Mini Pineapple Upside-down Cake

Using fruits in cakes has been traditional and tasty, but I had never tried a pineapple upside-down cake until now. The concept had always fascinated me, as I'm not very good with cake decorations using a cone, so it works for me when I can use the natural beauty of the fruits itself to act as the decoration!! As I'm always looking for party-food ideas, I was attracted to try the Mini Upside-down Pineapple cakes as they are easy to make and result into individual servings which is perfect for entertaining guests. I went with the widely-used pineapple and cherries combination on this first attempt, but you are free to use the fruits that you like. No matter what you choose, these mini desserts are bound be classic!!

Ingredients
1 packet of yellow cake mix
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup butter + 3 tbsp melted butter
2/3 cup brown sugar (you can use regular sugar as an alternative)
12 maraschino cherries (canned ones are fine)
20-ounce can of pineapple rings
12 cup large-muffin tray or mini cupcake moulds

Method
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease the muffin cups.

Drain canned pineapple, reserving liquid in another cup.

Combine the melted butter and brown sugar and beat for 1-2 mins.

Evenly spoon 2 tbsp of this mixture into the muffin cups. Place a ring of pineapple inside so that it's dipped into the juice, then top with one cherry in the center of the ring.

Beat the cake mix, butter, baking soda and eggs in large bowl. Slowly add the milk and whisk, then add 3 tbsp of the reserved pineapple juice. Beat for 3-4 mins on low speed.

Now divide the batter among muffin cups and spread on top of the pineapple rings evenly. Fill just as you would fill the cups with muffin mixture. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Allow to rest in pan for 2 minutes and then invert onto serving platter.

Serve each mini upside-down pineapple cake topped with whipped cream on the side! You can also use cherries, plums, peaches, cranberries, bananas and nuts for variations of this recipe.

Related Recipes:

No-Bake Mini-Cheesecakes
Mini Chocolate Heart Cakes
Low-Fat Strawberry Vanilla Cakes