Pineapple Upside Down Cake Cups

I was craving something sweet and really wanted cake but am out of powdered sugar so I had to think of a cake that didn't need icing, or an icing alternative and then remembered how amazing pineapple upside down cake is. I looked up my moms recipe and saw the cake took 45 minutes to cook and at 7:30 p.m. I did not want to wait that long plus cool time to indulge so I decided to make mini-cakes using my jumbo cupcake tin from Wilton.

Ingredients

For the topping:
1 stick of butter
9 TBL brown sugar
1 can pineapple chunks
9 maraschino cherries

For the cake: 
2 cups AP flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c salted butter softened
1 1/3 c brown sugar
2 large eggs at room temperature
2 tsp vanilla paste
1 cup whole milk







Instructions


1. Preheat oven to 350° F.

2. Spray a jumbo muffin tin with cooking spray and set aside.

3. Add the butter and sugar from the topping section to a small saucepan over medium heat and heat, stirring constantly until the butter is melted and the mixture is completely smooth. Remove from heat and distribute evenly between the 9 cavities of the jumbo tin (may also work in a standard 12 cupcake tin).

4. Take pineapple chunks and cut in half keeping the core intact, lay 6 pieces in a circle on top of the butter and sugar mixture. Place a maraschino cherry in the middle.

5. In the bowl of a stand mixer mix the butter and sugar from the cake ingredients until light and fluffy, the more air you get in now the lighter your cake will be (skipping this step will cause a dense bread like cake). 

6. Add in the eggs and vanilla paste (extract will work as well) and mix well after each ingredient. 

7. Add the dry ingredients in thirds alternating which ingredient you're putting in, mixing each time just until combined. 

8. Evenly distribute the batter among the 9 cavities. 

9. Bake at 350°F for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. 

10. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Then run a butter knife along the outer edges to loosen them from the pan, place an upside down wire rack on top and flip over onto a cookie sheet lined with a silicone baking mat (or parchment paper).

11. Allow to cool a little more and enjoy. Serve as is or with a little homemade whipped cream. 

Just remember, with planning and organization, you CAN do it all.