I have just been informed that April 20th wasn’t just 4/20 but National Pineapple Upside Down Cake Day?!!!! As always on this blog, I am fashionably late to the party but just wanted to share this tidbit of info with y’all. When I think of pineapple upside down cake, my mind is flooded with images of I Love Lucy and old school Coca Cola commercials for some reason (though apparently the cake was created back in the 1920s). Pineapple upside down cake is the American retro chic answer to tarte tatin, which is beautiful in the simplicity of its presentation. For the Valentine’s #PASALUBONG treat box, I so badly wanted to make miniature pineapple upside down cakes.
What better way to make this a more tropical dessert than using Alana Kysar’s guava cake recipe as a base? I have been a fan of Alana’s for a long time because of her incredible blog Fix Feast Flair. While I was starting to build my cookbook collection last year, I jumped at the chance to buy her cookbook Aloha Kitchen. In a time when it’s not 100% safe yet to travel to Hawai’i, reading her book makes me feel like I’m there soaking up the sun and eating along with her in Maui.
I absolutely love her recipe and I adapted it to make cupcake-sized versions of guava cake to be paired with a brown sugar, maraschino cherry and pineapple topping from The Recipe Critic’s recipe. I really appreciate that Alana provides options for you to use guava juice or concentrate that can be reduced in lieu of fresh guava. Getting guava in season here in Brooklyn hasn’t always been a success for me, so it’s nice to be able to achieve the flavor with this alternative. I can’t stress enough how moist this cake is!!!! I’ve used it not only in these cupcakes, but for birthday cakes for some friends. It gets rave reviews all around.
Another tip I have when making these cupcakes is to not skip the step of lining your tin with individual squares of parchment paper! It really helps when you turn these babies upside down cleanly! None of your cake and fruit should stick to the bottom of your pan this way. Besides that, I think you’re good to go! They’re pretty in pink and just gorgeous little cakes. I love that you don’t need to frost these cupcakes, so they’re perfect when you’re packaging them in boxes with not much height. I hope you enjoy this recipe and if you have any questions, feel free to comment below! I’m always happy to help. (:
Pineapple Upside Down Guava Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the Topping:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 ½ cups dark brown sugar
- 30 maraschino cherries
- 20 oz +8 oz can pineapple chunks in pineapple juice
For the Cake:
- 2 ½ cups cake flour
- 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 ¼ cups white sugar
- 6 large egg whites
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup guava purée or guava concentrate (made from reducing 1 liter of guava juice until reduced by half, 40 minutes)
- 2-3 drops red food coloring
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line the bottom of muffin cups with parchment paper or waxed paper. Grease the paper with nonstick spray and set aside.
- Place 1 teaspoon of melted butter into each cupcake well.
- Sprinkle each well with 1 tablespoon of brown sugar.
- Put 4 pineapple chunks in a flower pattern over the butter and brown sugar.
- Press a maraschino cherry into the center of each pineapple "flower". Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients, whisking until combined.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar and beat on medium speed until well combined, about 3 minutes.
- Add the egg whites, in three additions, beating each addition until well combined, about 1 minute.
- Add the oil and mix until combined, about 1 minute or more.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, vanilla, guava purée and food colouring.
- With the mixer on low speed, alternate adding the wet and dry ingredients (starting with the dry ingredients), mixing each until combined before adding the next addition.
- Pour the mixture into the cupcake tins (about ¼ cup each) and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean 18-20 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto a parchment-paper lined surface to cool completely.
Ahhh these look so beautiful! Alana’s book is a fave of mine!
Thanks Erin! Omg same the book is so lovely! 😊
Hi, I’m a huge fan of your recipes! Do you use muffin tin liners here or just place a circle of parchment paper at the bottom of the tin alone?
Thanks Sarah! For these I just placed a circle of parchment paper at the bottom of the tin. No muffin tin liners needed 🙂