This Campfire Dutch Oven Pineapple Upside Down Cake bakes beautifully over campfire coals and makes a delicious dessert alternative to the usual campfire s’mores.
Find more of my cast iron campfire Dutch oven recipes.
When my boys were younger, they were active in scouting. First they were cub scouts and eventually they both became Eagle Scouts. In between those achievements, there were a lot of camp outs. A LOT.
While in cub scouts, we participated in many family camps. In the beginning the meals were free for alls, but eventually we started organizing in group meals. Now the fun was starting to happen!
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Why this recipe works
- Dutch Oven: Think of a Dutch oven as a small oven. You can cook with it as you cook in a regular pot on your stove at home. It is also incredibly easy to bake with one, too. From a berry cobbler to a peach crisp, it is easy to bake desserts in a dutch oven!
- Simple: An upside down cake is super simple to make, especially in a dutch oven. I even share a hack to use box mix, if you don’t have the energy to bake the cake from scratch.
- Flavor: I personally love the flavors of this cake. It’s tropical and fruity without being overly sugary. I do use canned pineapples in natural fruit juice to help keep the sugar factor low. Sweet fruit caramelized and gorgeous with a moist and delicious cake – I’ll take this over s’mores any day!
Ingredients you need
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- Extra virgin olive oil: If you’ve read my blog before, then you learned your lesson on how to bake with olive oil. Your baked goods are only as good as the ingredients you put into it. Choose a mild tasting olive oil for this cake recipe, not a peppery one.
- Greek yogurt: Thick plain Greek yogurt is my secret to moist cakes. You can also use sour cream.
- Pineapple rings and juice: I use canned pineapples in their own natural juices without additional sugar added. You can use fresh pineapple if you want to peel and cut it up. But you also need pineapple juice, which you can get from the canned pineapple or buy the juice separately.
- Maraschino cherries: Yup, keeping it retro I use the bottled bright red maraschino cherries in this cake.
- Eggs: When I bake, I primarily use large eggs. You can use flax meal to make this cake vegan.
- Pantry staples: Granulated sugar, light brown sugar, all purpose flour, vanilla extract, baking powder, ground cinnamon and salt.
Step-by-step directions
- Prep the coals. In a fire ring, coal chimney or other fire-safe container add 20 charcoal briquettes. Light the briquettes and allow to heat up for approximately 20-30 minutes.
- Make the cake batter. Follow the recipe below and mix up the cake batter.
- Line dutch oven. Line the bottom and sides of your 10-inch cast iron Dutch oven with aluminum foil. You can also use Dutch oven liners. This is optional, but makes cleanup much easier.
- Add fruit. Place one layer, evenly spaced on the bottom of your Dutch oven with 7 pineapple rings. Place a maraschino cherries into the center of each pineapple ring and into any empty spaces on the bottom of your Dutch oven.
- Add brown sugar. Sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon evenly over the pineapple and cherries.
- Add cake batter. Pour cake batter evenly over the pineapple slices and place lid over Dutch oven.
- Bake the cake. In a fire ring or fire safe pan, place 12 of the hot charcoal briquettes using long handled tongs. Place Dutch oven over the hot briquettes. Place 8 remaining hot charcoal briquettes evenly on top of the lid of your Dutch oven and bake until cake is done, approximately 30 minutes.
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Expert tips and recipe FAQs
Whether you are making the cake from scratch or with box mix, you will need a 10-inch cast iron Dutch oven. When choosing the right Dutch oven, you want the kind with little feet, to elevate the pot and allow the heat to circulate.
Use a lid lifter to remove lid then use grill mitts to invert the dutch oven and remove the cake.
Want to bake this at home? No problem! I still prefer cast iron when I bake upside down cakes at home. Instead of a Dutch oven, I use a cast iron skillet instead. Easy peasy and bake at home at 350ºF for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
So you see, you can eat well on a camping trip! For our neighborhood rafting trip one summer, we made Campfire Chili with a Cornbread Crust. We’ve also made Campfire Eclairs and Baked Apples.
Another successful adventure in campfire cooking! Mad about your Dutch Oven? Here are my tips on how to cook in a Dutch oven. And for more dutch oven desserts, try my dutch oven berry cobbler, this lemon blueberry clafoutis or a dutch oven peach crisp.
And if you want more outdoor cooking inspiration, check out my new cookbook, The Camp & Cabin Cookbook (Countryman Press 2018). I have 100 recipes that are all prepared outdoors and over fire using multiple techniques. Learn more about my camp cookbook!
Storing/Freezing Instructions
TO STORE: Store any leftover cake in an airtight container and refrigerate (or place in a cooler) for up to 4 days.
TO FREEZE: If you are home, you can also freeze leftovers. Transfer to a resealable bag or freezer safe container and freeze for up to 4 months.
When we first made this cake at camp, we used yellow cake mix. It is super convenient to use on camping trips, especially with young scouts who aren’t quite ready to make a cake totally from scratch. Just swap out the water you add to the batter with pineapple juice. Don’t replace the oil with pineapple juice as your cake needs the fat from the oil.
Lining your Dutch oven is not necessary for baking a cake. But if you do not want to deal with the cleanup, some people like to line the pots with foil. I personally prefer NOT lining my pot because it guarantees the brown sugar and butter caramelizing and browning your beautiful pineapple.
Dutch Oven Pineapple Upside Down Cake
Ingredients
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ½ cup thick plain Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup pineapple juice
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoon light brown sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 7 pineapple rings canned or fresh
- 21 maraschino cherries
Instructions
- In a fire ring or other fire-safe container add 20 charcoal briquettes.
- Light the briquettes and allow to heat up for approximately 20-30 minutes.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together granulated sugar and olive oil until whipped and smooth.
- Whisk in yogurt, pineapple juice, eggs and vanilla extract.
- Whisk flour, baking powder and salt into egg mixture until smooth and combined.
- Line the bottom and sides of your 10-inch cast iron Dutch oven with aluminum foil. This is optional, but makes cleanup much easier.
- Place one layer, evenly spaced on the bottom of your Dutch oven with 7 pineapple rings.
- Place a maraschino cherries into the center of each pineapple ring and into any empty spaces on the bottom of your Dutch oven.
- Sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon evenly over the pineapple and cherries.
- In a fire ring or fire safe pan, place 12 of the hot charcoal briquettes. Place Dutch oven over the hot briquettes.
- Pour cake batter evenly over the pineapple slices and place lid over Dutch oven.
- Place 8 remaining hot charcoal briquettes evenly on top of the lid of your Dutch oven and bake until cake is done, approximately 30 minutes.
- Remove Dutch oven from heat and remove lid. Let cake cool for 15-20 minutes.
- Place a serving plate over Dutch oven, right side down.
- Very carefully flip the dutch oven over, using oven mitts because the pot is still hot, so that the upside down Dutch oven is resting over the plate.
- Carefully place the plate on a table and slowly remove dutch oven, making sure the cake remains on the plate.
- Carefully peel the foil off the cake.
- Serve warm or room temperature.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
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Written by Laura Bashar
Hi, I’m Laura, a certified professional cook and cookbook author living in San Diego. I have been sharing my family’s favorite recipes inspired from all over the world since 2008. Let’s cook up something fun!