upside-down cake

American  

noun

1. a cake that is baked on a layer of fruit, then turned before serving so that the fruit is on top.

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upside-down cake British  

noun

1. a sponge cake baked with sliced fruit at the bottom, then inverted before serving

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Etymology

Origin of upside-down cake

An Americanism dating back to 1920–25

Example Sentences

The pineapple upside-down cake went viral long before social media.

From Salon • Mar. 16, 2023

And while the pineapple version made the upside-down cake widely known in North America, the concept was around long before then.

From Salon • Mar. 16, 2023

I’d get the pineapple upside-down cake, the bread pudding and the lemon iced pound cake.

From Washington Post • Nov. 14, 2022

Instead of traditional pineapple upside-down cake, try this playful riff on the standard with yogurt company siggi’s Icelandic yogurt pear upside-down cake.

From Fox News • Dec. 24, 2021

So on Monday morning, I hopped off the bus and waited by the gate with a slice of Ma’s pineapple upside-down cake snuck in my bag.

From "Monday's Not Coming" by Tiffany D. Jackson