Pineapple Upside Down Mini Cakes

5 from 7 votes

Combine sweet pineapple and yellow cake mix, bake, and flip these pineapple upside-down mini cakes out of the pan for a treat that’s as pretty as it is tasty.

Prep Time30

Cook Time25

Total Time55

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Pineapple Upside Down Mini Cakes Recipe

Servings:

Calories: 145kcal

Ingredients

½ cup salted butter, melted
¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
20 ounces pineapple chunks, do not drain
24 maraschino cherries
1 box yellow cake mix
3 large eggs, room temperature
½ cup vegetable oil
1 cup pineapple juice, reserved from the can of pineapple chunks
½ cup sour cream

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Spray a muffin tin with non-stick spray and set it aside.
Combine melted butter and brown sugar.
Spoon 1 teaspoon of the butter/sugar mixture into each cup of the muffin tin.
Arrange four pineapple chunks and one maraschino cherry in each of the cups. Depending on the brand of pineapple chunks, you may need to trim the pieces or cut them in half to fit them into the muffin tin. Remember to reserve the juice from the can to use in the cake batter.
In a large mixing bowl, use a hand beater or stand mixer to combine the cake mix, eggs, vegetable oil, pineapple juice, and sour cream. If there is not a full cup of pineapple juice in the can, add enough water to make a full cup.
Beat together on medium speed for 1 minute.
Divide the batter between the 24 muffin cups.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until cake batter is cooked all the way through.
Allow cakes to cool in the muffin tin for about 5 minutes before inverting them onto a cooling rack.

Video

Notes

You can use a bundt pan to make this cake too. They won’t be individual cakes, but they’ll still taste just as good.
You can use the same recipe to make 12 cupcakes or one 9-inch round cake. You will need one additional 20-ounce can of pineapple rings or pineapple slices and additional maraschino cherries.
You can add ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon to the butter/brown sugar mixture for some added flavor.
I sliced my pineapple chunks in half to make them thinner. The thinner slices caramelize more evenly and help the flavors blend together.
Instead of a boxed cake mix, you can make yellow cake mix from scratch; however, we find this dessert just as delicious with a premade mix.
These pineapple upside-down cupcakes are really soft and really moist. Even if the cupcake bakes up domed, they will settle and stand upright once tipped upside down.

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