Upside down and turned around

A delicious twist on the classic Pineapple Upside Down Cake with peaches and a bourbon glaze.

Equipment:

• Cupcake tin(s)

• Hand or stand mixer

• Scale (if using- you should! )

• Large bowl or stand mixer bowl

• Small saucepan

• Cooling rack

• Whisk + spatula

• Sifter

• Spoons or ice cream scooper

• Knife

• Baking sheet

  
  Makes 6 jumbo cupcakes or 12 regular cupcakes

Shopping List:

• Sugar (granulated + brown )

• Peaches

• Bourbon (you can skip, if you like)

• Plant Milk

• All Purpose Flour

• Baking Powder

• Baking Soda

• Cornstarch

• Vegan Butter

• Neutral Oil

• Vanilla Bean Paste or Extract

• Vinegar

Products used linked below:

• Silk Unsweetened Organic Soy Milk- I used to always use oat, but I’ve made the switch to soy because it has more protein and I think it lends a better result (especially curdling the vegan buttermilk)- that being said, use your fave plant milk or whatever you have on hand… but if you can, go for unsweetened

• Flora Unsalted Butter - Miyoko’s is another go to fave

• King Arthur All Purose Flour- It really doesn’t matter which brand you use, KA just happens to be my preference

• Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt- the chef’s salt for various reasons I won’t get into here, but…it contains 53% less sodium than standard salt, so that’s why I say to use half if you’re using Morton or table salt.

• Domino Sugar- now, this is a tricky one… my supplier list it as vegan and Domino has stated in the past that the sugar coming from Baltimore, MD, Yonkers, NY or South Bay, FL are all vegan, but at the time (this was around 2017), the supplies coming from west coast were not. Now, this is a good 5 years, so I suspect that it’s all vegan now, but I haven’t had the chance to confirm this, so buy with caution. If you’re a distrustful vegan (aren’t we all? ) go for an organic- just try to get the finest grain you can- your baking results will be better

• Makers Mark Bourbon- I’m not an expert on whiskey, so use whatever is your fave or you have on hand

Helpful Notes:

Milk- In a baking recipe (unless otherwise stated) you want all of your ingredients to be room temp- especially the milk. Room temperature sounds very broad, I mean rooms can be lots of different temperatures… So what does that mean? Technically between 68 and 72 degrees farenheit, but practically, it means you can stick your finger in it and feel nothing. Think of it this way, if it’s too warm you’ll think to yourself “yep, that’s kinda hot” and if it’s too cold, you’ll think, “ooh, that’s cold”. When it’s room temp, it’s nothing…I know it sounds weird, but here we are… To get your milk to room temp quickly, you can pour it a bowl or glass measuring cup and pop it in the microwave for 20-50 seconds (depending on the amount and the microwave). Use whichever plant milk you prefer. My preference used to be plain and unsweetened oat, but now I prefer plain and unsweetened soy. That being said, it all works.

Salt- Diamond Crystal Kosher is my preference, but if you use Morton or table salt, reduce the amount by half as Diamond is less salty than the two.

Sugar- to make sure it’s vegan, use organic as it does not use bone char (yes, it’s as bad as it sounds) in the processing like conventional sugar.

Vinegar- We use vinegar to curdle plant milk, which produces a buttermilk-like substance (this is why I switched to soy milk, it really reacts to the vinegar). Vinegar also reacts with raising agents (baking soda + powder) to give vegan baked goods a nice rise.

Oil- Using oil in cakes and cupcake recipes helps to keep the finished product nice and… moist (sorry, I can’t come up with a better word!). I prefer grapeseed to vegetable for health reasons, but if vegetable or canola are all you’ve got, then go for one of those. Coconut oil works, but will change the flavor of your baked good.

Butter- Although I’m using oil, I like to use vegan butter as well. To me, it helps bring that buttery flavor that we love so much. As far as utility, unless your recipe calls for melted or cold butter (some do), you’ll most likely want yours to be room temp. You know your butter is room temp when you can easily make an indent with your finger (eww, I know) or a spoon into the butter. It should be soft and pliable, but not runny or melty. If you forget to take the butter out to come to room temp, you can use the microwave, but it can be a bit tricky and go melty fast on you, especially vegan butter because it’s made of more water, so use this method with caution (In a pinch, do short 10 second bursts in the microwave and flip the butter often so it does’t start to melt on one side. If your butter goes to soft and runny, just pop it back into the refrigerator for about 5 minutes). All in all, best to leave it out to soften naturally. As for the type of butter, if you can’t find unsalted vegan butter, try reducing the salt in the recipe by 1/4 to 1/2 - it’s hard to say exactly because the amount of salt will very from butter to butter, but experiment with your fave and see what works best for you.

Measuring- Listen… just go ahead and get a scale! They’re cheap and the most accurate for baking. I use them to develop my recipes and do the best I can to convert to the cup measurements out of courtesy to those who don’t have one, but trust me, if you like to bake- it will be the best $20 dollars you spend to improve your recipes. If you still refuse, make sure that you use the scoop and level method to measure out your flour to avoid using more than the recipe calls for.

INGREDIENTS:

Cupcakes

• 160 g (1 1/3 C ) all-purpose

• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

• 1/4 tsp. baking soda

• 18 g (1 T+ 1 1/2 tsp.) potato or cornstarch (potato is preferred, but you can use cornstarch in a pinch)

• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt (I use Diamond, half the amount if using table salt or Morton)

• 100 g (1/2 C ) superfine or granulated sugar (organic or vegan-friendly)

• 50 g (1/4 C ) light brown sugar (organic or vegan-friendly)

• 84g + 14 g (6 T + 1 T) butter, divided (vegan, unsalted, room temp)

• 30 ml (2 T ) oil ( grapeseed, vegetable, or canola work best)

• 1 C plant milk (room temp)

• 1 1/2 tsp. vinegar (apple cider or white )

• 1 T vanilla extract (pure)

Peach Topping

• 2 large peaches, quartered and sliced

• 3 T vegan butter, unsalted (if you can find)

• 150 g (3/4 C) brown sugar (organic or vegan-friendly)

• 2 T bourbon

• 1 tsp. vanilla

• pinch of salt ( can skip if using salted butter)

Prep:

• Clean, dry, and slice peaches

• Bring milk and butter to room temp

• Add vinegar to milk to make vegan buttermilk (let set about 5 minutes)

• Butter the bottom and sides of the cupcake tin with 1 tablespoon of butter

Peach Topping

Directions:

1. Add the 3 tablespoons butter, 3/4 cup brown sugar, bourbon, 1 teaspoon vanilla and pinch of salt to a small saucepan and set to medium-high heat.

2. Cook the mixture for 1-2 minutes, continually whisking until the sugar has melted and the mixture starts to simmer and is slightly thickened. Remove from heat and set aside.

cupcakes

Preheat oven to 350° F

Directions:

1. In a large bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer, sift in dry ingredients ( flour, baking powder, baking soda, potato starch, and salt), along with the granulated and light brown sugar. If your sugar is too chunky to sift, add to sifted ingredients. Mix the ingredients with a whisk to combine. Top tip - add chunky sugar to a high-speed blender or food processor to get a finer grain (See TOP TIP below)

2. Add the butter to the dry mixture and mix on low for a minute (with a paddle attachment if using a stand mixer), then add the oil and vanilla and continue to mix on low until you get a crumbly, almost shortbread-like texture.

3. Pour your prepared vegan buttermilk (plant milk + vinegar) and into the mix in thirds and mix on low until all the milk has been added.

4. With a spatula, scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure everything gets incorporated in the final mix.

5. Mix on low again- about 20 seconds until all the ingredients are well incorporated (take care not to over mix).

6. Pour the brown sugar bourbon glaze into the bottom of the cupcake tin ( 2 tablespoons for extra large, 6 count tin, 1 tablespoon for regular size 12 count tin), then place 3-4 sliced peaches on top of the glaze.

7. The batter is on the runny side, so an ice cream scoop works well to fill the cupcake tin. Otherwise, use a large spoon or pour instead. Fill the tin(s) 2/3 of the way with batter.

8. Place the tin(s) on the middle rack and bake 20-23 minutes (depending on your oven and your pan color) or until tops spring back when pressed and a toothpick comes out pretty clean-cupcakes continue to cook after they come out of the oven so if there are a couple of small crumbs, that’s ok.

9. Remove cupcakes from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes.

10. Place a cooling rack on top of the cooled cupcakes (with the top face down onto the cupcakes) and a baking sheet face down on top of the rack (to catch any spills), then flip them over quickly and remove the cupcake tin.

11. Let the cupcakes cool for another 5 minutes before eating.

12. Enjoy these as-is, with vegan ice cream, or whipped cream!

Top Tip

Using finer grain sugar results in a fluffier cake or cupcake

Caster sugar (aka baker’s sugar or superfine sugar) can be hard to find in the U.S. and even harder to find vegan, so you can make your own!

• Add chunky sugar to a high-speed blender or food processor to get a finer grain

• Blend the sugar for a minute or two (not too long or you will get powder sugar)

• Sift it a couple of times to remove any larger chunks

• Store in an airtight container

Storage and Use

1. Store cupcake in an air-tight container and store in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.

2. When ready to eat, place in the oven at 350° for 5- 7 minutes to warm through again.

I hope you give these cupcakes a try! Let me know if you do < 3

Thanks for stopping by-

xx Debbie, Shorty, + Sophie