This Cranberry Pineapple Upside-Down Cake is SO EASY. No one will ever know it’s made with a doctored-up boxed cake mix!

I’m all about delicious recipes with minimal effort. This is one of those recipes!

This cake has the perfect balance of sweet and tart flavors, and is a MUST for your holiday dessert table.

How to make Cranberry Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

You’ll need to start with a brown sugar and butter mixture in the bottom of a greased 13 x 9 pan. Place canned pineapple slices over the brown sugar mixture. I cut 2 of the slices in half so the pineapple would be more evenly distributed. Place 2-3 cranberries (fresh or frozen) in the middle of each pineapple slice and place the remaining cranberries around the slices.

Then you’ll take advantage of a boxed cake mix. Trust me on this.

By adding a little cinnamon, nutmeg, instant vanilla pudding, sour cream, pineapple juice and vanilla extract to the mix, it results in a phenomenally moist and spongy cake.

Top it with whipped cream and a mint sprig to make it extra-festive!

Enjoy!

Cranberry Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

Author: Amy @ The Blond Cook
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
Yield: 12 slices 1x
Category: Dessert
Method: Bake
Cuisine: American

Print Recipe

Description

This sweet and tart Cranberry Pineapple Upside-Down Cake is so EASY to make – No one will ever know it’s made from a doctored-up box cake mix!

Ingredients

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 (20-ounce) can pineapple slices, drained *RESERVE 1/2 CUP PINEAPPLE JUICE FOR CAKE*
1 cup cranberries (fresh or frozen)
1 (15.25-ounce) box pineapple supreme cake mix (I used Duncan Hines)
1 (3.4-ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup sour cream
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup pineapple juice reserved from can
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Liberally spray a 13 x 9 pan with cooking spray.
Pour melted butter in the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle brown sugar evenly over butter.
Arrange pineapple slices on top of brown sugar. Place 2-3 cranberries in the middle of each pineapple slice and around pineapple slices.

Prepare the batter:

Beat together cake mix, pudding mix, nutmeg, cinnamon, eggs, sour cream, vegetable oil, pineapple juice and vanilla extract in a large bowl with a hand mixer on medium speed (or with a stand mixer using the paddle attachment). Beat until smooth, about 1-1/2 to 2 minutes.
Pour batter over pineapple slices and cranberries and spread evenly.
Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center is removed clean.
Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes and invert onto a serving platter.