The Sweetest Little Pineapple Upside Down Muffins

Brown sugar, pineapple and a touch of cinnamon are one of those classic combinations that taste great any time of year. Although it’s usually seen as a dessert, we think it’s perfect for a breakfast treat. Here we take the flavours of your pineapple upside down cake, and pack it into a portable muffin you’ll find hard to share.
Makes: 12 muffins
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

The glazed pineapple

• 30g / 2 tbsp Crystal Margarine
• 25g / 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 4g / 1 tsp cinnamon
• 375g / 1 ½ cup fresh pineapple, diced into small pieces

The batter

• 170g / 3/4 cup Crystal Margarine
• 300g / 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 3 eggs
• 10ml / 2 tsp vanilla
• 280g / 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 8g / 1 tbsp baking powder
• 3g / 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 340g / 1 ½ cup greek style yogurt

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325F (170C).
2. In large skillet, melt the Crystal Margarine over medium-high heat; stir in the sugar and cinnamon.
3. Add the diced pineapple and cook until golden brown and caramelized, stirring occasionally. This should take about 8 minutes, then set aside, until the batter is made.



4. In a large bowl, cream together the Crystal Margarine, sugar, vanilla extract, greek yogurt and eggs until light and fluffy.



5. In separate smaller bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and baking soda.
6. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet, just until combined. Avoid over mixing to keep the batter light and fluffy.




7. Line a 12 count muffin pan with liners. Fill the liner 1/2 way full with batter. Add in a teaspoon of the pineapple with syrup. On top add more batter to bring the liner to 3/4 full. Spoon another teaspoon of pineapple mixture on top of the batter.



8. Place the muffins in the oven and baker for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown. To be sure it is fully baked, insert a toothpick in the center. You want it to come out with only a little syrup on it, and a few cooked crumbs.
9. Remove the muffins from the oven and allow them to cool fully before enjoying.

Chef Notes

• For muffins like these we recommend looking for some of the extra deep muffin liners. They can be found in the baking supply section at most bulk food stores, or in the kitchen section at a lot of large department stores. Not only do you get more muffin in each cup, it helps cut cleaning time in half by saving your muffin pan from a sticky mess.