Strawberry Upside Down Cake

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A delicious twist on a classic pineapple upside down cake, this Strawberry Upside Down Cake is perfect for summer. With the bright strawberry topping baked right in, this cake is easy to make and beautiful too!

An Easy Strawberry Cake

This Strawberry Upside Down Cake is inspired by my Pineapple Upside Down Cake, one of my favorite desserts. Like the original pineapple version, this recipe starts with my moist vanilla cake, with just a few changes to account for the difference in pan size.

As a good upside down cake should be, this strawberry cake is moist and a little dense – but the good kind of dense. It’s still tender and not heavy. It’s a sweet cake but not too sweet, which works perfectly with the fresh strawberry flavor.

The strawberry topping is made with just 3 ingredients and baked right into the top of the cake, making this a super easy dessert. That’s one thing I’ve always loved about upside down cakes – they look fancy but in reality, they’re so easy!

The red strawberries are naturally colorful and beautiful, adding a pop of color to the dessert table and ensuring all eyes are on this cake. It’s great for summer and perfect for holidays featuring red like the 4th of July, Memorial Day, Labor Day and other celebrations too. Maybe even Valentine’s Day!

What You’ll Need

You’ll just need basic ingredients to make this strawberry upside down cake. The strawberry topping requires just 3 ingredients!

For the Strawberry Topping:

• Butter – Salted or unsalted is fine.
• Sugar – Sweetness for the fresh strawberries.
• Strawberries – Fresh sliced strawberries are the star of this cake.

For the Cake

• All-purpose flour
• Baking powder – Helps the cake rise and create the fluffy texture.
• Salt – For flavor. Omit if using salted butter.
• Unsalted butter – I prefer unsalted butter to control the salt in the cake.
• Vegetable oil – Keeps the cake nice and moist.
• Sugar – This cake is sweet but not too sweet!
• Vanilla extract – Adds flavor.
• Eggs – Help create the structure of the cake.
• Milk – I use 2% but whole milk would be fine.

How to Make Strawberry Upside Down Cake

Though it looks fancy, this upside down cake is surprisingly easy to make! Just a little time to prepare the strawberry topping, a few minutes beating the batter, and this cake is ready to bake!

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1. Make the strawberry topping. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Combine the butter and sugar and spread on the bottom of a cake pan. Arrange the strawberry slices over the sugar – starting around the outer edge and then into the center.
2. Make cake batter. Combine the dry ingredients and set aside. Beat oil, butter, sugars and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at time, mixing after each one. Add half of the dry ingredients to the wet batter and mix until mostly combined. Add the milk, mix, and then add the remaining dry ingredients. The batter should be well incorporated but do not overmix.
3. Bake. Spread the batter evenly in the cake pan over the strawberries. Bake for 45-50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
4. Cool. Press down gently to flatten the cake. Let cool in the pan for 30 minutes then invert onto a cooling rack. Serve warm.

Tips for Success

For the most tender, flavorful strawberry upside down cake, keep these tips in mind when preparing and cooling the cake.

• Do not skimp on the creaming time. It’s important to beat the butter and sugar for the full 2-3 minutes to allow the cake to rise properly during baking.
• Use a towel to press down on the cake. Immediately after taking the cake from the oven, place a kitchen towel over it to press down and compress any dome that might’ve appeared during baking.
• Cool before inverting. Cool the cake in the pan for 15 minutes or so before flipping it over to remove the cake from the pan.
• Use fresh strawberries. For the best strawberry upside down cake, you should use fresh strawberries instead of frozen, which end up quite mushy when thawed.

Serving Suggestions

Strawberry upside down cake should be served warm. I find it’s usually the perfect temperature for eating about 45 minutes after removing it from the oven.

If the cake cools completely before you get a chance to enjoy it, just reheat individual slices in the microwave for 10 to 15 seconds.

How to Store

Due to the strawberry topping, this cake needs to be stored in the fridge. To avoid drying it out, cover it tightly with plastic wrap or place it in an airtight container.

Warm slices up in the microwave for 30 seconds or so, for the best leftover cake!

Can I Freeze Upside Down Cake?

Due to the strawberry topping, this cake is not ideal for freezing. As it thaws, it will become mushy and collapse under the thawed berries. Since this is such a hit, I’ve never had to worry about having any leftovers that need to be frozen!

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More Strawberry Desserts:

• Homemade Strawberry Cake
• Strawberry Pretzel Salad
• Strawberry Shortcake Trifle
• Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cheesecake