Julee's Pineapple Upside Down Cupcakes

Julee

For this post, I figured that I’d go with a different approach. Instead of blogging about one of my recipes, I think it would fun to introduce Julee, an amazing baker with some of her own simply scrumptious recipes. I just recently became very close with her and we share recipes and ideas all the time. It was definitely time for me to add her to my blog. We both love to play badminton and tend to get into in depth discussions about food while playing. She’ll usually tell me about some extravagant dish that she made and how it doesn’t even last an hour because her Dad loves everything she cooks. She shared with me her recipe for Pineapple Upside Down cupcakes and they look unbelievable. This girl seriously knows what she's doing in the kitchen.

Cake Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter

2 cups sugar

1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract

4 eggs

3 cups sifted cake flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup milk

1/3 cup of pineapple juice (from crushed pineapple)

Topping Ingredients:

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) melted butter

1 cup light brown sugar, tightly packed

Maraschino cherries (amount varies with the size of the cupcake)

1 (12-ounce) can of crushed pineapple

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350º F. Spray a cupcake tin with nonstick cooking spray.

In a mixer, beat the butter until creamy. Gradually add the sugar and beat until fluffy. Next, add the eggs one at a time. Be sure to beat the mixture well after each egg is added. Add the vanilla, and then set the mixture aside.

In a separate bowl, sift together the three cups of cake flour, salt and baking powder. Gradually add the flour mixture to the egg mixture, alternating between the flour, milk, and pineapple juice. Beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Be sure to mix well before each addition. Set to the side.

In the cupcake tin, add one to two teaspoons of melted butter to the bottom of each tin. Next, add the light brown sugar to the butter in the tins. Make sure that the moist brown sugar is compact on the bottom of the tins. Now, add about a tablespoon of crushed pineapple on top of the brown sugar. Be sure to spread it evenly on top of the brown sugar. In the center of each tin, place a halved cherry. Push it down lightly so it sits in a bed of brown sugar and pineapple. Now you can add your batter to the tins. Fill them 1/2 to 2/3 of the way in the tin, depending on how much you have already filled it up with the topping.

Place the tin on the top rack of the preheated oven and let bake for about twenty-five minutes or until the top is nicely golden. Once the cupcakes have baked thoroughly, transfer the tin to a cooling rack until all cupcakes have cooled completely. Use a butter knife to carefully loosen each cupcake from the edges and bottom of the tin, then place a cookie sheet over the top. Invert the tin, turning the cupcakes out onto the cookie sheet. Makes 12-18 cupcakes.