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.
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
How cool! These look delicious!
This totally takes me back to childhood. We ALWAYS used fresh rhubarb from our backyard to make yummy breakfast treats!
I think I will have to make these for my parents next time they visit. They will LOVE them!
Those look amazing! I’m always on the lookout for new rhubarb recipes, the season for it is so short in Western Ma, that I tend to buy WAY too much and stick in the freezer..
I have never had rhubarb before, but these look great!
They’re so pretty – I love family recipes!
I never know what to do with Rhubard, but these looks awesome!
divine. i want one. right now. pretty please?? 🙂
I love your recipes, lactose free and awesome, I will def. have to try this. Ps. we should team up and do something lactose free together in solidarity!
Thanks everyone – seriously if you have rhubarb hanging around. Make these. You won’t regret it.
I’m a little lost. The ingredients list mentions 5 c. rhubarb (and you break it into 3 c. for the filling and 2 c. for the sauce) but I don’t see in the step-by-step instructions when/where/how the 2 c. of rhubarb are used. Please help!
Thanks!
alexandjess – thanks for catching my mistake. I added the instructions about the sauce into the post, but you make the sauce by boiling 2 cups cut rhubarb, 1 cup sugar, 1 1/3 cups water. The rhubarb for the sauce can be cut in large chunks because it all falls apart anyways.
Your sisters made the rhubarb rolls and stuffed dates yesterday for our Memorial Day cookout. They were delicious!!!! Can’t wait to have another piece tonight for desert. I have a new recipe for potato salad that is delish….let me know if you want me to pass on.
i made these tonight and they went awry for a series of reasons that were my fault and won’t go all into…. one thing i did though was use half rhubarb and half strawberries, which sounded delish but i didn’t cut the sugar enough and i think that also made things more watery. my question though, is whether by ‘shortening’ you specifically mean something like crisco or whether you just mean butter or margarine or anything like that. i used butter and didn’t see how i could get away with a little ‘stirring’ before rolling. i tried to cut it in with a pastry blender, but in the end maybe that was too much action for the dough as it seemed a little gummy after cooking….
i’d appreciate any advice!
natasha – I use Crisco for the dough. I think that’s what my dad always uses as well. Hopefully that is what caused the gumminess. Sorry they didn’t turn out for you.
My family has been making these for years. I have used butter or margarine to cut into the flour mixture for the dough and have never had a problem. I always roll my dough out into a rectangle and when I cut the rolls they NEVER look as neat as the ones you have pictured! I have added strawberries but only in the sauce. My mom liked to add red food coloring to make it look more rosy. We bake for 20 minutes before pouring on the sauce and then another 20 minutes. I have to make it every spring in honor of my mom.
my grandma recipe calls thesr soringtime rollypoly, and can ad what ever frozen berries you have , frozen is the least messy
sorry thats springtime rollypolly