Pineapple Upside Down Spam Cake
Spam in a cake? Yep. And it’s surprisingly delicious.
When I was brainstorming recipes to pair with my first Cassandra Sato mystery, Death by Dissertation, I knew it had to involve Spam. Cassandra grew up in Hawai‘i, where Spam is practically a food group (seriously, six million cans eaten every year!).
This Pineapple Upside Down Spam Cake is sweet, savory, and just quirky enough to feel right at home in a mystery novel. It’s a nod to our years living in Hawai‘i and to the comfort food that makes appearances on Cassandra’s plate and in her adventures.
Featured on Travel Channel’s Bizarre Foods, this cake surprises and delights even the Spam-skeptics. You’ve got the classic caramelized pineapple on top, tender cake underneath, and crispy-salty slices of Spam bringing the whole thing together.
My family agreed to be guinea pigs for this creation. One of the kids refused to even try it (your loss, buddy), but the rest were shocked at how tasty it turned out. If your travel plans don’t include a Hawaiian getaway anytime soon, this cake might just be the next best thing.
Pineapple Upside Down Spam Cake
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup brown sugar Stevia or use regular brown sugar
- 9 slices canned pineapple save the extra juice in the can
- 9 maraschino cherries from a jar
- 1 can Spam cut into 1/2" slices
- 1 cup whole wheat flour or white flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 cup Sweetener like Stevia or use white sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 7 tbsp pineapple juice
- 3 egg whites keep separate from yolks
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Melt butter in a 9" round or square layer cake pan. Spread brown sugar evenly in pan and arrange pineapple slices on sugar, filling in spaces in pineapple centers with cherries.
- Optional, you can fry the Spam slices (like bacon) until lightly brown in a skillet before building your cake. It tastes great either way, but if texture is a consideration, try frying it first. Arrange sliced Spam over pineapple slices.
- Beat egg yolks until light and fluffy, adding sugar gradually; add vanilla, pineapple juice, flour, baking powder and salt together. Stir until combined.Pour egg whites into a separate metal bowl and beat until stiff peaks form. Fold egg whites into the cake mixture and stir carefully, trying to smooth out any lumps.
- Pour batter over the prepared Spam and pineapples, spreading evenly to edges of pan.
- Bake in a preheated oven 375°F for 35 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Turn baking pan upside down onto a serving plate. Serve warm. Store leftover cake loosely covered in the refrigerator.
Notes
Kelly Brakenhoff is the author of 15 books and a seasoned ASL interpreter. She splits her writing energy between two series: cozy mysteries set on a college campus and children’s books featuring Duke the Deaf Dog.
In 2025, two of her children’s books were selected for the CBC Favorites Award Lists, honored by teachers and librarians nationwide for excellence in children’s literature. Parents, kids, and educators love the Duke the Deaf Dog books and activity guides because they introduce ASL and the Deaf community through engaging stories.
And if you enjoy a smart female sleuth, want to learn more about Deaf culture, or have lived in a place where livestock outnumber people, the Cassandra Sato Mystery series will have you connecting the dots faster than a group project thrown together the night before it’s due.
A proud mom to four adults, head of the dog-snuggling department, and grandma to a growing brood of perfectly behaved grandkids, Kelly and her husband call Nebraska home.
Want more quirky food + cozy crime? Check out Death by Dissertation—Cassandra Sato’s first adventure starts with academic drama… and a suspicious death on campus.
