PINEAPPLE UPSIDE-DOWN CUPCAKES

These little pineapple upside-down cupcakes are super rich-gooey-yummy. They are easy enough for every-day eating and pretty enough for ANY holiday table. They are SO tasty (and portable) that they disappear very quickly. Recipe makes two dozen.

Spray your cupcake pans with vegetable spray. Line the bottoms of the cupcake pan with parchment (or wax paper) circles and spray lightly again. Preheat your oven to 350°.TOPPING
6 tablespoons butter
1 cup brown sugar packed
2 tablespoons corn syrup
(1) 14 oz. can crushed pineapple (drained)
maraschino cherries quartered
Drain crushed pineapple completely (squeeze it as dry as you can). In a small saucepan, heat the butter, brown sugar, corn syrup and drained pineapple until the sugar is dissolved (stirring constantly). Remove from heat and set aside. Drain and quarter a small jar of maraschino cherries. Put the quartered cherries in the bottoms of the cupcake pan. Pour topping over the cherries (dividing equally between the 24 cupcakes). Set aside.

CAKE
3 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon butter extract
2½ cups flour (spoon into cup, level off)
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt

Beat eggs and sugar until thick and lemon colored. Beat in oil, sour cream and extracts till smooth. Add dry ingredients and mix until smooth. Fill each cupcake cup 2/3 full. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until cake tests done. Cool pans on rack for 5 minutes. After five minutes, loosen sides of cupcakes with a thin knife and gently turn cupcake pans over onto parchment paper. Let the pan (and cupcakes) stay upside down for a few minutes. Lift pan off (see note).

NOTE: No matter how well you grease the pan, SOME of this fruit-sugar mixture will stick/stay in the pan. Don’t panic, just scoop it out and “frost” the bottom the inverted cupcakes.