As soon as I made these cupcakes, I immediately wanted to go on vacation.
What I wouldn’t give to lay along the side of a beach somewhere with the sun beaming down and hug me with its warmth. Ahhhh, the sound of the waves coming ashore and kiss my feet. One hand held by my man and the other hand holding a Pina Colada. Oh man, I need to stop day dreaming because it is making things worse. I guess I’ll just one of these Pina Colada Cupcakes to make me feel better. Okay, you talked me into it. You sure do know how to make me feel better. Thanks.
I have something to tell you that you or may not find interesting. I actually don’t like coconut. Let me be more specific, I don’t mind the flavor of coconut if it joined well with other flavors, but I can’t stand shredded coconut. It gets in the way. Its like after you eat whatever your eating, you have these pieces of stuff in our mouth and its annoying. So when I say I don’t like coconut, that is really what I mean. I don’t like the flakes that get stuck in your mouth. They don’t really break down and that is very annoying to me.
All in all I give these cupcakes a solid 10 despite the coconut flakes that are involved. I am not saying that because I made these, they are really good. I would totally make these again and enjoy them just the same. I also think they are really pretty, don’t you? The top of these look like soft coconut clouds from heaven. They taste like them too!
Recipe partially adapted from “A Passion for Baking” by Marcy Goldman
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Pina Colada Cupcakes
Ingredients
- Cupcakes
- 1 1/2 sugar
- 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
- 3 large eggs
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 tsp. coconut extract
- 1/4 tsp almond extract
- 2 1/2 c. flour
- 1/4 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 3/4 c. chilled coconut milk
- 2 tbsp. pineapple juice
- 1/2 c. shredded pineapple (buy an 8 oz can), drained
- 1/2 c. sweetened shredded coconut
- Frosting
- 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
- 3–4 c, powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp. milk (more if needed)
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 tsp. coconut extract
- 1/4 tsp. almond extract
- Filling
- 20 oz. can crushed pineapple
- 2/3 c. sugar
- 4 tbsp. butter
- 3 tsp. cornstarch
- 1/3 c. water
Instructions
- Note: I blended all of the ingredients of this cupcake in a food processor to pulverize the sugar but if you don’t have one just blend with hand held blender.
- Let’s make the filling first since that has to be cooled completely before using. Preheat oven to 350 Degrees and line cupcake tine with cupcake papers.
- Open the can of pineapple and place it in a strainer to drain the excess liquid. Take your hands a press some of the excess water out of the pineapple.
- Using a medium sauce pan, melt 4 tablespoons of butter and add the sugar. Still until the sugar somewhat becomes a thick paste. Now add the pineapple to the pot and stir. The pineapple will begin to release more water. Allow to simmer for 2-3 minutes. In a small ramekin, add the cornstarch and water and stir so the cornstarch can dissolve. Pour in the pot and stir. The filling will begin to thicken. Allow to simmer for 15-20 minutes so it can reduce a bit. Take completely off the heat and it will thicken more.
- For the cupcakes, finely pulverize the sugar for 1-2 minutes. Add butter and process or blend to blend butter and sugar well Add eggs, extract, pineapple juice and process to blend. Fold in flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and pulse to blend. Add chilled coconut milk. Blend well. Turn the dough to a large bowl from the food processor and fold in the coconut and pineapple (make sure you drain the pineapple in a strained and press some of the excess liquid. Place the remaining pineapple in an air tight container and reserve for future use).
- Use a ice cream scoop, scoop some of the batter in each of the cupcake tins and bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden and toothpick inserted in the middle and comes out clean. Allow the cupcakes completely cool before proceeding.
- Once cupcakes are cooled, take a sharp steak knife and cut a small hole in the middle of each cupcake at the top. Place your finger in the hole to deepen the hole removing the piece of cake. Do this for each cupcake. Pipe in the pineapple filling into each hole to the opening of the hole of the cupcakes.
- To make the frosting, blend all the ingredients until light and fluffy. Add an additional tablespoon of milk if needed if the frosting is too thick for your liking. Smear the frosting on top of each cupcake and sprinkle with additional sweetened coconut.
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