When removed from the oven, the finished upside-down preparation is flipped over and de-panned onto a serving plate.

Flipping the cake before serving puts the right-side up, so that the ingredients that were in the bottom of the pan are the toppings.

[1] Usually chopped or sliced fruits—such as apples, cherries, peaches, or pineapples[2][3]—butter, and sugar are placed on the bottom of the pan before the batter is poured in, so that they form a baked-on topping after the cake is inverted.

[4] The first American recipes for upside-down cake, using prunes, appeared in newspapers in 1923.

[5][6] Traditional upside-down preparations include the American pineapple upside-down cake, the French Tarte Tatin,[7] and the Brazilian or Portuguese bolo de ananás (also known as bolo de abacaxi).