down Cake © Jennifer Causey Diana Sturgis says this cake gained popularity in the 1920s, when supersweet canned pineapple and Maraschino cherries were chic. Get the Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit