Rum Punch Cupcakes

Hubby and I got married in St Thomas with 23 of our closest friends and family members (we HIGHLY recommend beach weddings!) We had a morning ceremony with lunch immediately after at a restaurant on the beach. After the meal, over half of the bill was for rum punch! Our amazing photographer (Steph Carson – check her out if you need a photographer – tell her Jen P sent you if you contact her – see some of our pics here), caught this picture of the tasty beverages coming out to the table. We love all the pictures that Steph took, but this one really takes us back.

(Photograph by Stephanie Carson)

These cupcakes are inspired by our favorite tropical drink. When I make rum punch at home, I mix cranberry juice, pineapple juice, and coconut rum. So I adapted the Sea Breeze cupcake recipe in Crazy about Cupcakes to make Rum Punch cupcakes. They turned out really good, although next time I’ll put more rum in or some coconut extract.

Rum Punch Cupcakes – makes 12 – adapted from Crazy about Cupcakes
1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup pineapple juice
1/4 cup cranberry juice
Zest of 1 orange

Preheat oven to 350. Insert liners into a medium cupcake pan.

In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy 3-5 minutes. Add the egg yolks. Beat well.

In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture, alternating with juices. Fold in zest.

With clean beaters, whip the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the whites with a rubber spatula into the batter.

Fill the cupcake liners 1/2 to 2/3 full. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of cupcakes comes out clean. Cool cupcakes in the pan.

Rum Punch frosting – adapted from Crazy about Cupcakes
3 cups confectioners sugar
6 Tbsp heavy cream
1 Tbsp rum
1 Tbsp pineapple juice
1 Tbsp cranberry juice

Combine all ingredients in medium mixing bowl. Beat on low speed until smooth. Add additional liqueur or sugar if necessary to reach desired spreading consistency.

Note: This frosting was very thin. I added more sugar, but stopped adding sugar because I didn’t want it to be too sweet.

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13 Responses to “Pumpkin Cranberry Pecan Upside Down Cake”

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    1
    Sarah — November 24, 2010 at 4:58 pm

    This is the perfect recipe for all of the leftover ingredients I have! Hubby made me buy a 3-pound bag of cranberries because he loves them, but you only use 12 ounces for cranberry sauce so I’ve got about 2 pounds of cranberries left to use, plus lots of pumpkins and pecans. This is definitely being made this weekend!

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    Megan — November 24, 2010 at 5:18 pm

    Oh man. That does sound good. And I know it must be if you’re repeating it because I am the same way. I’m going to make a cranberry maple pecan cake on Friday… but this is really tempting too.

    Happy Thanksgiving!

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    3
    Stephanie — November 24, 2010 at 5:55 pm

    Oh, man! If I only had more time for Thanksgiving dessert table – this is certainly one I would try.

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    4
    We Are Not Martha — November 24, 2010 at 5:58 pm

    Oooh this cake looks so ooey gooey and delicious! I wish there weren’t already so many desserts coming to my Thanksgiving table because I’d totally make this!

    Sues

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    5
    Fun and Fearless in Beantown — November 24, 2010 at 6:02 pm

    This looks super delicious and your photos look great too! Happy Thanksgiving to you and hubby!

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    Shannon — November 25, 2010 at 3:48 pm

    ooooh, my, i must try this 🙂 happy thanksgiving!!

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    Nutmeg Nanny — November 28, 2010 at 10:14 pm

    What a fabulous recipe! All the flavors sound delicious to me.

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    Shandra — November 29, 2010 at 4:45 am

    This looks amazing! It looks so moisty yum, I should try to make this sometime, Love your blog! this is my first comment for you so I thought I’d show some appreciation for your blog, because I’ve been drooling over all your recipes for a while
    Shandra-http://shandrita.tumblr.com/

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    "pup" — November 29, 2010 at 1:13 pm

    Your photos are beautiful! The pictures I took of the actual cake didn’t look to appealing, the photos I took of the bite sized cake bites looked pretty though lol
    Good job!!

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    10
    freefoodboston — December 1, 2010 at 3:21 pm

    What a great recipe! You totally had me at caramel/pecan/cranberry topping.

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    Sophie — January 1, 2011 at 3:14 am

    Just finally made this cake and it is astoundingly good! Truly the best dessert I’ve had in…oh, a very long time. Thank you for your post!

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    Nancy Blume-Watson — November 30, 2013 at 1:57 pm

    I tried to be good, I really did! This cake was so delicious, I not only had seconds, I had a piece for breakfast the next day and for a snack later that day. This one goes on my Christmas menu!

    • beantownbaker — December 1st, 2013 @ 6:52 pm

      I doubled the recipe this time and you’ll remember the middle didn’t quite bake through. It also spilled over a bit, so next time, I’ll put a pan under the cake in the oven.

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