Vegan Pineapple Right-Side Up Cupcakes

CUPCAKE INGREDIENTS: 

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4th tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground allspice
• 1 cup crushed pineapple
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 12 maraschino cherries 

TOPPING INGREDIENTS:

•  1 cup crushed pineapple
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 

CUPCAKE DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350F. Line muffin pan w/ adorable cupcake liners.
Sift flour, baking powder, salt & spices in a large bowl.
I actually used a little less of the spices (like a small dash of each.)
Combine pineapple, oil, sugar and vanilla in a blender and puree.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well.
Pour batter into liners, just over half-full to leave room for topping.
Bake for 25-27 minutes. 

TOPPING DIRECTIONS:
Combine all ingredients in small saucepan.
Bring to a boil, stirring constantly and boil for 30 seconds.
Reduce heat to low, continue to stir for one minute. Remove from heat.
Cool cupcakes for 10 minutes and then top with topping.

NOTES: This vegan pineapple cupcake recipe is from the book Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. It was mad easy to make and insanely delicious. The cake part was moist and sponge-y (in a pleasant way) and would even be great on its own for breakfast. I get most of my groceries at Shaws and The Living Earth (Park Ave in Worcester) but there are no hard to find or special ingredients in this recipe. You can use canned or fresh pineapple and crush it yourself. I use unbleached flour and organic versions of the stuff on this list also.