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When Marye asked me to give her a day off and guest post for her, I was more than delighted to help out!

If you’re not already one of my regular readers at Flamingo Musings, I like to introduce myself proudly as “a middle-aged South Florida woman who’s never had any work done.” Almost a year ago, I quit my government job of over a dozen years to make jam. So, yeah, you could say that I’m just a little bit, um, quirky. My family thinks I’m nuts, but that’s another story. Let’s stick with “quirky.” Actually, that’s probably why Marye and I get along so well.

I’ve been playing with some of my Freakin’ Flamingo jams lately, and this gives me a chance to share one of my creations with you! Piña Colada Jam just has “Summer” written all over it, but you can do more than just slap it on your toast.

Here’s a sweet/savory supper idea that’ll take you 30 minutes or less to put on the table. This recipe is for 2 servings, but you can easily multiply it for a crowd: Continue reading →

Cupcakes are popular for a reason. They don’t take much time at all. Back in the dark ages, when I was a kid you basically had four kinds of cupcakes:

Vanilla with vanilla frosting
Chocolate with chocolate
Vanilla with chocolate
Chocolate with vanilla

It was really very simple. And boring.

At some point when I was busily concentrating on souffle au chocolat and puff pastry, cupcakes were upgraded. Numerous times.

Now cupcakes have fillings. They have sauces. They do everything but get up and dance.

Sundays are perfect days for cupcakes. At least for me. (Yes there are many incomplete sentences in this post. It has been that kind of week) I get home from church and cupcakes can bake while I am fixing the rest of the meal. I would love to say that I am spo organized I have meals prepared on Saturday, ready for my family to enjoy but that just isn’t true. It used to be that way..once upon a time… a long, long time ago. Back in the days of beds that were made, laundry that was folded, and bathrooms that were clean.

Could we have a moment of silence? I think I need it.

Kids, homeschooling, working full time plus, a divorce, a remarriage…well dang. The organized gene I used to have packed up and moved to Martha Stewart’s hood because it sure isn’t here.

Back to cupcakes.

SO.

I wanted something light, quick, and yummy. I love pineapple upside down cake but there just wasn’t time to mess with it. AHA! CUPCAKES!

I grabbed my favorite italian cream cake recipes (which reminded me I needed to post it soon) and made some adjustments. The result?

Oh..My… These cupcakes are like biting into a cloud..they are so light! But the richness of the brown sugar syrup and the fresh sweet tang of the pineapple and crunchy pecans all mixed together in buttery goodness? It is an aria composed by Schubert and Beethoven, and then directed by Mozart.

Best of all? 30 minutes maximum until you are uncontrollably popping these babies into your mouth.

So, delicious…pretty…yummy…easy…. uber-fast… what more could you ask? Perfect for a family Easter potluck or anything else you might want to bring them to.

Yes you can freeze them.

Seriously? Why are you still here? I expected to look up and see the whole blog cleared of people as they rushed to the local grocer for ingredients. You better hurry. You aren’t the only one that read this and the store may be sold out before you get there.

If you are feeling just the tiniest bit impish then drop about 2 tablespoons of rum in the cake batter.

I love having chickens. They really don’t cost much to feed, the eggs are basically free, and look at the color of those yolks. Conventional bakeries have to add food color to make their baked goods golden and buttery looking…not me! If you can’t have chickens are organic, free range eggs worth it? Yeah. I think they are. They have more flavor…I think they beat up better and are richer. Try to find a local source rather than getting them at the store. It can save you some money.

Fold the egg whites in gently. This cake is airy and you don’t want to deflate it. Look at the rich color of the batter. Healthy chickens. Just sayin’.

Writing and adding images to this post has literally taken much longer than it did to make the cupcakes.

Recipe: Pineapple-Pecan Upside Down Cupcakes

Summary: Just like pineapple upside down cake only quicker

Ingredients

12 tbs (3/4 cup) brown sugar
1/4 cup butter
1 tall can crushed pineapple, drained (12-14oz?)
3/4 c pecans, chopped
5 eggs, room temperature
2 cups sugar,divided into 1 cup portions
1 cup butter, room temperature
Pinch of kosher salt
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 c whole buttermilk (not low fat)
1/3 cup juice reserved from pineapple
2 c white, all purpose flour

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325F
Spray muffin tins with cooking spray or butter them
Add 1 tsp of butter to each of 12 muffin tins and place in the oven to melt (about 3 minutes or so)
Add 1 tbs of brown sugar to each tin
Add 1 tbs of pecan to each muffin tin
Add 1 tbs or so of the pineapple to the muffin tin
Set the muffin tin aside
Mix the flour and salt in a bowl, set aside
Carefully separate egg yolks and whites
Beat egg whites on high until soft peaks form.
Add 1 c of sugar slowly continuing to beat until the egg whites are stiff and glossy
Set egg whites aside
Beat butter and remaining sugar until creamy
Add salt and vanilla and beat in egg yolks one at a time
Batter will look a bit like whipped cream
Stir the baking soda into the buttermilk
Begin with the flour and add it to the butter mixture alternating with the buttermilk, mix well after each addition but don’t beat too much
Fold in the egg white mixture, gently
Spoon into muffin tins on top of the pineapple mixture
Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted halfway down in center comes out clean
Cool for 5 minutes and then turn out on a platter