Vegan Pineapple Upside Down Cakelets

It occurred to me that the organic canned pineapple rings would fit into the bottoms of a shallow, wider muffin tin I own, so I decided to make VEGAN PINEAPPLE UPSIDE DOWN CAKELETS. There were only eight holes in the tin, so I got a small bread tin ready for any extra. It turns out there were ten slices in the can, which fit into the two tins just right.

This recipe is usually made in a rectangular glass dish, but it can easily be made in any baking dish. It would probably even work in narrow-bottomed muffin tins, with the pineapple rings curved. One son asked why I didn’t make them more often, so I think they liked them.

Ingredients

For the bottoms, which become the tops:

¼ cup — organic Smart Balance or other margarine

1 can — organic pineapple slices

¼ cup — maple syrup or agave syrup mixed with 2 Tblsp. dark rum

Wet ingredients:

½ cup — sunflower oil

½ cup — syrup (including any extra from above)

4 tsp. — vanilla

3/8 tsp. — salt

¾ cup — soy milk (you can include some of the pineapple juice, or just drink it)

Dry ingredients:

2 cups — whole wheat pastry flour

1 ½ Tblsp. — soy powder (or just add a bit more flour, if needed)

(I didn’t and it was fine)

¼ Tblsp. (a little less than a teaspoon, in other words) — baking powder

¼ Tblsp. (same as above) — baking soda

Method

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Place teaspoon-sized pats of margarine in the bottom of the tins. I didn’t bother to oil the pans, and they came out fine.

Lay one ring in the bottom of each hole or evenly distribute them over the bottom of whatever baking dish you’re using.

Dribble the syrup over the pineapple slices.

Mix up the wet ingredients in a bigger bowl.

Mix up the dry ingredients in a smaller bowl.

Pour dry ingredients into wet and mix well.

There won’t seem to be much batter, so distribute it sparingly: one daub onto each pineapple slice. I used a big spoon. The slices should be covered, but you don’t want the holes to overflow. Any remainder can be spooned into the small loaf pan.

Bake from 30-45 minutes. The shorter time is for the smaller cakelets in the tins, and a small loaf will take maybe 40 minutes. A larger baking dish will take 45. Adjust for your own oven’s proclivities.

Let cool for a while and then use a fork to dig the vegan pineapple upside down cakelets out of the tins and upside down onto a plate. If you make a larger cake, you can either serve the pieces individually right from the pan (the easier, fool-proof method), or you can attempt to flip the entire cake by placing the serving dish on top of the pan and then flipping the whole thing over. Oh, just cut the pieces and flip them individually — so much less trouble. It will taste good however you slice it.