Celebrity

‘The Pioneer Woman’ Ree Drummond’s Boozy Berry Upside-Down Cake Recipe Is a ‘Total Winner’

Ree Drummond knows how to create a delicious desert that will leave family and friends asking for more. Here's how she makes her boozy berry upside-down cake.

by Sheiresa Ngo

Published on January 26, 2022

2 min read

Ree Drummond’s boozy berry upside-down cake

Ree Drummond talks to Savannah Guthrie on the set of the 'Today' show in front of pictures of Drummond's family.

Savannah Guthrie and Ree Drummond | Nathan Congleton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

One recipe Drummond says she has made for years is pineapple upside-down cake. She decided to make a “boozy berry version” of this dessert. For the booze, Drummond uses tequila. She starts by making the batter first. She mixes flour, sugar, baking powder, and sweetened coconut. After she stirs the ingredients, she adds a pinch of salt and stirs in milk.

Next, Drummond adds one egg. Instead of vanilla extract, like she usually uses in pineapple upside-down cake, she uses coconut extract. After this step, Drummond adds a panful of melted butter. Drummond loves this cake because it doesn’t require mixing the dry ingredients separately and combining them slowly. “It’s just a super simple cake to stir together,” she says on The Pioneer Woman.

Baking the upside-down cake

After mixing the ingredients, Drummond prepares a non-stick cake pan by spreading melted butter and brown sugar in the bottom of the pan. Then she adds tequila and mixed berries (blueberries, strawberries, and blackberries). She calls it a “berry free-for-all.”

Drummond tells home cooks to make sure the batter is completely stirred together before pouring it into the cake pan. After stirring the batter, she pours it over the berries. She places the mixture into the oven and bakes it for 45 minutes at 450 degrees.

Drummond uses a non-stick pan, but she suggests running a knife around the edges of the pan before removing the cake. This will prevent any of the cake from sticking to the sides when you remove it. She then grabs a cake platter and places it on top of the cake. Next, she carefully flips the cake pan upside down and gently lifts the pan. The result is a delicious, berry upside-down cake.

The Pioneer Woman finishes the cake by adding whipped cream. “This is my kind of cake right here,” says Drummond. “Fruity, and sticky, and sweet. And you’ve got to have whipped cream because then it all makes sense.” Drummond was satisfied with the result. “This one is a total winner,” she said.

Ree Drummond presented the Merry Berry Sundae on her discovery+ special

Another berry recipe Drummond presented to her viewers was the Merry Berry Sunday, which was featured on her discovery+ special. The sundae was created by Michael Calhoun, the general manager at P-Town (Drummond’s pizza shop) and Charlie’s (Drummond’s ice cream shop).

The merry berry sundae has many interesting elements. Calhoun starts by placing strawberry, huckleberry, and dark cherry ice cream in a cup. Then he tops the ice cream with marshmallow cream. After that, he covers the cream and ice cream with berries (strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, cranberries, and raspberries). He completes the sundae by drizzling red and green chocolate ganache on top. You can find the complete ingredients and directions on the Food Network website.

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