Easy Cake Mix Peach Upside-Down Cake

When you hear the words "upside-down cake," they are usually in the context of a pineapple and maraschino cherry confection. But you can make the classic dessert with other types of fruit, including peaches, plums, and pears can be used.

This peach upside-down cake is fast and easy to prepare because it starts with a cake mix. The irresistible dessert is soaked with sweet fruit juices and topped with caramelized brown sugar for a moist treat. It can be baked in one rectangular cake pan or two 8-inch round cake pans.

How did the upside-down cake become embedded in the culinary repertoire of nearly every home cook? Bakers have been cooking cakes "upside-down" in cast-iron skillets and flipping them out onto a serving platter for hundreds of years, but it wasn't until the mid-1800s that they got the name "spider cakes" because the cast-iron skillets were known as "spiders."

With the advent of canned fruit by the Dole company in the early 20th century, in particular, pineapple cut into perfect rings, the upside-down cake really took off. Topped with maraschino cherries for a pop of color, canned fruit became the convenient, preferred way to make upside-down cakes.