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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.
Notes
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?!!
I haven’t made this yet, but I think the cherries should be placed cut-side up so the uncut side is visible on the cake.
Hi Natasha!
Is cream of tartar necessary in this recipe or can I substitute it for something else?
Hi Anam, the cream of tartar helps stabilize the egg whites while beating. I haven’t tested any substitutions in this cake. Typically a good substitute for cream of tartar is lemon juice or white vinegar in equal amounts.
Hi Natasha!
Would I be able to change the cherries to pineapples to make it a pineapple upside down cake?
You can use almost any kind of fruit on top! Think pineapples, peaches, nectarines, apricots, blueberries,…
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.
Glad you clarified that you used bing cherries. We have a family orchard that grows sweet cherries and every year I look for recipes that uses sweet cherries. Most are too sweet (cherry pie was not poplular)) but an upside down cake might work! Thank you for sharing!
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.