Mini Pineapple Upside Down Cakes




One of my grandmother's favorite desserts is pineapple upside down cake. There are a few foods that remind me of my grandmother: pop overs, chocolate-covered cherries, decaf coffee and pineapple upside cake. If you can't tell from that list of favorite foods, my grandma is awesome. She's got classic tastes.




This is the perfect cake for spring. Or for anyone with spring fever. And I LOVE the mini size. It's a good reminder that a small portion is plenty. Or one and half. Or one and then just another cherry. I'm a sucker for the cherries.



Mini Pineapple Upside Down Cakes, makes one dozen. Adapted from here. 

For the topping:

1 can pineapple rings (or you can use fresh pineapple)
1 teaspoon whiskey
6 maraschino cherries
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar

For the batter:

1 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup softened butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon whiskey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup pineapple juice




In a small pot over medium heat stir together 1/4 cup butter, 1/2 cup brown sugar and a teaspoon of whiskey. Once the mixture starts to bubble, let it cook another minute or two. It should thicken a little. Remove from heat and spoon into a buttered cupcake pan. Now lay in the pineapple slices and cherry halves. I found that my pineapple slices were a bit too big for standard size baking cups. To remedy this, I sliced out a bit of the pineapple, shown in the photo above.



For the batter first whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Now cream together the softened butter and sugar. Stir in the eggs, whiskey and vanilla extract. Now add in half the flour mixture, stir. Then pour in the reserved 1/2 cup pineapple juice, stir. Then the remaining flour mixture. Spoon mixture over the prepared pineapple filled pans. Don't overfill the cups, but they will be slightly more full than standard cupcake recipes. One heaping spoonful per cup should do it.




Bake at 350°F for 25-28 minutes until golden brown and a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool for a few minutes. While they cooled, I laid a cutting board over the cakes to help create a flatter bottom for them to sit on. Invert the pan over a cutting board or large plate to turn the mini cakes upside down (which for these is right side up). If any pineapple pieces fall off, put them back in place.



These are absolutely delicious served right out of the oven, but they can also sit in the refrigerator overnight in an air tight container. Somehow the pineapple top helps to keep them moist if you want to make them the night before an event. 










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