Although this recipe is delicious, I cannot take credit for it.  No blogger is an island and in my case, I have made mention many times of my family and their importance to me.  Last week was E's birthday and K, having just had her wedding dress fitted, wanted to make his birthday special.  Special, but also health conscious.

E loves Pineapple Upside-Down Cake but K was shocked by the number of calories in even a small slice.  So she went ahead and made her own.  K is nothing if not tenacious, E is a wonderful complement to her in that way.  She utilized Skinny Taste's Pineapple Bliss Cupcakes to make a version of Pineapple Upside Down Cake that we could all enjoy without the worry. 

It was a good thing she went light on the desserts because we descended on a local barbeque joint for dinner (makes us sound very Southern...not the real case) and ate our full.  Well, maybe everyone didn't but I certainly did.  I probably ate my weight in barbeque.  Healthy eating is great but if you can't have some fun once in a while...it's something I could never fully stick to.  The other benefit is these are going to be the easiest cupcakes you've ever made (and they look gorgeous)!
Skinny Pineapple Upside Down Cake
Serves:  24
*Each cake has 132 calories*
1 yellow cake mix (we used Betty Crocker)
1 20-ounce can crushed pineapple (DO NOT DRAIN)
1 pineapple
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon butter, melted
12 maraschino cherries

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Combine cake mix and crushed pineapple with juice.  Divide cake batter evenly into greased cupcake tin.  Bake for 15-20 minutes, until fully cooked through.  Let cool.
Meanwhile, remove the skin from the pineapple.  Cut the pineapple into 12 rings and then each ring into 8 chunks.  Combine chunks with brown sugar and butter.  Once the cupcakes are cooled, decorate each cupcake with 4 pieces of pineapple.  Cut each cherry in half and add to the center of each cupcake.  At this point, you can place them under the broiler on HIGH for about 1 minute (no longer) to warm them through.  Or, you can choose to serve them immediately.

Until the next time my oven is on...