Cherry Upside-Down Cake Recipe
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This cherry upside-down cake was a big hit with my family. Plenty of compliments and it went very fast! My Dad was especially smitten by it. I always thought it’s the best compliment when my parents love something I make. This cherry cake is sooooo soft; like a cross between angel food cake and pound cake.
The sweet tart cherries that get caramelized by the brown sugar as they bake are the crowning glory of this cake. Serve this with lightly sweetened whipped cream or a hefty scoop of vanilla ice cream and your guests will ask you why you only made 1 cake instead of 3. ;).
The beauty of this cake is you can use almost any kind of fruit on top! Think pineapples, peaches, nectarines, apricots, blueberries,…
For the Topping:
1/4 cup (4 Tbsp) unsalted butter
3/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar
2 cups (14 oz) fresh cherries, pitted and halve
Ingredients for The Cake:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour *measured correctly
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup (8 Tbsp) unsalted butter, softened at room temp
2 large eggs, separated
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup whole milk, luke warm
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
How to Make Cherry Upside-Down Cake:
What you’ll need: 9″ wide cake pan with 2″ tall sides.
1. Preheat oven to 350˚F. Butter sides of cake pan and place cake pan on the stove over low heat. Melt 4 Tbsp butter in the cake pan then add 3/4 cup brown sugar, stirring until well combined. Spread over the bottom of the pan and remove from heat. Place cherries, cut-side-down over the butter/sugar mixture, pressing down lightly to stick.
2. Stir together 1 1/2 cups flour, 2 tsp baking powder and 1/4 tsp salt in a medium bowl.
3. In a large bowl, use a handheld electric mixer to beat together 1 cup sugar and 8 Tbsp butter until light and fluffy (5 minutes on high). Mix in 2 egg yolks (1 at a a time), beating well after each then beat in 1 tsp vanilla. Add 1/2 cup luke warm milk and mix on med/low speed until well blended. Add flour mixture and continue to mix on low speed until blended.
4. In a clean bowl, beat 2 egg whites with 1/4 tsp cream of tartar until stiff but not dry. Fold gently into batter in two additions, folding just until incorporated. Transfer batter to cake pan and even out the top with a spatula. Bake 55 min at 350˚F.
Cool in pan 10 minutes then run a dull knife around edges of cake to loosen cake. Transfer to serving platter by placing platter over cake and inverting directly onto platter. Let stand 5 minutes then serve warm or at room temp.
Credits: This recipe was adapted from the Bon Appetit Cookbook by Barbara Fairchild.
Cherry Upside-Down Cake Recipe
Ingredients
For the Cherry Topping:
- 1/4 cup 4 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 cups 14 oz fresh cherries, pitted and halved
For the Cake:
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, spoon into measuring cup and scrape off the top
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup 8 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened at room temp
- 2 large eggs, separated
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup whole milk, luke warm
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
What you'll need:
- 9 " wide cake pan with 2" tall sides.
Instructions
How to Make Cherry Upside-Down Cake:
-
Preheat oven to 350˚F. Butter sides of cake pan and place cake pan on the stove over low heat. Melt 4 Tbsp butter in the cake pan then add 3/4 cup brown sugar, stirring until well combined. Spread over the bottom of the pan and remove from heat. Place cherries, cut-side-down over the butter/sugar mixture, pressing down lightly to stick.
-
Stir together 1 1/2 cups flour, 2 tsp baking powder and 1/4 tsp salt in a medium bowl.
-
In a large bowl, use a handheld electric mixer to beat together 1 cup sugar and 8 Tbsp butter until light and fluffy (5 minutes on high). Mix in 2 egg yolks (1 at a a time), beating well after each then beat in 1 tsp vanilla. Add 1/2 cup luke warm milk and mix on med/low speed until well blended. Add flour mixture and continue to mix on low speed until blended.
-
In a clean bowl, beat 2 egg whites with 1/4 tsp cream of tartar until stiff but not dry. Fold gently into batter in two additions, folding just until incorporated. Transfer batter to cake pan and even out the top with a spatula. Bake 55 min at 350˚F.
-
Cool in pan 10 minutes then run a dull knife around edges of cake to loosen cake. Transfer to serving platter by placing platter over cake and inverting directly onto platter. Let stand 5 minutes then serve warm or at room temp.
Recipe Notes
Credits: This recipe was adapted from the Bon Appetit Cookbook by Barbara Fairchild.
I just love cherry season, but this cake is still great even after the cherries are gone. I think I’ll try peach and raspberry next ;). Are you as excited about fresh summer fruit as I am?!!
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
Love your recipes.
My mom and aunt always made a pineapple upsidedown in an iron skillet. How would I adjust your recipe to fit a 12″ iron skillet?
BRG
Hi Brian! Thank you. I’m glad you’re loving them. To be honest, I have not make cake in a skillet so I am not sure what adjustments may be needed. Please let us know if you experiment.
Hey Just a quick question. Do you think that this cake would feed 12 people? I have an event coming up and wasn’t sure if it would be enough.
Hi Jack! This recipe serves 8. If you’re serving this to adults, I would recommend doubling and making 2 of them or making it in a larger pan.
This is one of our favorite desserts. Bakes perfect every time and I have made it a half a dozen times. Very good recipe and easy to follow. Thank you!
Hi Kathy! I’m happy to hear that. Thank you for your feedback and wonderful review.
Every month I fix a dessert for our HOA board meeting and this delicious cake is, by far, the favorite dish I have brought. I added a couple of spoonfuls of homemade apple butter to the cherries and it was awesome. Thanks, Natasha.
Wow! That’s so thoughtful! Thank you so much for sharing this great feedback with me, Ken!
Like other, I also baked for 45 minutes. Also used plums from a local tree. Delicious!
Glad you loved it, Chris!
We went cherry picking and I was looking for something to do with all the cherries I had. I thought I’d give this a shot. I used the wrong pan but it still cane out. It was moist and delicious. Huge hit with everyone who tried it.
I’m happy to hear it still turned out, Mona! Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
The cake is delicious. But I will never forget how I baked it. I used the wrong baking pan (with removable bottom). It started leaking and created a lot of smoke. And as a result fire alarm went off and firefighters arrived:(
Oh my goodness that is quite a baking story!
I wouldn’t leave this in the oven 55 minutes. I kept checking and it was getting awfully dark, so I took it out at 47 minutes. We haven’t tried it yet. I’m hoping it isn’t dry. It looks good other than dark. I have a glaze I will make for it.
Hi Tammy, it worked perfectly for us with that amount of time. I’m curious if your oven is calibrated to the right temperature.
I’m trying to figure out if you’re using tart cherries, like Montmorency, or sweet cherries such as Rainier or Bing cherries. Thank you for any help you can give.
Hi Dave, we used sweet bing cherries for this.
My cake turned out darker than the photo on this page but the fresh cherries were darker in color to start. I followed the recipe exactly with one addition…I added 1/2 tsp almond extract to the batter as almond and cherry go so well together. Absolutely delicious!
I’m so glad you enjoyed that Karen! Thank you for the great review!
I have made this today,it was the most moist and light cake I have made,truly a beautiful cake to eat,I have not stopped eating it,made with cherries is definitely better than pineapple upside down cake 100% yummy
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite!
I definitely have Natasha,
I’m making it again today everyone loved it,seriously yummy thank you and I am definitely going to follow you and cook more of your recipes,
Stay safe best regards
Aww that’s the best! Thank you for sharing that with me! I’m so happy you discovered our blog!
Hi Natasha
I just finished baking this cake and made my self a cuppa, it is sooo yummy. I had to make it cholesterol free and it turned out the best. thank you so much for sharing your yummy recipes.
That’s just awesome! I’m so glad you enjoyed that!
Hi Natasha! I know this is an older recipe of yours, so I was wondering if you have ever gotten the chance to make this with strawberries instead. Any modifications you’d recommend? Thanks!
Hi, I haven’t tried it with any other fruit, but you might love our peach cake and our strawberry cake if you enjoyed this cherry one.
This is a great recipe. I made it with my toddler and used a springform pan so I wasn’t sure how it would turn out, but the texture of the cake is exactly right…very soft and light. I made two small changes…I added about one tbsp rum to the batter and I used half vanilla and half almond extract. I think it needs these flavors.
That’s a great tip, Kelly. Thanks for sharing that with us and for your good comments. I appreciate it!
what is a good substitute for butter
Hi Lana, I honestly have not experimented with anything else so I can’t make that recommendation without testing.
Hi its Lana this is random but can i use plain white rice flour for fudgy brownies?
Hi Lana, I honestly don’t know. You might have to google search the answer for that one.
Wow turned out great though I was a little worried as I used can cherry pie filling but it worked!! looks messy from the top it all drizzled down but now I have like a sauce yum yum!!
wish I could enter a picture here.
Sounds yummy! You can share a photo next time on our Facebook page or group.
I made this cake today with sweet bing cherries and it was delish! Only needed to bake for 50 minutes. Served with vanilla ice cream. Everyone loved it!
That’s just awesome!! Thank you for sharing your wonderful feedback!
Natasha, I would like to make this cake in a 9×13 pan. Can I just double the recipe and bake it longer? Also, I have dark sweet cherries…would they work instead of sour cherries? I’m going to try and make this tomorrow to take to a picnic. Thanks! P.S. I’ll rate the recipe after everyone tries it!
Hi Sandi, I haven’t tested that but I think it could work. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe
What other size pan do you think I could use. I don’t have a 9in pan. I have 8in pan with 3in sides.
Do you think that would work?
Thanks!
Hi Coco, the 8″ pan with 3″ sides should work fine but you might give it a few minutes extra in the oven since it will be a taller cake.
Hi Natasha.
Can I use just the cake recipe to make a vanilla cake? Would the baking time be the same?
Hi Lucrecia. I haven’t tested that but I think it could work. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe
I made this recipe like 2 years ago and i dream about it everyday. 10/10 would make and eat the whole thing again.
Seriously the best review! Thank you for the great review and dreaming about this one 😉
Can this be frozen for later date?
I haven’t tried with frozen but one reader reported tasty results using frozen. It won’t be as visually appealing since it is difficult to slice the frozen cherries and they turn a little darker after being frozen but it will taste good.
I made this cherry cake and it was great. It is quite a forgiving recipe as I had no cream of tartar, and used less sugar in the topping (didn’t have enough in the cupboard) and it still turned out well. I’d make this again! It did take me a long time to pit all the fresh cherries, but I think that’s my problem, not the recipe’s 🙂
Hi, I’m so glad you loved the recipe! I highly recommend a cherry pitter (Amazon affiliate link) which makes the process go super fast and easy. We have 3 of these for when everyone wants cherries 😉
I used this recipe but I made it a raspberry/lemon upside down cake and it came out great! My best taste testers, my dad and daughter loved it… Thank you!
You’re welcome Melissa! I’m glad the recipe is loved by your whole family! Thanks so much for sharing!
This cake is perfect for my hubby’s b-day, but I can’t find fresh cherries in March here in Ohio. What do you think of using frozen cherries?
Hi Debbie, I haven’t tried with frozen but one reader reported tasty results using frozen. It won’t be as visually appealing since it is difficult to slice the frozen cherries and they turn a little darker after being frozen but it will taste good.
Is the handheld mixer a hard recommendation? What happens if i use a standalone mixer instead?
BTW, I have made this before (using my handheld mixer) and it was AMAZING! And so simple…my kind of baking for sure!
Hi Erika, you can use something like KitchenAid Stand mixer just fine 😬.
can I use apples instead of cherries?
Hi Leanna, I haven’t tried that but I do like that idea! If you experiment, let me know 🙂
The cake is soooo good. I bake today for the first time, and OMG, it was so delish, I have to restrain myself from visiting the kitchen😬. next time, I willreduce brown sugar by few teaspoons & baking time to 40/45 mins.
I use brownies’ pan as I do not have the pan as per your recommendation.
Thanks for sharing the recipe, appreciate it very much. May be next time i will try other recipes in your blog.
Have a good weekend!
My pleasure Roslina! I’m glad to hear how much you enjoy this recipe! Thanks for sharing your excellent review! 🙂
Sooo good! My husband and son loved it. I agree with the reviewer who noted 45 minutes was long enough to bake the cake. I will definitely make this again!
I’m glad to hear your family enjoys the recipe! Thanks for sharing your tip and review for other readers!
Hi Natasha! Thank you for sharing your amazing recipes with us. I’ve made this cake once and everyone loved it, especially my sister (said if she could would eat the whole thing).
Have been using tons of your recipes and always keep coming back! Keep up your great work!!
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite, Katie!
Made this for my Hubbys birthday OMG it was sooooo yummy thank you!
My pleasure! I’m glad you love the recipe! Thanks for sharing your great review Misty!
Do not put too many cherries. Space them apart slightly. It will give it a better look. Also works better with cherries that are not too ripe
Thanks for sharing your tips! 🙂
Made it with canned tart cherries in an 8by 8 pan. It is divine! Let it cool a bit longer to absorb the juiciness and since it was a glass pan. I think it looked pretty too
I’m so happy you enjoyed it!!! 🙂
My Grandson wants this cake for his birthday. He loves Maraschino Cherries straight out of the jar. Can these Cherries be used for the cake or do they need to be fresh. Not sure it would be sweet enough for him. Thanks
Hi Bert, I haven’t tried it that way and we like the sweet/tart contrast of real cherries but I do think it would work to cut the Maraschino cherries in half and use them the same way.
Thank you Natasha!
I did this cake and like it so much. Only for next time I will be bake only for 45min. 55 was almost burn. What kind oven you have gas or electric?
Hi Oksana! I’m so glad you liked it. Are you baking in the center of the oven? I’m using an electric oven.
Yes I baked in the center. I have electric oven too. I don’t know why I always need baking for less time. I did a lot of your recipes and I love it and always need less minutes used from yours min. Maybe my oven not good. Anyway I love your recipes
Get a oven thermometer your oven might be off
I tried this today, but the bottom was way too moist, so I couldn’t even flip it. What could have gone wrong?
PS: I used the amount of cherries that I normaly use which for this recipe was too much. But still…
PPS: Next time I will halve the amount of sugar for the glaze. I am curious, do you like it exactly this way? Maybe I’m too picky 😀
Hi Matei, I think if you add too many cherries it would be too moist and difficult to flip because of the extra juice in the cherries. It’s tempting to want to put more (I’m a cherry lover too!) but I do this one per the recipe because it turns out great with the right amount.
Mmmmm upside down cakes totally rock however I don’t have cream of tartar would sour cream or mayo be a good substitute just wondering cuz I might wanna make this tomorrow for my dairy vegetarian dinner love cherries especially this time of year love how you always put those rockin recipes out there they r da bomb gurl
Hi Tzivia, I haven’t tested this recipe without the cream of tartar so I’m not sure how it would affect the recipe to remove it. I think it’s worth testing without it. It helps to stabilize egg whites but I think it would still work to omit it.
Oh ok we shall see what the outcome would be may be worth a shot that’s how it goes sometimes with cooking or baking taking risks and it can go either way we don’t know until we try
If you do try it, let me know how it goes! 🙂
Hi there, im preparing to make this for my grandmother’s birthday in next couple weeks, can i prepare this in advance? How long will it keep and would i have to keep in fridge? Thanks heaps in advance!!
This looks prettiest the same day it’s made but you can refrigerate overnight, covered with plastic wrap.
I’m giving this a go today but with a few modifications. First, I’m using a rectangular pan – 9×11, maybe. Second, I’m using frozen cherries. Third, I don’t have cream of tartar or a mixer (just moved in to new house and and can’t locate these items yet) so I prepared the cake batter by just dumping the whole eggs in. Will let you know how it goes and try and take a pick and post on FB later today. 🙂
Keep me posted! I would love to see it! 🙂
It was absolutely fabulous. Everyone loved it. We even had some for breakfast!
I did take a pic and post on fb with #natashaskitchen Admittedly it’s not as prett b/c like you said I couldnt half and arrange the frozen cherrie but it was still quite tasty 😀🍒
I’m so happy you loved it and thank you so much for sharing the picture!! 🙂
I bought some cherries that were a bit sour so I made this cake – Oh gawd! It was so easy and yum, yum, yum, yum! I’m not great with cakes but this was soooo good! Thank you for the recipe.
I’m so happy you loved it!! 🙂
Hello Natasha, I am new to the blog but I’ve used a lot of your recepies they are all great.
For cherry upside down, can I use frozen cherries?
I think it could work but I don’t think it would be as pretty with frozen cherries and you won’t be able to slice them in half easily for the same look.
Bluberries were a delicious substitute since I didn’t have cherries!!
Blueberries are also great alternative and they are in season now too :).
Hi, Natasha! Made a few your delicious dishes , not one disappoint me , all perfect good !! Thank you so much ! Yesterday made upside down blueberry cake instead of cherry (picked them in the Martin farm ) and it was very very good also !!
Tamara, thank you for such a great review, and you are very welcome :).
this thing is so good, reminds me of something I had as a kid but cant put my finger on it…def a comfort food in the true sense.
It’s kind of like the bread salad that mom used to make with soft bread cut up like croutons with olive oil, salt, pepper, vinegar maybe. Do you remember it?
Hi Natasha! Is the cream of tartar necessary? What can I substitute it with? Lemon juice?
Hi Anna, I haven’t tried without the cream of tartar so I’m not sure how it would affect the finished product. Cream of tartar is a stabilizer and helps with stabilizing the egg whites. I think the cake would still work without it. I probably would not substitute with lemon juice.
I forgot the cream of tartar and it came out amazing.
Awesome!! 🙂
Ooo my just made this cake!!! It’s like a little fluffy pillow topped with cherries. What else do you need. Thanks for another recipe that doesn’t disappoint.
I couldn’t have said it better myself! Definitely like a fluffy pillow. lol. Thanks Diana. 🙂
Wow..This looks so irresistable. Upside down cakes always looks superb.
Compliments coming from parents and kids does matter a lot for me too.
If they are happy feels like I won.
I can’t agree with you more :).
Natasha, I just tried this recipe today. It’s SOOOOOO good!!! Incredibly soft and just delicious! Thank you!!
Irina, thank you for such a great review and you are welcome :).
This cherry cake looks amazing! Plus I love how you can mix up the topping on it. Strawberry would be tasty or of course this delicious cherry!
I haven’t tried with strawberry but that does sound tasty. Thanks Shelby!
Just whipped this pie up with some fresh peaches from my tree, its in the oven, should be ready in 50 minutes. I added a little more than needed peaches just because they are so good and I think it wouldn’t hurt lol results will be soon. (:
I would love to know the outcome :).
Correction, *cake* not pie, came out delicious, I maybe should of let it sit for a few extra minutes because as I flipped it over some of the juice came out from the peaches but other than that it was super tasty, not overly sweet and the cake itself was nice, soft and moist! Thank you Natasha, many blessings to you.
Thank you so much for your sweet comment and great review! Also, thanks for sharing your tips on using peaches. A peach upside down cake sounds so good right now! Blessings to you also 🙂
Would frozen cherris work for this? I went cheery picking last year and stil have some frozen ones in the freezer.
Frozen cherries should work as well, just make sure o defrost them all the way :).
The only upside down cake I’ve tried is a pineapple one, I love the idea of changing it up with cherries! Come to think of it, any in-season fruit would be perfect. Thanks for the recipe!
Katy, you are welcome and I agree. I’m really looking forward to all fresh stone fruit in my parent’s yard :).
I am so glad your parents, especially your father, enjoyed this dessert. You’ve been on cherry cooking roll too. I wish we could find some fresh and beautiful cherries here. I highly doubt the jar version would taste even half as delicious as the fresh ones featured in your post. Well it will just be another recipe I can create while in the states! Thanks for sharing it.
Trisha, I haven’t tried with canned cherries, but if you do, let me know how it goes :).
Wow this looks yummy. I never thought of that actually I can put some fruits under batter, I like cherries too but my favorite is raspberries do you think it will work?
I don’t think raspberries would be as presentable and pretty but cake would still taste good :).
Natasha when do you have the time to do all of these yummy recipes? I mean you just got a baby and seriously how you do it? Every couple days I log into your website and sure it is I see a new recipe. It’s like you never stop.
P.S by the way this cake looks yummy need to try it
I can’t take all the credit. If it wasn’t for my husbands awesome behind the scenes skills and helping with the kids and everything else, I’d be in real trouble ;). But thank you for the compliment 🙂
Hi Natasha!
This looks amazing and I am definetly going to try it in the near future!
Thank you Elise :). I hope you love it!
I love to try asap too! I wish I had seen this recipe prior to Father’s Day, cherries are dads favorite even though you said lots of fruits would work. Such unique presentation, a real showstopper at a family gathering. I’m sure I’d get peppered with lots of questions about how I made it!
This cake is soooo pretty. We have a cherry tree laden with not-quite-ripe cherries at the moment. Hoping the birds leave us our share – then I can make this gorgeous cake. I like the idea of using other summer fruits, peaches oh and plums (we have a plum tree too!). Will let you know how I get on. Thanks for a great post & recipe. Sammie http://www.feastingisfun.com
Thank you Sammie and please share your results :). I would like to try this cake with apricots and then plums next :).