We’ve found it— the dessert recipe you need to take to this year’s first summer barbecue! Not only is this cake bursting with all the flavors of that tropical vacation we all wish we could take, it’s really easy to make, too. Seriously. Don’t be intimidated by words “bundt” or “upside down” in that title. All you need is the right pan and our guide, and you’ll have it done in under an hour. You can even use a boxed cake mix! (Prefer homemade? It’s easy to adapt, too.) When your friends slice into it and see those perfectly arranged pineapples and cherries, though, they’ll think you baked for hours. Win-win! Here’s how to do it.

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PINEAPPLE UPSIDE DOWN BUNDT CAKE

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

– ½ cup butter, melted
– ½ cup packed brown sugar
– 1 – 20-ounce can pineapple slices, juice reserved
– 1 jar maraschino cherries
– 1 box yellow cake mix
– 1 – 3.4-ounce box vanilla pudding mix
– 3 eggs
– ⅓ cup vegetable oil
– ⅓ cup milk, plus more as needed

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 degrees Celsius). Spray a bundt pan with nonstick spray.
2. Evenly pour the melted butter into the bottom of the bundt pan and top with the brown sugar.

3. Cut the pineapple rings in half and, alternating with the cherries, place into the butter-brown sugar mixture in the bottom of the pan.
4. In a large bowl, combine the cake and pudding mixes together. Add the reserved pineapple juice and milk. Add the eggs and vegetable oil, and mix until fully blended.

5. Pour the batter evenly over the pineapple and cherries.

6. Bake for 30 minutes, following the cake mix instructions for a bundt pan, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

7. Cool the cake for about 10 minutes before running a knife around the edges and inner ring of the pan. Invert onto a serving plate and slice between pineapple rings to serve.

Chef’s Tip

• When you add the reserved pineapple juice and milk in step 4, they should equal 1 cup of liquid. If you like, you can first pour the reserved pineapple juice into a liquid measuring cup. Add enough milk until you have 1 cup of liquid. Add the liquid to the combined cake-and-pudding mix, then proceed with the recipe.

Can you tell we love flipping our pineapples upside-down? Check out these cute Mini Pineapple Upside-Down Cakes, pineapple upside-down pancakes for breakfast, pineapple upside-down fudge for when you just need a bite, and for Friday night, our fun pineapple upside-down cake shot. And the classic cake that started it all? We’ve got a recipe for that too!

Recipe slightly adapted from Pintesting