Pineapple Upside-Down Cupcakes
This dish was inspired by the national pineapple upside-down cake day which is April 20th. If you have been following us since the beginning, you know we have lots of pineapples to play with and we figured why not. Lets make pineapple upside-down on the fly. Fun Fact: The origins of the pineapple upside down cake date back hundreds of years, when people would cook on cast-iron skillets over open fires. When they wanted a sweet treat, they would line the bottom of the pans with fruit, and pour batter on top. When the cake was ready, the pan was flipped over, revealing the gorgeous pattern of caramelized fruit on the top.
Ingredients
- 120 Fresh Pineapples Chunks (taking a pineapple, cubing and coring it)
- 24 Maraschino Cherries (stemless)
- ¾ cup packed light brown sugar
- ¾ cup unsalted butter (for brown sugar base)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened (for batter)
- 1 cup pineapple juice
- 2 large eggs
- ½ tablespoon vanilla bean paste or extract
Instructions
- Gather your ingredients
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Spray 24 muffin cup wells with a non-stick cooking spray.
- Line two baking trays with parchment paper and put the muffin tins on top.
- Peel and core your pineapple and cut into chunks.
- Melt ¾ cup of butter in a microwave safe bowl. Then stir brown sugar into melted butter.
- Divide mixture among the muffin wells. Should be about 2 teaspoons each.
- Arrange pineapple chunks on top of the sugar mixture, about 4 or 5 in each.
- Then push your cherry into the middle. Ensure it is pushed to the bottom.
- Now using a mixer, add your flour, 1 ½ cups of sugar, baking powder and salt and whisk together in a mixing bowl until mixed. We started on slow and worked our way up to medium. (about 30sec).
- Once mixed, Remove the whisk and attach a paddle.
- Now add 1 ½ cups softened butter and pineapple juice then mix until batter is smooth, about 1 to 2 minutes on low to medium speed. (If using a paddle attachment that doesn’t constantly scape bowl. Then occasionally stop mixer and scrape down sides and bottom of bowl throughout mixing process)
- While mixer is still mixing, Add in your eggs and vanilla bean paste until well combined.
- Using a small scoop divide batter evenly among muffin tray, layering batter over pineapples.
- With your oven preheated to 350° F. Place in your muffins for about 25 minutes or until you can stick a toothpick into the middle and it comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and let cool for about 5 minutes,
- Then run a silicon or plastic knife around edges to loosen. (this prevents scratching of your pan)
- Place a wire cooling rack over top of muffin pan and flip so the muffin are now upside down resting on the wire rack. (if you loosen the edges up correctly with the knife. The muffins should come out cleanly.
- Let stand until completely cooled and then enjoy :).
