Pineapple Upside Down Cupcakes

To make this recipe non-gluten free, simply substitute an equivalent amount of flour for the gluten free flour called for in this recipe, and omit the xanthan gum.

You will need:

• 6 maraschino cherries
• 10 ounces of crushed pineapple in juice
• 1/3 cup of brown sugar
• 1/4 cup of butter
• 1 & 1/3 cup of gluten free baking flour
• 1/2 tsp of xanthan gum
• 1/3 cup of shortening
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 & 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 egg

Note that, instead of butter and brown sugar, you can also use caramel topping (usually an ice cream topping). If you choose that option, you may want to lightly grease your muffin pan. 

For this recipe, there is really no way to use paper muffin cups, because the cupcakes are made upside down (hence the name "pineapple upside-down cake"), but you will need to have both a muffin tin, and a regular baking pan that is roughly the same size available.

Set the oven to 350 degrees. Split the butter among the muffin tins, and pop into the preheating oven for one to two minutes. Remove from the oven, and sprinkle the brown sugar into the melted butter. Slice the cherries in half, and place in the center of each muffin tin, with the flat side facing up. Drain the juice from the pineapple into a bowl or cup (be sure to keep the juice!), and spoon the pineapple into the bottom of the muffin cups, around each cherry. 

Blend together the rest of the ingredients, including about 1/4 cup of the reserved pineapple juice (you can vary this amount, but don't add so much that your batter becomes too watery). Pour the batter into the muffin tin, over the pineapple & cherries, filling each cup about 3/4 of the way. Bake for 30 minutes.

Remove the cupcakes from the oven, and place the baking sheet upside down over the top of the muffin tin full of cupcakes. Immediately (and carefully) flip the entire tray over, and let sit for a few minutes. Lift the muffin tin away, and your cupcakes should be sitting right side up on the baking tray!

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