Recipe—Personal Pineapple Upside Down Cakes

Pineapple upside down cake is one of those traditional all American classics that has been around forever, well at least since the 1920s. These personal versions are great for entertaining a small group and so easy to whip up and serve. One of the many great things about this recipe is that you can keep the items stocked in your pantry and whip these up in a very short amount of time. They are quick and so incredibly easy to make. I made them for our dinner party the other night and they were a real hit. My husband said he could have kept eating them and my 2-year-old son liked them so much he didn’t even have an interest in the ice cream I served with it. He just wanted the cake, or as he called it, “birthday.”

Note: This recipe is written to make 6 personal cakes using a Texas muffin pan. If you don’t own one of these you can use a standard muffin pan and substitute pineapple rings with pineapple chunks and adjust the baking time to 17–20 minutes.

INGREDIENTS
2 eggs
2/3 c sugar
4 tbsp pineapple juice (use the stuff in your can of pineapple rings)
1 tsp vanilla
2/3 c flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 c butter
2/3 c brown sugar
1-20 oz can pineapple rings
maraschino cherries

STEPS

• Preheat oven to 350º.
• In a medium mixing bowl beat together eggs, sugar, pineapple juice, and vanilla.
• Using a separate bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
• Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ones and set aside.
• In a small saucepan melt the butter and stir in the brown sugar until almost dissolved.
• Grease a 6-cup Texas muffin pan.
• Evenly distribute the brown sugar sauce in each cup.
• Place a pineapple ring in the bottom of each muffin cup and a cherry in the center of the pineapple ring.
• Pour the cake mixture into each cup until there is none left. They will probably be about 3/4 of the way full.
• Place muffin pan in oven and bake for 22–25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center.
• Allow to sit for 3 minutes.
• Place a cutting board over the top of the muffin pan and quickly flip the muffin pan upside down.
• If the mini cakes don’t release from the pan lightly tap the pan with a rubber spatula until it releases.
• Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and enjoy!