Pineapple Upside Down Cake is a pretty traditional dessert, but you can get a Pineapple Upside Down Cake recipe anywhere, so I wanted to give you a little something more. I took Pineapple Upside Down Cake to the next level with these super easy-to-make Piña Colada Upside Down Cupcakes. Y’all, they are so simple to make, but look so cute and fancy when you flip them out of the cupcake pan! People will be so impressed and they’ll have no idea how quick and easy it is to make them!
Ingredients
You'll, of course, need all the basic cake ingredients - butter, sugar, egg, salt, baking powder, and flour. You'll also need coconut extract, pineapple juice, and crushed pineapple. For this, you can buy a can of crushed pineapple, and use the juice and the pineapple both from the can!
The toppings for the cupcakes are butter, brown sugar, maraschino cherries, coconut, and more crushed pineapple - you can use what's left from the can you bought for the cake!
How to make Piña Colada Upside Down Cupcakes
Making the Batter
You can whip up this cupcake batter in just a matter of minutes. You’ll start by beating butter and sugar, just like pretty much every other recipe. Beat in egg, salt, baking powder, and coconut extract. You’ll then alternate adding flour and pineapple juice. I usually add in about a third of the flour – you can eyeball it, this doesn’t have to be exact – then half the juice, then flour, juice, flour, mixing well between each addition. You’ll then stir in the crushed pineapple, and it’s ready to go! But before you put it into the muffin cups, you’ll need to prepare the pan…
Preparing the Pan
This is the fun part! You’ll want to make sure to grease your pan well. You do not want to use cupcake liners here because the bottom of the cupcake pan will become the top of the cupcake! After you grease the pan, you’ll want to put about a teaspoon of melted butter in the bottom of each muffin cup. Next, you’ll put a teaspoon of brown sugar into each cup, followed by a maraschino cherry in the center of each cup. I try to use the brown sugar to hold the cherry in place. You’ll then surround the cherry with about a teaspoon of shredded coconut. Lastly, you’ll put about a tablespoon of crushed pineapple into each cup. Before you add the batter, you’ll want to press the soon-to-be toppings down into the bottom of the cup to make room for the batter! You’ll fill the cups a little more than ¾ of the way to the top and bake for just 15 minutes!
When the cupcakes are done, the batter should be golden brown. You’ll remove the pan from the oven and let the cupcakes cool in the pan for about 5-10 minutes. Lastly, you’ll flip the cupcakes out onto a cooling rack to cool completely. I usually do this by placing the cooling rack upside down on top of the cupcake pan, and holding onto the edges of both at once, flipping them both over at once, so the cooling rack is now on the bottom and the cupcake pan is upside down on top of the cooling rack. Then pull the cupcake pan off slowly so the cupcakes stay on the cooling rack, and there are beautiful Piña Colada Upside Down Cupcakes waiting for you!
How to store Piña Colada Upside Down Cupcakes
These can be stored at room temperature in an air tight container. They should stay good for about a week.
Can I make Piña Colada Upside Down Cupcakes the night before?
Yes! These need to cool, so making them the night before would work perfectly!
How do you keep Piña Colada Upside Down Cupcakes from sticking?
Again, you do not want to use cupcake liners for these, so make sure the muffin cups are well greased with non-stick spray. There is also melted butter in the topping which should help, but you'll still want to grease the pan. I also would not suggest using the flour-based sprays, since you don't want that to show on the top of your cupcakes when you flip them out.
How do you keep Piña Colada Upside Down Cupcakes from getting soggy?
Make sure you strain the crushed pineapple well so you don't get much extra juice beyond the amount the recipe calls for. Otherwise, if you follow the recipe, they should not be soggy!
When should I flip my Piña Colada Upside Down Cupcakes?
I would suggest letting them cool in the pan for about 5-10 minutes and then flip. You don't want to flip them while they're too hot or they may fall apart. And if they cool in the pan for too long, they're more likely to stick. I've found 5-10 minutes to be the sweet spot!
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Piña Colada Upside Down Cupcakes
Ingredients
Cake
- ½ stick butter
- ¾ cups sugar
- 1 egg
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt Diamond Crystal
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon coconut extract
- 2 cups flour
- ½ cup pineapple juice or as much as you can squeeze out of the can - it should get pretty close
- ½ cup crushed pineapple
Topping
- ½ stick butter melted
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 12 maraschino cherries soaked in rum overnight (skip the soaking for a virgin cupcake!)
- 12 teaspoons coconut
- 20 ounce can crushed pineapple minus the ½ cup for the batter
Instructions
- In advance of making this recipe, soak cherries in rum.
- Drain the crushed pineapple, saving the juice for the cake batter.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F and spray cupcake tin with non-stick spray.
- Prepare the cake batter by beating the butter and sugar together till light and fluffy.
- Beat in the egg, salt, baking powder, and extract.
- Add flour and pineapple juice in alternating additions, both starting and ending with the flour.
- Stir in crushed pineapple.
- Prepare the pan by putting the following into each cupcake cup: 1 teaspoon melted butter 1 teaspoon brown sugar 1 maraschino cherry 1 teaspoon coconut 1 tablespoon crushed pineapple
- Press into the bottom of the tin, then scoop cupcake batter on top, filling a little more than ¾ full.
- Bake until a light golden brown, about 15 minutes.
- Let the cupcakes cool in the pan about 5 minutes, then flip over onto the cooling rack so that the fruit is on top.
- Cool completely, and enjoy!
Did you try this recipe? Review and comment below, and share a photo on Instagram and tag @flourdeliz!
Looking for other cupcake recipes? Check these out:
Guinness Black Currant Cupcakes
Fiery Chocolate Cupcakes
Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes
Bourbon Peach Sweet Tea Cupcakes
Oaks Lily Cupcakes
Strawberries & Champagne Cupcakes with Nutella Frosting
Sweet Potato Fluff Cupcakes
Looking for other cocktail dessert recipes? Check these out:
Aperol Spritz Pie
Sangria Poptarts
Margarita Meringue Pie
Milk Punch Cheesecakes
Mint Julep Bourbon Balls
This post was updated in May 2021 with additional information about the recipe.
Zainab says
With all this winter weather still here, I've been craving these tropical flavors!
Liz says
ugh, I totally thought they would make spring come, but it doesn't appear to have worked! Haha!
Corey says
I noticed that there is no measurement for the coconut in the ingredients list; and when you are completing step #7. are there any more steps involved besides simply placing the ingredients into the bottom of the cup? Do the brown sugar and butter need to be stirred? Does the coconut? Should the cherry go in first so that it appears on top as in your finished product? I will be making these for a friend's birthday on Saturday night, and could use your advice. Thanks!
Liz says
Hi Corey! I'm so sorry I didn't get back to you before your friend's birthday, but I hope you were still able to make them! The coconut comes out to 12 teaspoons (1 teaspoon for each cupcake), and I put the ingredients into the tin in the order I listed them in step 7. You don't need to stir the brown sugar and butter. I just pour the butter in, then the brown sugar, then the cherry, then the coconut, then the pineapple. The butter and brown sugar will form a glaze over the toppings and the cherry will still appear on top. I hope this helps and I hope your friend had a great birthday!