Pineapple upside down cake campfire desserts are the perfect sweet ending to a family camping dinner. Best of all you can make them ahead of time and simply pop them on the grill when it’s time for dessert. If you love pineapple upside down cake, just wait until you try it on a stick!
It can be hard to find easy camping desserts the whole family can’t wait to dig into but my pineapple upside down campfire kabobs fit the bill. There is nothing sweeter than grilled pineapple – unless you pair it with cherries and pound cake. Now we have a winner!
The last time we went camping, the kids could not wait to get their marshmallows and make s’mores. Only problem? I forgot the marshmallows! Whoops!
Lucky for me, I had leftover pineapple from our dinner, pineapple teriyaki chicken grill pack. Also lucky, we brought some pound cake with us for the trip. It was time to get creative! Combining sweet grilled pineapple with spongy pound cake, all topped with a sweet cherry, these pineapple upside down campfire dessert kabobs were a delicious success!
Even adults can’t wait to get their hands on these. No need to spend all day in a hot kitchen especially during summer. This is an easy, creative way to enjoy an old family favorite.
Ready to dig in and satisfy that sweet tooth? You got it! Looking for other campfire desserts? Try my campfire eclairs or cake in an orange!
HOW DO I MAKE THESE PINEAPPLE UPSIDE DOWN CAMPFIRE DESSERTS?
Cubes of delicious pound cake – made ahead or store bought – are dipped into melted butter then rolled in sugar. Then layered with maraschino cherries and cinnamon-sugar pineapple on a skewer.
Grill each skewer to mouthwatering perfection and it’s like pineapple upside-down cake on a stick.
CAN I FREEZE THESE PINEAPPLE UPSIDE DOWN CAMPFIRE DESSERTS?
These sponge cake bites can easily be frozen ahead of time until you’re ready to use them. Dip all your sponge bites into the sugar, then place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Once you have every bite covered, flash freeze until hard, usually about 30-45 minutes will do the trick.
In a second gallon size baggie, add the pineapple with brown sugar and cinnamon, swish around to coat the pineapple, then squish all the air out of the bag to lay flat in the freezer. These can be stored in the freezer for about 2 months… but you probably won’t make it that long before these are gone. 😉
FINAL NOTES & TIPS
If using wood skewers, soak in water 6-12 hours first. Tip: soak the whole package of wood skewers in water overnight, then place into a gallon sized freezer bag, seal and freeze to use whenever you need pre-soaked wood skewers.
Making these at home? Even if you’re not a camping kind of family, most of us have a gas or charcoal grill at home ready to fire up. There is something about grilling food that screams summer but even if you like to do your grilling indoors, this fun and kid friendly treat is just as easy to make on an indoor grill top.
Can I use other fruits besides pineapple? You can, but it’ll be a completely new dessert. You could try strawberry, peach, or apple for a lighter dessert – all grill easily and work well with sponge cake!
Pineapple Upside Down Cake Kabobs
Ingredients
- 4 cups fresh pineapple cut into chunks
- 1 – 10 oz pound cake
- 1 jar maraschino cherries
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ cup melted butter
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 10 roasting skewers for grilling or if cooking over campfire use roasting sticks
Instructions
- In a medium bowl combine brown sugar and cinnamon. Mix well then add pineapple and stir to coat all sides of pineapple pieces.
- Chop your pound cake into 1-½ inch cubes (about the size of your pineapple chunks).
- Dip each cube into melted butter then roll in the sugar until coated on all sides.
Make it Now
- Drain cherries from the juice.
- Add items to kabob skewer sticks in this order. One cherry, Cake, Pineapple, cherry, cake, pineapple, cherry, cake, pineapple, cherry and cake.
- Grill: Preheat your grill to high heat. Place your kabobs on a lightly greased, hot grill grate and cook, turning often until pineapple and cake are golden brown and slightly crispy, about 3-4 minutes. Be careful to turn often so they don't burn.
- Campfire Coals: Your campfire should have been going for a while so that you have a nice 1-2 inch layer of hot & ready white coals. If you are using briquettes, light them and wait about 10 minutes until they are not flaming and starting to turn white. Place your kabobs on a lightly greased, hot grill grate and cook, turning often until pineapple and cake are golden brown and slightly crispy, about 3-4 minutes. Be careful to turn often so they don't burn.
- Campfire: have a nice roaring campfire going. This method (kind of like roasting marshmallows) is the most difficult to get them perfect, but hey, it's camping. Burning stuff happens, right? It's still good. 🙂 Roast kabobs over the fire, turning and watching always until cake and pineapple are golden brown and slightly crispy.
Make Ahead & Freeze
- There are two different ways you can decide to prep these ahead. 1. Make Kabobs & Freeze: Add all the dipped cake, pineapple and cherries onto pre-soaked or metal skewers. Place in 2-gallon sized freezer safe bags, being careful not to poke holes in the bag. Seal bag, removing air and freeze flat. 2. Freeze ingredients without skewers. Dip all your bread in the butter & sugar, then place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Flash freeze until hard, about 30-45 minutes. Then transfer to a gallon sized freezer safe bag and freeze until ready to use. Add pineapple, brown sugar and cinnamon to another freezer bag, swish around to coat pineapple. Drain cherry juice and add cherries to a quart sized freezer bag or keep in jar and use when it's time to cook. Add all bags to one bag and freeze them together.
Cook from Frozen
- I love to cook mine right from frozen, but it doesn't matter which way you cook them from. From frozen use the same instructions as above, but give them a little more time (maybe 2-3 more minutes) to cook all the way through.
Let me know if you try this recipe!!