Pineapple Sunshine Fun!

Before I begin today's post, I just want to give everyone a warning: There are no photos of the actual baking processes included in today's post. They will be included in my post tomorrow. Yes, I know, how totally unprofessional of me. However, I left my camera behind at my dorm and cannot go back and get. Alas, my librarian might be extremely lax in responsibility, however, even I cannot abandon my post to fetch my camera. On the plus side, I do have some photos on hand to post instead; see, problem solved. So lets get on with this thing!

Though it might be hard to believe, last week, the weather was totally perfect; warm, sunny, low to no wind. Just the absolute definition of perfection. At the same time, last Friday, Saturday, and Sunday was my beloved Outing Club's kick-off series. We started Friday afternoon by bringing a rock wall to Clark's annual activities fair.

While many eager students awaited a chance to climb the wall, I ventured down the fair itself. The place was crazy with activity and student life. All the clubs were out, having a nonsensical blast as tunes that summoned nostalgia floated through the air. Somewhere out there exists a video of me and few other Clarkies dancing to the Cotton Eye Joe. Besides this is my friend Rachel posing with her fellow mustachioed friend. (Here's a hint, she's the one with the black stash).

 And here I am; posing besides the Outing Club's photo display. Doesn't it look awesome!

For part two of Outing Club's crazy weekend, my friend Therese performed an Outing Club first; she took me and bunch of other eager clubbers to the beach! And oh what a perfect day it was! We arrived just at the peak of low tide and over the next few hours, we all watched the tide come in.

It was a great day, especially for me who only went to beach one other time this past summer. The only draw back was that I received a brutal sun burn. Yea, I'll admit now that I can be a bit cocky when it comes to sunscreen. Usually I don't I wear any. Clearly, one can see how that life choice might come back to haunt to me. Lets just say that nearly a week later, I am now sporting a nice tan on my back and torso.

To bring the weekend to a close, the Outing Club took off on our first official hike of the year to Worcester's Boynton/Cascades. Though the cascades weren't cascading, the trip itself was awesome! It felt great to be surrounded in nature once again.

 A great feature of the Boynton/Cascades hike is that its an easy enough hike for even the most beginners of hikers, but at the same, an throw a few surprising curve balls. At the start of the trail, there is this sharp incline that follows alongside where the cascades should be. Interestingly enough, just a week before hand, the waterfall was gushing water. However, just there wasn't a cascade, didn't mean there wasn't any water.

 

Now I am sure you are wondering, just what do all of these pictures have in common with pineapple cupcakes? Well, last Wednesday, I stopped by the school's library just to see if there was chance there was any cookbooks hidden among the shelves. Naturally, the answer was no :( However, one librarian took an interest in my search and offered me her massive collection of cookbooks to search through whenever I need them. It was this kind librarian who produced the perfect recipe; Pineapple Upside-Down Cupcakes. And of course, the day I decided I bake these sweet little treats just so happened to be the day that the rain clouds decided to move in over Worcester. With cold rain pelting the city and washing away the remaining remnants of summer, it was nice to see the brightness of the pineapple and maraschino cherries that were included in the recipe.

In addition to being my first fruit based recipe, I decided to go ahead and break out my newly purchased mini muffin pan. At first I was concerned that the topping and batter would be too much for the small little pan, yet I somehow managed to avoid having an spillovers. Bright and full of deliciousness, these little treats brightened up the otherwise cold and rainy day. Talk about absolute perfection!

Special thanks to Debbie for finding this little gem for me!

Pineapple Upside-Down Cupcakes, by Norma Jean and 

Carol

 Topping:

4 tablespoons butter

7 tablespoons dark brown suar

1/2 crushed pineapple

6 maraschino cherries cut into slices

Cake Batter

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg, separated

1 cup, sifted cake flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup pineapple juice

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Melt butter in a saucepan and add brown sugar, Cook over low flames until well blended, then stir in crushed pineapple, reserving juices. Pour about a teaspoon of this topping into the bottom of each greased miniature muffin cup and add a sliver of a red cherry. To prepare batter: Cream the butter, add the sugar, and bear until fluffy. Beat the egg yolk and add. Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together; add alternatively with the pineapple juice. Add vanilla. Beat the egg white until stiff and fold into batter. Pour this batter over the topping and bake in a preheated 350 oven for 25 minutes, cool, then turn cupcakes carefully onto a cake plate. the pineapple side up.

Yeilds: 2 dozen miniature or 1 dozen regular cupcakes

So this makes 9 recipes, which means, 491 recipes to go! Oh yea, pushing the ten recipe landmark! Whoever thought I'd get this far?

As for what I plan on baking next time, stay tuned for tomorrows post, its gonna be a fun one!

So until next time,

Jill