Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Pineapple Upside Down Cupcakes

About two weeks before Memorial Day, I got a craving for pineapple upside down cake. I knew I was having a holiday BBQ, but cakes really aren’t ideal for grab and go. I decided to transform this into a cupcake. They went over really well, and are a relatively easy way to get fancy with your cupcakes.

I used Betty Crocker’s standard recipe, with a few modifications.

Gooey Yummy Topping (Tripled Betty Crocker Recipe)

1 cup butter or margarine (melted)
2 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
24 slices pineapple in juice (from 14-oz can), drained
12 maraschino cherries without stems, if desired

Batter: (doubled from Betty Crocker recipe to make 24 cupcakes)

2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup shortening
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup milk
2 eggs

1. Heat Oven to 350.

2. Prep your pineapples slices. I used standard canned pineapple slices in pineapple juice. The ring is too big for a standard cupcake pan, so I used a cookie cutter to reduce the circle to fit. This is ubber messy, but for the overall look – worth it. I got frustrated for a little while and just cut up some of the slices and sprinkled around the cherry which also works and you can probably use 1/3 to ½ less pineapple slices (since there is no waste).

3. Prepare the melted butter, add brown sugar and stir until mixed. Do not use cupcake liners. Add a large spoonful to each cupcake mold (enough to cover the bottom generously). Next, add the pineapple and ½ cherry to each mold.

4. In medium bowl, beat remaining ingredients with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly. Beat on high speed 3 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour batter over pineapple and cherries. I filled the molds mostly to the top since this isn’t an incredible rising cake. You’ll notice the batter is almost a bit dense.

5. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Immediately place heatproof serving plate upside down over pan; turn plate and pan over. Leave pan over cake a few minutes so brown sugar mixture can drizzle over cake; remove pan. I used baking sheets to do this and it worked pretty well. In a few cases, the pineapples stuck and I had to loosen and re-attach to the cupcake, but it all worked out. Turn each cupcake over so the pineapple is on top and place in a liner. Served best warm. Tip - Throw in the micro for 15 seconds each if prepped ahead of time.

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