Pineapple Upside Down Cupcakes
Author:Healthier Pineapple Upside Down Cupcakes made with wholesome ingredients like oats, coconut, and pineapple. They are light and fluffy with sticky, caramelized pineapple tops, and delicious tropical flavour. Perfect eaten as they are but even better served warm with a big dollop of dairy-free ice cream!
Ingredients
- 6 teaspoons dark brown or coconut sugar
- 1½ cups (248 grams) pineapple chunks , divided
- 1½ cups (150 grams) rolled oats , or old fashioned or quick oats
- ½ packed cup (60 grams) shredded coconut , or almond flour
- ½ cup (100 grams) cane sugar , or white
- 2 tablespoons dairy-free milk
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda , bicarbonate of soda in the UK
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C) and grease 6 holes of a non-stick muffin pan. Add a small circle of parchment paper to the bottom of each hole. I do this by standing the muffin pan on the parchment paper and drawing around the bottom of one well. Cut out the circle and use as a template for the rest.
- Spoon 1 teaspoon of brown or coconut sugar into each hole then take 4 or 5 pineapple chunks and cut them into 18 thinnish slices (2 to 3 mm) and lay 3 pieces on top of the sugar in each well. Arrange them so they more or less cover the bottom.
- Put the remaining pineapple in a blender and blend until completely smooth. Spoon it out into a ½ cup (120ml) measure or weigh 110g. You should have just enough. Remove any excess left in the blender and enjoy as a quick snack, or add to a smoothie/oatmeal.
- Before proceeding make sure your oven is at temperature and your muffin pan is ready. With all of the acid in the batter it will react quite quickly so you need to be quite fast.
- Return the ½ cup/110g of pineapple puree to the blender then add the oats, shredded coconut, sugar, milk, vinegar, vanilla extract, salt, baking powder and soda. Blend until completely smooth. You will probably need to stop and scrape down so you catch any oats that fly about.
- Spoon an even amount of batter into each hole of the muffin pan. I use an ice cream scoop and used 2 scoops per hole, then get them right into the hot oven as fast as you can.
- Bake for 5 minutes on 425°F then turn the oven down to 375°F and bake for a further 13-15 minutes (don't skip this as it makes a huge difference to the texture of your cakes). When done they should look golden, well risen, and will be coming away from the sides. A toothpick or skewer inserted into the middle of one should come out clean.
- Leave in the pan for 5 to 10 minutes then lay a cooling rack face down on top of the muffin pan and flip over before carefully lifting the pan gently off. Pull off the round pieces of parchment paper and either eat them (yay!) or leave to cool completely on the rack.
NOTES
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. They can also be frozen for 3 months. Reheat for 20 to 30 seconds in a microwave, or on a small baking tray in the oven at 350°F (175 °C) for about 15 minutes.
NUTRITION
Serving: 1cupcake | Calories: 266kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Sodium: 289mg | Potassium: 338mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 26g | Vitamin A: 34IU | Vitamin C: 20mg | Calcium: 89mg | Iron: 2mg
