Real Recipes From Real Home Cooks ®

rhubarb pineapple upside-down cake

(4 ratings)
Blue Ribbon Recipe by
Cindi Marie Bauer
Marshfield, WI

I "love" rhubarb, and I love this cake. Nowadays, I make the cake with a (15.25 oz.) cake mix. I posted a photo of the boxed cake mix which I used.

Blue Ribbon Recipe

Wow, what a great summertime cake! The rhubarb has a nice tang that goes well with the sweetness of the pineapple and strawberry Jell-o. The cake was perfectly moist with a hint of butter and pineapple flavoring.

— The Test Kitchen @kitchencrew
(4 ratings)
yield 12 serving(s)
prep time 20 Min
cook time 55 Min
method Bake

Ingredients For rhubarb pineapple upside-down cake

  • 1 box
    (15.25 oz.) duncan hines butter golden cake mix
  • 1 cup
    water (or 1 cup of reserved pineapple juice)
  • 1/3 cup
    softened butter
  • 3 large
    eggs
  • 3 cups
    thinly sliced rhubarb (do not use frozen rhubarb)
  • 1 (20 oz.)
    can crushed pineapple, drained & reserving juice
  • 1/3 cup
    granulated sugar
  • 1/3 cup
    brown sugar, firmly packed
  • 1 (3 oz.)
    box strawberry jell-o gelatin
  • cool whip or reddi-wip, to garnish cake

How To Make rhubarb pineapple upside-down cake

Test Kitchen Tips
Our cake was done within 45 minutes, so keep an eye on it and adjust the cooking time to your oven.
  • 1
    Preheat the oven to 350º.
  • 2
    Grease one 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Set pan a side.
  • 3
    In a large bowl blend together just until moist, the cake mix, the water (or the reserved pineapple juice), softened butter, and eggs. Then beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Set bowl aside.
  • 4
    In a medium size bowl mix together by hand, the rhubarb, crushed pineapple, granulated sugar and brown sugar, plus the strawberry Jell-o.
  • 5
    Pour the rhubarb mixture into the already greased baking pan. Spread mixture evenly in pan.
  • 6
    Now pour the cake batter over the rhubarb mixture. Using the backside of a tablespoon, spread the cake batter evenly over the rhubarb mixture.
  • 7
    Bake in oven for 55 minutes. Cake should look golden brown in color when done baking. If need be, do the toothpick test in center of cake, to be sure cake is done baking. (Mine was done baking within 55 minutes.)
  • 8
    Let cake sit to cool down a bit before serving. Either serve cake while it's still warm, or cool completely then serve. Or refrigerate to serve later. (Refigerate any leftover cake.)
  • 9
    Top cake with a dollop of Cool Whip or with a bit of Reddi-wip whipped cream.
  • 10
    *Note: Be sure to thoroughly drain the juice from the canned pineapple. I use a mesh colander to drain the pineapple in, plus I press down the crushed pineapple with a spoon. From that, I got exactly 1-cup of juice to add to the cake mix, instead of adding water. Also, the canned crushed pineapple I used stated on the label Natural Juice No Sugar Added. The brand I used was Liberty Gold.
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