Pineapple Upside Down Cupcake - caramelized pineapple top with a perfect balance of sweetness can be also called Pineapple upside-down muffins.
Ever since I made my Pineapple Upside Down Cake, I was literally waiting - as a young teenage girl waits for her Knight in shining armor - to make a cupcake out of it.
Pineapple Upside Down Cupcakes from Scratch
Sometimes your curiosity will make you do stuff that you only could've imagined. So, while hiking yesterday, I was thinking about making them tomorrow.
But, the large circular rings of the pineapples would be too large for my small muffin tin. So, I decided to cut them in small wedges and arrange them in the muffin tin. Thanks to the Good Lord sitting in heaven - It worked!
These cupcakes taste excellent. I mean, I could actually reach out to you right now and make you taste one, then I would do that right away. Just the perfect balance of sweetness. Crunchy on the bottom and a little soft, caramelized pineapply on the top.
The chunky pineapples stuck to the top of the cupcake creating a beautiful frosting of its own makes your life so much easier and so much fun.
And, before I forget, the shape of it. It has got quite a weird looking shape - large top and small bottom. But that is what is the most attractive part of these cupcakes. I can guarantee you that if you were going by a bakery shop and you'd see these babies, you would simply want to reach out to them asap.
But, why should you buy that, when you can make one. I am gonna teach you how. Relax, get a cup of coffee, put your feet up, and let's see the recipe for Pineapple Upside Down Cupcake.
How to make Pineapple Upside Down Cupcakes? An Overview
- Making the Caramel - The First step of this cupcake is melting some brown sugar and butter at low flame until its smooth and creamy. This should not take more than 1-2 minutes. Keep stirring because you don't want the caramel to stick to the bottom of the pan and eventually burn itself down. (believe me, it happens real quick, like a blink of an eye)
- Preparing the Muffin Tin - You don't need a cupcake liner for this. Grease the tin with butter or oil or cooking spray generously. Take a spoon of caramel and stick it to the bottom of the tin. Spread it evenly so that it looks sorta smooth. This will be the top layer of your cake.
- Decorating the Cupcakes - Cut out wedges of Pineapple and place them on top of the caramel. It doesn't really matter how you decorate. So go wild with your decoration. Decorate just the way you want your cupcakes to look. If you want, you can place a cherry in the middle - just for that traditional Pineapple Upside Down cake look.
- Making the Cupcake batter - This is pretty basic. Prepare and mix your dry and wet ingredients and pour them evenly in the muffin tin.
- Getting them baked - After preheating my oven at 350F I baked them for a complete 10-minutes. After 10-minutes, I reduced the temperature to 240F and baked for an additional 5 minutes. I let them cool down completely. And, they came out from the muffin tin easily. When they came out they were already decorated with the pineapple, cherries and the caramel and it looked really good.
Some Tips to Make the Best Pineapple Upside Down Cupcake without Cake Mix
- Always use Eggs - I know some of you might not like eggs or might have a problem with the smell of it. But, trust me, without egg it tastes really weird. Not good at all. But still, if you want to replace egg then replace it with - 1 Tablespoon of Thick Greek Yogurt and 1/2 Teaspoon of plain vinegar.
- Adding Pineapple Juice is purely optional - You don't have to add pineapple juice if you don't want to. The idea is to make it just the way you want it to be. So, follow your heart.
- Some of the Pineapple Chunks might fall off - While turning the cupcakes upside down, some of the pineapple chunks might stay stuck to the muffin tin. Doesn't matter. It won't happen if you cool it down completely. Even if it does, just pick it up and put it back right where it belongs. It won't make any difference.
Pineapple Upside Down Cupcakes
INGREDIENTS
Caramel Pineapple Cherry Topping
- ⅔ Cup Light Brown Sugar
- ¼ Cup Butter
- 3-4 Large Pineapple rings cut into small wedges
- 6 pieces Cherries pitted
Cupcakes
- ¼ Cup Light Brown Sugar
- ¼ Cup Butter softened at room temperature
- 1 Large Egg at room temperature
- ½ Teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
- 1 Cup Cake Flour
- ½ Teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ Teaspoon Baking Powder
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat your oven to 350F or 180C and generously grease a muffin tin with cooking spray or oil or butter. Keep it aside.
- In a saucepan melt brown sugar and butter until light and creamy at low heat. Stir continuously for 2-minutes and don't let it stick to the pan.Use a spoon to pour the caramel in the muffin tin. Spread it out evenly with the back of the spoon.
- Cut out pineapple wedge from the pineapple rings and use it to decorate the bottom of the muffin tin. If you want to do it like me, then just add them like a flower. Or else, you can decorate it any other way you want. Add one cherry in the middle and they are done. Keep it aside.
- In a large mixing bowl take brown sugar and butter. Use a handheld mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment to mix it well until light and fluffy.
- Add one egg and mix it in until it disappears. Add some vanilla and whisk it in.
- Add sifted flour, baking soda, and baking powder in the bowl. Mix it well. But, do not overbeat it.
- Use an ice-cream scoop to scoop out batter and place it in the muffin tin over your caramel pineapple cherry decoration. Spread it even with the back of a spoon.
- Bake them at 350F for 10 minutes. Then lower the temperature to 240F and bake for an additional 5 minutes.
- Once they are baked, give them enough time to cool down at room temperature. Do not put them in the fridge to speed up the cooling process. It will take away all the moisture. Let it sit at room temperature for 30-minutes or more until completely normal to touch.
- Finally, flip it over. It should come out easily. Enjoy!
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