Who knew you could lighten up a pineapple upside down cake? Well, now you can with my Light and Easy: Mini Pineapple Upside Down Cakes. These are mini, individual cakes that are sweet, sticky, and scrumptious. First, I coat some muffin tins with nonstick spray. Then I lay a spoonful of brown sugar at the bottom of each tin. Next, lay out your pineapple and cherries on top of the sugar. Finally, spoon some cake batter over the top of each pineapple/sugar layer and bake until a cake tester comes out clean. When you turn them out, these Light and Easy: Mini Pineapple Upside Down Cakes are adorable and oh-so delicious!
Recipes Similar to Light and Easy: Mini Pineapple Upside Down Cakes:
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How Light and Easy Are These Mini Cakes?
These cakes are simple to make because I like to use boxed cake mix. I add additional flavor with the brown sugar and fruit, so a boxed cake mix works perfectly for this recipe. These mini cakes are light because I mix applesauce and eggs in with the cake mix, saving tons of fat and calories by not using oil in the cakes. After the cakes are all baked, each mini cake is only 107 calories per serving!
Making delicious desserts lighter is my favorite way to develop recipes. If you want more lightened-up desserts, try my Low Calorie Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes!
Ingredients in Light and Easy: Mini Pineapple Upside Down Cakes
- brown sugar
- pineapple chunks
- maraschino cherries
- yellow cake mix
- unsweetened applesauce
- eggs
How to Make Light and Easy: Mini Pineapple Upside Down Cakes
Preheat the oven to 350° F and generously coat two 12-count muffin tins with nonstick cooking spray.
Sprinkle ¼ teaspoon of brown sugar in each muffin tin.
Cut 24 pineapple chunks in half, and lay 2 halves in each muffin tin with the narrow ends touching, so it resembles a bowtie.
Place 1 cherry half in the center of the pineapple “bowtie” where the narrow ends meet, then set the tins aside.
With an electric mixer on low speed (or the whisk attachment on a stand mixer), beat together the cake mix, applesauce, reserved pineapple juice, and the eggs until smooth and incorporated, 2 minutes.
Pour the batter evenly in the set-aside muffin tins, and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 12-15 minutes.
Allow to cool in the muffin tins for 5 minutes, then run a butter knife or a straight spatula along the edges and carefully invert onto a baking sheet, so the bottoms of the cakes are now the tops.
Light and Easy: Mini Pineapple Upside Down Cakes
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 20 oz. can pineapple chunks in 100% juice, (need 24 pineapple chunks), 1 cup of juice reserved
- 12 maraschino cherries, sliced in half
- 1 box yellow cake mix
- 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 3 eggs
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F and generously coat two 12-count muffin tins with nonstick cooking spray.
- Sprinkle ¼ teaspoon of brown sugar in each muffin tin.
- Cut 24 pineapple chunks in half, and lay 2 halves in each muffin tin with the narrow ends touching, so it resembles a bowtie.
- Place 1 cherry half in the center of the pineapple “bowtie” where the narrow ends meet, then set the tins aside.
- With an electric mixer on low speed (or the whisk attachment on a stand mixer), beat together the cake mix, applesauce, reserved pineapple juice, and the eggs until smooth and incorporated, 2 minutes.
- Pour the batter evenly in the set-aside muffin tins, and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 12-15 minutes.
- Allow to cool in the muffin tins for 5 minutes, then run a butter knife or a straight spatula along the edges and carefully invert onto a baking sheet, so the bottoms of the cakes are now the tops.
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