Dutch Oven Pineapple Upside Down Cake
This pineapple upside down dump cake is an easy campfire dessert recipe. Dump all the ingredients in a cast iron dutch oven and cook over campfire coals.
You’ll look like you spent so much time preparing this beautiful campfire cake, but in reality, the prep takes less than 5 minutes and creates zero dirty dishes. (Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me.)
I’ve tested a few different variations of this campfire pineapple upside down dump cake, but this version creates the most evenly cooked and moist cake.
I hope it’s a camping dessert your family loves as much as mine does!
more dutch oven dump cake recipes
How to Cook CAmpfire Pineapple Upside Down Cake
Camping dump cakes cook best in a dutch oven because the cast iron retains the heat and acts as an oven, something an aluminum pan covered with tin foil just can’t do.
If you don’t have a dutch oven in your camping kitchen box, I would highly suggest investing in one. It’s the one camping tool I can’t imagine living without!
Cook it in a Dutch Oven Over Charcoal Briquets
Cooking over charcoal briquets allows you to control the heat better than cooking over campfire embers.
I usually light charcoal and place it in the fire pit next to the fire to cook this dutch oven dessert on. So you can still have a campfire going while your dessert cooks more evenly over the coals.
Number of Coals Needed
A general rule of thumb when baking in a dutch oven is to use double the amount of coals on the top as the bottom. For my 12″ dutch oven, I used approximately 10 coals on bottom and 20 coals on top and cooked for about 30 minutes.
You can also use the campfire coals from a fire that has died down to cook this dutch oven pineapple upside down cake. Just be sure you have enough to also place on top of the dutch oven.
Ingredients in Dutch Oven Pineapple Upside Down Dump Cake
- Canned pineapple rings: You’ll want to buy sliced pineapple rings to get the classic pineapple upside down cake look. I ended up having two extra rings which I diced up and added to the cake on top of the rings. Be sure to save the juice!
- Brown Sugar: This helps the pineapple to carnalize, but regular sugar can work if that’s all you’ve got.
- Cake Mix: Both white cake mix and yellow cake mix work well in the recipe.
- Sprite & Pineapple Juice: Combine 1/3 cup of the reserved pineapple juice with 1/3 cup of Sprite.
- Butter: The little pads of butter on top help the cake to fully cook through in all the spots so there aren’t any dry pockets.
a note from Jenny
I’ve made a lot of different dump cake variations in the last year, and my husband commented that this one was his favorite of all of them!
Looking for other camping dessert ideas? Try out this Cherry Chocolate Dump Cake or these dutch oven camping desserts (coming soon).
How to make Pineapple Upside Down Cake While Camping
In this section you’ll find a step by step tutorial of how to make this recipe with photos. The full recipe with exact measurements, steps and a printable card can be found at the bottom of the post.
Scroll through the images to see the steps –>
1. Prepare Dutch Oven
Line your dutch oven with parchment paper (or dutch oven parchment paper liners). The parchment paper is going to help us achieve the perfect flip once the cake is cooked!
2. Add Butter and Sugar
Slice 2 tablespoons of butter as thinly as possible and layout evenly across the bottom of the dutch oven. Sprinkle brown sugar across the top.
2. Lay in Pineapple Rings and Cherries
Place the pineapple slices on top of the butter and brown sugar. Add cherries in the center of each ring (and other openings if you have kids that love maraschino cherries!)
3. Cover with Cake Mix
Dump yellow or white cake mixture on top, spreading across the pineapples evenly.
4. Top with Liquid and Butter
Campfire dump cake recipes usually call for butter OR liquid to cook the cake mixture. However, I’ve found that a combination of both gives the most moist and evenly cooked dump cake.
I’ve had the best results with pouring 6 oz. of liquid (in this recipe, 6 oz. Sprite mixed with 4 Tbsp. pineapple juice) as evenly as possible over the cake mix. (There’s no need to stir. In fact, don’t stir it up.)
Then, thinly slice the butter and arrange those evenly across the top of the ingredients.
5. Cook over Charcoal Briquets
Place the dutch oven on top of 10 pieces of charcoal (evenly spaced apart or in a ring) with 20 pieces of charcoal on top of the dutch oven lid (again, evenly spaced apart or in a ring around the outside).
Cook for approximately 30 minutes, checking for doneness once the cake is cooked through.
(Charcoal numbers are based on a 12″ dutch oven. Cooking times are approximate and will depend on air temperature and well as wind conditions.)
5. Enjoy!
To flip the cake, hold the parchment paper on both sides to lift the cake out of the dutch oven. Place a large plate or cutting board on top of the cake and quickly flip it over, revealing the beautiful pineapples on top!
Pineapple Upside Down Dump Cake
Equipment
- 1 dutch oven 10"-12" works best for this recipe
- 1 parchment paper dutch oven liner makes clean up SO much easier
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup salted butter, divided in half
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1 can pineapples (in pineapple juice), sliced
- 10 maraschino cherries
- 6 oz Sprite
- 1 box white or yellow cake mix
Instructions
- Place a parchment paper dutch oven liner in the dutch oven.
- Slice 2 tablespoons of butter into thin slices and arrange in the bottom of dutch oven.
- Sprinkle brown sugar evenly on the bottom of the dutch oven.
- Arrange pineapple slices across the bottom. Dice up any remaining pineapples that don't fit in the bottom and sprinkle the diced pieces on top.
- Add cherries in the center of the pineapple rings and spread in other open areas between the pineapples.
- Sprinkle cake mix over the top and lightly spread it out to evenly distribute the mix.
- Mix about 4 tablespoons of the pineapple juice left over from the can into the Sprite. (You'll have about 1 cup of liquid total at this point.) Evenly pour the liquid on top of the cake mix.
- Slice the remaining two tablespoons of butter into thin slices and arrange evenly across the top of the cake.
- Cover with the dutch oven lid and place on top of a ring of 8-10 hot coals. Place approximately 20 hot coals on top. Bake for 35-45 minutes, until the cake is cooked through. (It's helpful to rotate your dutch oven a quarter turn on your coals every 10-15 minutes to help it cook evenly.)
- Once it's baked through, lift the parchment paper out of the oven with two hands. Then, plate a large plate on top of the cake and quickly flip the cake and quickly flip it over to reveal the top of the cake with the pineapples and cherries.
Nutrition
Let me know how this cake turned out for you! I hope it’s one that you enjoy as much as my husband does.