Salty Mezcal Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

Name: Salty Mezcal Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
Yield: 10
Cuisine: American

RECIPE: Excerpted from Simple Pleasures: Incredibly Craveable Recipes for Everyday Cooking by Jodi Moreno. Photography by David Alvarado. Reprinted by permission of Gibbs Smith Books, copyright 2025.

Photo: David Alvarado

June 30, 2025

Flip expectations with a mezcal-soaked pineapple upside-down cake.

Americans have been making pineapple upside-down cakes since at least 1925, when a Hawai’i-based fruit company that later became the Dole corporation sponsored a national pineapple baking contest. In her new cookbook, Simple Pleasures, Jodi Moreno updates the century-old rubric by marinating sliced pineapple in mezcal to create a caramel with complex, smoky flavors. “While mezcal is my personal favorite liquor here, you can also make this cake using tequila or rum,” she writes, or leave out the alcohol entirely. If you opt for the boozy version, any leftover pineapple slices or infused liquor would be delicious in cocktails or as a snack to nibble on while the dessert bakes, she adds. For the most photogenic results, let the cake cool completely before inverting it—but, rest assured, it will be delicious any way you slice it.

Ingredients

Topping
1 small pineapple, peeled, cored, and sliced into 1/8-inch-thick rounds, then sliced in half
1/2 to 1 cup mezcal
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup panela or light brown sugar, packed
1 tsp. flaky sea salt
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Cake
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Tools:small baking sheet, 9-inch cast iron skillet, large mixing bowl

Preparation

ToppingPlace sliced pineapple on a small baking sheet and pour mezcal over the top to cover. Marinate for 2 to 3 hours, or up to overnight.

Melt the butter in a 9-inch cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add the panela or brown sugar and cook, stirring constantly, until dissolved, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, sprinkle salt over the top, and add marinated pineapple slices in whatever pattern you like. Set aside.

Make and assemble the cakePreheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda. Make a well in the center and add the eggs, coconut milk, melted butter, lime juice and vanilla. Stir to combine the wet ingredients within the well, then fold in the flour mixture until smooth. Pour the batter into the skillet over the pineapple slices and smooth the top. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. For crispy edges, bake 5 minutes past done. Remove from the oven and rest for at least 10 minutes before inverting the skillet onto a plate. Serve warm.