Something Sweet: Pineapple Updside Down Cupcakes

Sorry to have not posted in a while, I was away on a little vacation to Whistler, B.C.  It was wonderful to be away and outside everyday.  I am still a bit of a beginner when it comes to skiing, so it was an invigorating few days trying to overcome some of my (irrational?) fears on the mountain.  Luckily Whistler has a great, active village with loads of good restaurants so I was able to unwind at the end of the day with some nice food and drink(s)!  I made these little pineapple upside down cakes a couple of weeks before I left, when Pineapples were on sale at whole foods.  I combined a couple of recipes - Martha Stewart's and the recipe in the Joy of Cooking to come up with these little mini cakes. I used a jumbo muffin pan to make these.  With the fresh pineapple they turned out beautifully - sweet but not so sweet that your teeth ache.  The recipe after the jump.
Pineapple Upside Down Cupcakes (Adapted from Martha Stewart Baking book and The Joy of Cooking)
(printable recipe)

Ingredients (makes 6 large cupcakes)
6 slices fresh pineapple
6 maraschino or fresh cherries
6 tablespoons of light or dark brown sugar
10 tablespoons of room temperature unsalted butter (separated 1 stick and 2 tablespoons), plus more for pans
1 and 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup sour cream

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Butter or spray with cooking spray a jumbo muffin pan (this is a pan with six instead of 12 muffin holders).
3. Using a small cookie or biscuit cutter, cut out the core section of the pineapple slices.  You can also do this with a knife.  It is OK if your pineapple does not stay in one ring.
4. Put a dab of butter (using 2 tablespoons total) in each muffin cup and place the pan in the oven to melt the butter for a minute or so.
5. Take the pan out and put 1 tablespoon of brown sugar in each muffin cup.  
6. Add a slice/ring of pineapple to the cup, pressing down into the brown sugar mixture, and add a cherry in the middle.
7. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking powder and sugar.
8. In the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the 1 stick of butter with the granulated sugar until light and fluffy, 2- 3 minutes.
9. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Scrape the sides of the bowl and beat again.
10. Beat in the vanilla.
11. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour in two batches, alternating with the sour cream. 
12. Mix until ingredients are incorporated.
13. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.  You may have a bit of leftover batter, this makes a little more than you need for 6 jumbo cupcakes.  Do not fill the muffin cups to the top or they will rise over the pan.  Fill a little more than 3/4s with batter.
14. Bake, rotating half way through, for about 50 minutes, until a toothpick like device comes out clean.
15. Let cakes cool in pan on a rack for 30 minutes.   Then carefully invert the cakes.