Pina-Colada cupcakes (with recipe)

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Pina-Colada cupcakes (with recipe)

My mother-in-law came to visit for her birthday a couple weekends ago. We had a great time with her in town and I got to show off my baking skills 🙂 I knew that she liked coconut cake but I wanted to kick it up a notch. I found a recipe for pina-colada cupcakes and thought they’d be perfect. I made a 1/2 batch which yielded 8 cupcakes for me.

These turned out AMAZING. Hubby says they’re definitely in the top 3 cupcakes I’ve ever made. I would agree with that. They were so light and fluffy and the coconut and pineapple flavors blended together perfectly.

Pina Colada Cupcakes – from Annie’s Eats
For the cupcakes (I halved this recipe to yield 8 cupcakes):
2 cups sifted cake flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 3/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup milk, at room temperature
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. coconut extract
4 egg whites
1/2-2/3 cup shredded coconut

For the frosting (I halved this recipe which was perfect for my 8 cupcakes):
2/3 cup fresh pineapple chunks
8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 3/4 cups powdered sugar, sifted

For garnish:
shredded coconut
fresh pineapple wedges

Preheat oven to 350°. Line a muffin tin with paper liners.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat the butter on high speed until creamy, about 30 seconds. Gradually add the granulated sugar and continue beating, occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl, until light and fluffy, 4 to 5 minutes.

Reduce the speed to low and fold in the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the milk and beginning and ending with the flour, until just blended. Stir in the vanilla and coconut extract. Stir in shredded coconut. Transfer batter to a large mixing bowl and set aside. Wash and thoroughly dry mixer bowl.

In the mixer bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Using a rubber spatula, fold ½ cup of the egg whites into the batter until smooth. Carefully fold in the remaining egg whites until smooth and blended. Divide the batter among the prepared wells.

Bake until the cupcakes are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the pan and let cool on the rack to room temperature.

To make the frosting, puree the pineapple chunks in food processor or blender until smooth. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter on high speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Mix in powdered sugar until well combined. Add pineapple puree to achieve desired pineapple flavor (approximately ½ cup). If frosting is too runny, refrigerate for 30 minutes to allow to set up a bit. Frost cupcakes with pineapple frosting, sprinkle with shredded coconut and garnish with fresh pineapple wedges.

Cupcakes, Dessert, Family Favorites

5 comments »

38 Responses to “What’s your secret?”

#
1

BMK — January 28, 2008 at 1:15 pm

Those are adorable! I love the idea of lemon meringue cupcakes.
#
2

~Amber~ — January 28, 2008 at 1:51 pm

They are adorable!! Great job and I am glad you had success with the recipe.
#
3

Shawnda — January 28, 2008 at 2:27 pm

Congrats on a successful challenge!
#
4

slush — January 28, 2008 at 3:03 pm

OMG, are they cute! Like little porcupines. So glad it turned out for you. Fab job!
#
5

Aparna — January 28, 2008 at 3:24 pm

I really liked your idea of making the cupcakes. No cutting up and great single sized servings. They look just great.
Makes me wonder– why didn’t I think of that?
#
6

Tempered Woman — January 28, 2008 at 3:36 pm

Hey~ I made lemon maringue cuppies too! I am so sold on making pies this way in the future- very fun. Love the spikies- great job.
#
7

Nikki57 — January 28, 2008 at 4:39 pm

Your LMP looks great! I love the cuppies
#
8

CB — January 28, 2008 at 5:22 pm

LMP cuppys rule! ::high five:: love all the pictures of your process… great job!
#
9

Marye — January 28, 2008 at 5:29 pm

I really like the little pies everyone is making..now I want to redo mine.blessings,
marye
http://bakingdelights.com
#
10

michelle — January 28, 2008 at 7:15 pm

Oh so cute! I had considered trying my second attempt in a cupcake tin… until I waited until the last minute, that is! 🙂
#
11

ruthEbabes — January 28, 2008 at 9:27 pm

Congrats! These look fabulously divine!
#
12

Butta Buns — January 28, 2008 at 9:40 pm

Ah ha, another fellow Boston baker! Your tarts are beautiful! Love the peaks on the meringue!
#
13

How To Eat A Cupcake — January 28, 2008 at 10:19 pm

Those are so perfect!

PS: I have those red measuring bowls. I love them! 😀
#
14

I(dot)J — January 28, 2008 at 11:49 pm

so SMART to have all of your ingredients out FIRST. I really should know this by now.
#
15

Dolores — January 29, 2008 at 1:52 am

Ooooh, I love your cupcake-pies. How’d you make the meringue spikey?

And what did the husband think of the final product?
#
16

breadchick — January 29, 2008 at 2:00 am

your little ones are adorable. Great job on your challenge!!
#
17

MrsPresley — January 29, 2008 at 2:35 am

your lemon meringue cupcakes are so cute! job well done! 🙂
#
18

Beth G. — January 29, 2008 at 2:36 am

They’re so cute!! Great job!! :O)
#
19

kate — January 29, 2008 at 2:54 am

i had that crust shrinkage problem too. it’s a bummer.

———-
kate
http://www.thecleanplateclub.net
#
20

Jen — January 29, 2008 at 2:58 am

Dolores – I just spread the meringue around and then using a spatula, pressed it into the meringue and pulled it out and voila! Spikes!
#
21

Andrea — January 29, 2008 at 3:06 am

Your little cupcakes are adorable! That was a great idea!
#
22

Princess of the kitchen — January 29, 2008 at 7:32 am

Your little tarts lok just lovely. well done!
#
23

Big Boys Oven — January 29, 2008 at 8:31 am

a challenge executed incrediblely well!
#
24

Deborah — January 29, 2008 at 3:54 pm

They look just perfect!!
#
25

Candace — January 29, 2008 at 4:10 pm

Nice job!
#
26

Megan — January 29, 2008 at 7:34 pm

Too cute! Love the cupcakes. I want one!
#
27

Carrie — January 30, 2008 at 12:02 am

My crust did the same thing! Your cupcakes look great though!
~Carrie from bakersbakery.wordpress.com
#
28

Lane — January 30, 2008 at 6:35 am

Your “pie-cups” look perfect. Great job!

Jane of VeganBits.com
#
29

Lunch Buckets — January 30, 2008 at 6:48 am

Very cute! Did you turn away and silently mock your husband “my mom makes a great…”, no of course you wouldn’t have, I must be projecting 🙂
#
30

Sheltie Girl — January 30, 2008 at 3:19 pm

You did a wonderful job on your lemon meringue tarts!

Natalie @ Gluten A Go Go

~ We’re lactose intolerant at our house too.
#
31

Quellia — January 30, 2008 at 5:27 pm

Nice cupcakes! And if it makes you feel any better, I’ve been a DB’er for a year and friends and family, all non-bloggers, always know what I’m making. They kinda have to since I always tape the recipe up on the kitchen cupboards!
#
32

creampuff — January 30, 2008 at 8:52 pm

Yayy! I love reading success posts like this! They look great and that’s a good idea to bake them in muffin tins. Well done!
#
33

BrineS — January 31, 2008 at 7:22 am

I love your little lemon meringues!
#
34

Jen Yu — January 31, 2008 at 5:53 pm

Awesome! I love how differently everyone’s turned out, but these little cuties are so adorable 🙂 Great job!!
#
35

Claire — February 1, 2008 at 1:34 am

So cute! I’m sure everyone enjoyed you addition to the spread!
#
36

Jigginjessica — February 2, 2008 at 4:31 pm

I love cupcake idea. One big pie seems so messy, these seem neat and tidy. Congrats on another successful challenge!
#
37

Jelli Bean — August 20, 2009 at 3:09 pm

The shrinking crust always affects my mini cupcake pies too. The trick is to make them overhang the cups enough so that they shrink down to just the right size. Your little pies are darling!
#
38

kijiji in edmonton canada — September 14, 2013 at 11:12 pm

It’s awesome for me to have a website, which is helpful in
favor of my know-how. thanks admin