I definitely have a sweet tooth--I will eat just about any dessert you put in front of me! However, I have never found pineapple upside down cake particularly appealing. I’m not really sure why I stayed away from pineapple upside down cake for so long; especially since I remember my mom making it for my dad when I was a child and he loved it. I recently came across a recipe for pineapple upside down cupcakes; I had all of the ingredients on hand to make them, so I decided to give them a try. These cupcakes were so delicious and easy to make, they have definitely changed me into a pineapple upside down cake lover--I will certainly be making these again!Ingredients:
Topping:
- 1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 12 pineapple rings
- 12 maraschino cherries (I omitted)
Cupcakes:
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup pineapple juice, reserved from can
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 egg
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray. Drain the pineapple, reserving the juice for the cupcake batter. In a small bowl, combine melted butter with brown sugar.
Evenly divide the mixture between the 12 muffin cups, approximately 1 teaspoon per muffin cup. Cut about 1/3 out of each pineapple ring and place on top of brown sugar mixture in each muffin cup. Add a cherry in the center of each pineapple ring.
In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, and baking powder. Add pineapple juice, vanilla, and butter. Using a mixer, beat on low until just combined. Increase speed and beat for 2 minutes.
Add the egg and beat until well incorporated. Evenly divide the batter among the muffin cups.
Bake approximately 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool the cupcakes for 5 minutes in the pan. Flip muffin pan onto a platter or covered rack (it helps to run a butter knife along the edges of each cupcake to ensure they come out completely). Cool and enjoy!
