If I had to pick one nostalgic sweet from my younger years, this would be it! Sweet and tender muffins infused with pineapple juice and pineapple slices, crowned with a golden-brown, caramelized topping that gets crunchy around the edges…seriously, heaven.
One of the only reasons to love a Monday was because Monday’s were pineapple upside-down muffin days at Perkins. Yes, I’m talking about your neighborhood (chain) Perkins restaurant-and if you’ve never had one of these muffins, you haven’t really lived life. Still, one of the highlights of my life are the days when I randomly stop into Perkins and find these in the bakery case.
Somehow, it never occurred to me that I could actually attempt to make something reminiscent of these muffins…in my own kitchen! I tried a few different recipes, and settled on a mashup between two. I wanted a moist, tender cake with a caramelized, crispy exterior crust-which, shockingly enough, isn’t that easy to accomplish!
Make your caramel with lots of butter and dark brown sugar, plus some of the hard stuff (bourbon and Amaretto) and an (optional) vanilla bean for even more flavor. A rich sour cream cake is just what you need to counterbalance the caramel-and save some of the pineapple juice from the canned pineapple to pour over the cake for more moisture and flavor. Crème fraiche whipped cream is my new favorite whipped cream to make and serve with anything and everything, and it’s the perfect suitor for this cake. And NO ELECTRIC-RED MARASCHINO CHERRIES TO BE SEEN! But I fully support using the maraschino’s more refined, elegant counterpart, Luxardo cherries-which will totally change your opinion on cherries because they are amazingly wonderful and you will want to find many ways to incorporate them into your life.
Also, I highly recommend purchasing a 10 x 3″ deep cake pan if you’re going to make this recipe. The cake will rise almost to the top (and over a cake pan of regular depth), thus spilling much of the caramel out of the pan instead of keeping it around and on your cake…a serious travesty. Here’s my favorite one!
Is one of your New Year’s Resolutions to eat healthier, or reduce your consumption of sweets? I fully support you and don’t wish to tempt you. Perhaps, you should make another resolution (it’s still early!) to bake more for the people you care about. This would be just the thing.
And for those who, like me, can’t fathom the thought of cutting out sweets (or carbs!)-this one’s for you. Cut yourself a big ‘ol slice!
[tasty-recipe id=”34548″]
There’s something about upside-down pineapple cakes that make them so appealing. It’s probably the looks.
Absolutely! They look so delicious before you even take a bite!