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If you love pineapple upside-down cake, you’re going to love these pineapple upside-down donuts! They’re moist, topped with a ring of pineapple, and so flavorful! A fun baked donut recipe everyone will love!
Pineapple Upside-Down Cake Donut Recipe
It’s donut o’clock! Which is pretty much my favorite time of day – all day//everyday. I just can’t get enough donuts. I love them! And these pineapple upside-down donuts are sure to be a new favorite near and far! Sticky, sweet, and ready in less than 20 minutes… these are a dream come true for donut lovers everywhere!
If you’ve been looking for a creative and unique donut recipe to really UP your donut baking game —> these are for you! An incredibly easy donut base gets an upgrade thanks to a thin slice of pineapple and a hearty sprinkle of brown sugar. The pineapple and brown sugar bake into the top of the donut, and like magic, you’ve made an incredible little treat in a jiffy! These donuts are proof that a lot of flavor can come from just a few basic ingredients. Who doesn’t love that?
A few things you should know about this recipe:
1) I use canned pineapple rings for ease and convenience. I prefer to buy the no-sugar added variety, and recommend using it for this recipe as the donuts are already quite sweet.
2) The pineapple rings will need to be sliced into thinner rings; you’ll cut each in half. The first time I made this recipe I used the rings straight out of the can and found that it was an unpleasant fruit-to-donut ratio. Slicing them in half evens everything out. I’ve placed some notes below the recipe in case you need more help with this step.
3) The tops of these donuts are sticky and sweet, making them quite unique. They are best eaten right away, but you can store them in the fridge for up to 48 hours, if need be.
Now break out your donut pan and get baking!
More Baked Donut Recipes:
- Coffee Cake Donuts with Vanilla Glaze
- Key Lime Coconut Donuts
- Blackberries and Cream Donuts
- Coffee Lovers Chocolate Cake Donuts
- Brown Butter Churro Donuts
Pineapple Upside-Down Donuts
Ingredients
For the batter:
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 cup milk (I used Vanilla Almond Milk, but Cow’s Milk will work fine)
- 1/4 cup pineapple juice (unsweetened)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
For the pineapples:
- 6 slices pineapple, from a can, patted dry, sliced in half (see note below)
- 6 tablespoons dark brown sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F).
- Generously grease a doughnut pan; set aside.
- In a large bowl whisk together the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl whisk together the milk, pineapple juice, vanilla, melted butter, and egg. Gently fold the wet mixture into the dry mixture – being careful not to over mix! Set aside.
- Using paper towels, gently pat the pineapple slices dry; set aside. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of brown sugar in each of the donut molds; break it up evenly around the mold, then place the pineapple over the sugar.
- Spoon batter into prepared donut pan (over the pineapple slices); each mold should be filled 3/4 of the way full; you will have leftover batter. Bake for 10-11 minutes, or until the donuts spring back when lightly pressed. Allow doughnuts to cool a few minutes in the pan before transferring to a wire wrack to cool for a few more minutes. Serve warm, or set aside until needed.
I’ve heard of pineapple upside down cake before, but have never seen a donut version. It looks so beautiful!
Thank you, Nazia! It’s a fun twist on the classic cake 😉
Love the idea! However I’m wondering if using pineapple tidbits and sprinkling them over the brown sugar would work instead of having to painstalkingly cutting the thick ring in half. Also we love the added marchino cherry in the middle of our pineapple ring on the upside down cake so I might also dice up alittle cherry to add to the tidbits.
These have got to be one of the most creative donut recipes I’ve ever seen -seriously, so smart!
Thank you girl 🙂 It was definitely a delicious day of work when I created these babies 😉
I love you for making these just for me. I am so making these soon
What can I say… you’re my inspiration 😉
OMG I love these!! That’s saying a lot since I don’t really get the appeal of pineapple upside down cake!
Aww Lauren you’re the sweetest! I hope our paths cross again very soon 🙂
Hi, what an absolutely unique and brilliant idea! I’ve not bought a doughnut pan yet as I’ve heard conflicting reports. Some say they’re great and a healthier way to enjoy doughnuts, others, that they just taste like cakes. Please can you help me. Do they actually taste like doughnuts? Love your site! Sammie http://www.feastingisfun.com
Hi Sammie. Great question. Personally I love baked donuts, but I’ll admit, they’re definitely not the same as fried. To me, that’s a good thing. They’re lighter, less greasy, and SO easy to make. So while they’re different, they’re amazing in their own way. They do taste like donuts, just baked ones. I hope that helps 🙂
Whoa! These are incredible! I can already taste them 🙂
Thank you! They’re one of my favorites <3
These are amazing!!! Such a great idea!
Thank you Amanda 🙂
I don’t have a donut pan but was thinking I would try this with my mini bundt pan…it would increase the cake to fruit ration so might be able to use a whole slice….any thoughts?
Hi Kathleen. I’ve never tried these in a mini bundt pan, so while I can’t say for sure it’ll work, I think a whole slice of pineapple would be fine 😉
I will try it out and let you know! Thank you for the inspiration.
I’ve made the mini-bundt version of pineapple upside-down cakes -they’re amazing!
Made these today, fantastic! I have the Norpro pans in the full size and the mini, just love them 🙂 Thank you for the wonderful recipe!
aku suka, aku copy ya resepe nya, makasih
These look amazing but I have a question. The recipe says it makes six doughnuts yet the ingredients call for 6 slices of pineapple (cutting them in half would make 12) and 6 tablespoons of brown sugar (1 teaspoon per doughnut would be 2 tablespoons total, I think). So, does this recipe make six or twelve?
OMG! OMG!
JANET TOTALLY MIXED ME UP! I’M TRYING THE RECIPE FOR THE FIRST TIME AND LOOKING AT THE COMMENTS SO THAT I CAN POSSIBLY DO A GOOD JOB AND THEN I SEE ALL OF THE QUESTIONS AND AM WONDERING – WILL I BE ABLE TO GET A DELICIOUS DESSERT OR DO I NEED TO DO SOMETHING ELSE BECAUSE OF JANET’S QUESTION?
Merci de proposer une traduction en français correct. Pour cette raison je supprime l’application.
These are delicious. The recipe does make more than 6 but not enough for 12, cutting the pineapple in half is a pain but worth it. I added a cherry and the doughnut grew around it and made them perfect. Love love love these!
While camping I substituted with a glazed donut, cut it in half and added all the b/sugar pineapple and cherry. Wrapped in tinfoil and put on thegrill ten minutes OH WOW THEY WERE SO GOOD!
I’m sorry…do you use 1 teaspoon of brown sugar or 1 tablespoon of it for each donut before putting in the pineapple?
In the ingredients it says”6 tablespoons dark brown sugar” but in the instructions it says “Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of brown sugar in each of the donut molds” Which is it?
Do you think the recipe will work the same with silicone donut molds?