Personal Spiced Pineapple Upside Down Cakes

I have never really been a fan of the traditional pineapple upside down cake, neither has Charming...it's just too fruity sweet for us.

And then I had a brilliant idea...why not spice it up just a little bit? So, I did! Oh let me just tell you...the smells that your nose is treated with, they are just heavenly. And now we want this a couple nights a week...which is not a good thing for anyone's waistline, but perhaps it will become a monthly treat. So I start by preheating my oven to 350°F. (or whatever your cake mix box calls for a batch of cupcakes) Next, I tear into that cake box and prepare the batter per the box's directions.
Easy, simple...batter is done and ready to go.

Pull out some crushed pineapple and Maraschino cherries. It's a good thing that I hid the cherries from Charming, there wouldn't be any for the cakes if I didn't. I then pour the pineapple into a strainer and allow the juice to drain...too much juice and it would be a very wet set of cakes.

Next step, a light coating of cooking spray to prepare my cake pan. Once my pan is ready, out come the Marrachino cherries! Place one cherry in the center of each little cake mold.

Then for each cake I take aproximately 1 teaspoon of the pineapples and fill around the cherry.

Over to the stove now to heat up the sugar & spice mixture. Over medium heat I melt my butter and then add in the dark brown sugar (light brown sugar could be used too, I prefer the extra molasses in the dark brown for these cakes), cinnamon and nutmeg.

Then I give it a few minutes to allow the spices and sugar to be well blended. (2-3 minutes) It's still a bit grainy, but everything comes out perfectly after the upcoming bake session in the oven.

Spoon just a teaspoon of the sugar & spice mixture over the pineapple and cherry in each mold.

Then fill each cake mold to the middle of the mold. These are going to puff up quite a bit.

Into the oven for 19-22 minutes, check for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of the cakes. When the toothpick can be cleanly removed, they are done!

I give the cakes a couple minutes to just settle a bit, then take my cooling rack and a baking sheet and invert them onto the cakes. This way I can easily flip the mini cakes right onto the cooling rack...and keep any crumbs off of my counter. FLIP!

Just look at how scrumptious these little beauties are! And if any pineapple is still in the cake pans, just spoon it out and add it where needed. (and sneak a little treat too)

Remember how much they puffed up? At this point you will have a decision to make...leave the cakes as-is or carefully trim off the cakes to make a level surface. I like leaving them just as they are...who wants to bypass a little more cake anyway? Place into a pretty little bowl or plate and they are ready to be dug into. (or you could just pop them into your mouth)

Personal Spiced Pineapple Upside Down Cakes
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Bake Time: 19-22 minutes
Level: Easy
Yield: 22-24 mini cakes

Topping:
4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) Butter
3/4 cup Dark Brown Sugar
1/2 tsp. Cinnamon, ground
1/4 tsp. Nutmeg, ground 2 cans Pineapple Tidbits or Crushed Pineapple (drained)
Maraschino cherries or candied cherries (optional)

Cake:
Duncan Hines Yellow Cake Mix
Prepared per box directions: 3 eggs, (per box directions for cupcakes)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. (or whatever the cake mix directions call for cupcakes)
Prepare mini cake pan, or cupcake pan, with a light coating of cooking spray. (or butter or shortening)
Place one Marachino cherry in the center of each mold.
Spoon 1 teaspoon of pinapple around each cherry.

In a small saucepan melt butter, dark sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg over medium heat for 4-5 minutes.
Drizzle 1 teaspoon of sugar mixture over pineapple.
Spoon cake mix over fruit.
Fill each cake mold to the halfway point.

Bake for 19-22 minutes, or until a toothpick can be inserted in the middle of each cake and removed clean.
Let sit for 3-5 minutes.
Place an inverted cooling rack on top of the cakes and flip the pan so that the cakes are now sitting on the cooling rack.
Give the cake pan a little jiggle to make sure that the cakes have released fully.
Gently remove the cake pan and allow cakes to cook.

Serve & Enjoy![/print_this]