This recipe for gluten free pineapple upside down cake is really easy to make from scratch. This homemade cake uses canned pineapple and is made with no cherries. The yellow cake is moist and tastes like the old fashioned cake I loved before going gluten free.  

I love this cake all year round, but it's always perfect for spring. It's perfect for an easy dessert after a meal. You can make this cake a day ahead and have it ready to serve at a gathering.

The cake is really thick and dense. The batter for the cake is also very thick. I spoon it onto the butter, brown sugar, and pineapples and spread around with a spatula or the back of a spoon. It will spread and fill in around the pineapple as it bakes.

You can find all of my cake recipes here: Gluten Free Cake Recipes

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Ingredients

• Unsalted Butter
• Brown Sugar
• Pineapple Slices
• Gluten Free Flour
• Baking Powder
• Baking Soda
• Sea Salt
• Palm Shortening
• Granulated Sugar
• Egg
• Vanilla Extract
• Milk

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In an 8x8 baking dish place the butter. Put the dish in the oven to melt the butter. Once the butter is melted carefully remove the dish from the oven. Spread the brown sugar over the butter. Then place the pineapple slices over that. You may need to break apart some of the rings to fill the bottom of the baking dish.

In your stand mixer beat the palm shortening and sugar for 3-4 minutes until combined. Add the egg, vanilla and milk. Beat until combined. The mixture will be wet and lumpy. 

Add the gluten free flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt to the wet ingredients. Mix until blended together. The batter will be thick and a little lumpy. 

Spoon the batter over the pineapples in the baking dish. Spread the batter with a spatula or the back of a spoon. The batter is dense and will spread around the pineapple as it bakes.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Let the cake cool for 10 minutes and then turn it onto a plate or serving platter.

Supplies

Frequently Asked Questions

More Recipes You Might Enjoy

Gluten Free Angel Food Cake
Gluten Free Coconut Cake
Easy Gluten Free White Cake
Gluten Free Double Chocolate Bundt Cake
Gluten Free Pumpkin Oatmeal Cake

I get most of my ingredients from Thrive Market. Thrive Market has been a game changer for me eating gluten free. They have so many options I can't get at my rural grocery stores! Use this link to get 25% off your first order!

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This simple recipe for easy gluten free white cake is moist and perfect for special occasions. I love this homemade fluffy cake for my birthday. This recipe makes the best vanilla cake from scratch.

You can use any filling you would like for this cake, but I used my gluten free lemon curd. It adds the perfect amount of tartness with the light fluffy cake and rich buttercream frosting. This cake is also lovely with strawberry jam, raspberry preserves or buttercream frosting as the filling between layers.

Do I need to use gluten free cake flour?

No, you don't need gluten free cake flour for this recipe. I use regular gluten free baking flour in my recipes. If you wanted gluten free cake flour you can substitute two tablespoons of the gluten free flour with arrowroot powder or tapioca flour. But, as I said you don't need to do that with this recipe.

Do gluten free cakes take longer to bake?

Yes, in my experience gluten free baking does take a bit longer to bake than regular gluten flour recipes. If I'm converting a recipe to gluten free I usually add 5 minutes and then watch the item closely in the last couple of minutes.

I test the cake with a toothpick or check the cookies for color and then add minutes if needed. For this recipe I've already set the appropriate baking time for gluten free. With that said, ovens may run a bit warmer or cooler so I like to turn on the oven light and take a look at the five minute mark.

If you like this recipe you may also enjoy:

Gluten Free Lemon Shortbread Bars
Gluten Free Apple Carrot Muffins
Lemon Lime Homemade Gatorade
Gluten Free Cinnamon Coffee Cake
Gluten Free Chocolate Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

I get my ingredients from Thrive Market. Thrive Market has been a game changer for me eating gluten free. They have so many options I can't get at my rural grocery stores! Use this link to get 25% off your first order!

For the frosting I use my recipe for Easy Vanilla Buttercream Frosting.

For the filling I use my recipe for Gluten Free Lemon Curd.

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This recipe makes the best easy vanilla buttercream frosting! I love the whipped texture for cakes and for piping on frosting. It's so simple to make homemade, fluffy frosting. This recipe shows you how to make this classic smooth frosting.

It's very important to take your butter out of the refrigerator at least an hour before making the frosting. You want it at room temperature so it mixes together and makes a light, fluffy frosting.

To prevent clumps of confectioners' sugar I pour the sugar through a mesh strainer and work through with a spoon into the mixing bowl. This will make the confectioner's sugar airy and help keep your frosting fluffy.

How do you make vanilla buttercream icing from scratch?

It is really simple. The key is to make sure your butter is at room temperature. It's best to take it out of the refrigerator at least an hour before you want to make the frosting.

If you try to soften the butter in the microwave it will become warm and too soft. This will make the frosting thinner and less fluffy. You also want to make sure you put the confectioners' sugar through a mesh strainer so you remove all lumps.

User your mixer and whisk attachment mix together the sugar and butter for 3-4 minutes until smooth and creamy. Add the vanilla and 1 tablespoon for whipping cream. Beat for another minute. If needed add another 1 tablespoons of whipping cream to make the frosting spreadable.

Which KitchenAid attachment should I use for buttercream frosting?

The whisk attachment whips the frosting making it fluffy and airy. It's really hard with the paddle attachment to get the same light consistency you get with the whisk attachment.

I know some people don't like to clean the whisk attachment, but if you spray it will hot water as soon as you are done using it the clean up is simple and easy.

Where should I store buttercream frosting?

I like to use my buttercream frosting as soon as I make it. I put a crumb layer on my cake, freeze it for 30 minutes and then finish frosting. While the cake is in the freezer I leave the buttercream frosting on the counter at room temperature.

If you have leftover frosting or aren't going to use it that same day I put the frosting in a sealed container and leave on the counter overnight. If you need to store the frosting for longer you can put it in the refrigerator, but will need to take it out several hours or overnight before using it.

If you have refrigerated the frosting you might also need to put it back in your mixer with the whisk attachment after it comes back up to room temperature to get it back to a fluffy texture. Overall, it's easier to make and use the frosting the same day.

If you like this recipe you might also enjoy:

Gluten Free Lemon Shortbread Bars
Gluten Free Cinnamon Coffee Cake
Paleo Chocolate Cupcakes
Gluten Free Chocolate Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Gluten Free Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

I get my ingredients from Thrive Market. Thrive Market has been a game changer for me eating gluten free. They have so many options I can't get at my rural grocery stores! Use this link to get 25% off your first order!

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