This is one of my favorite cupcake creations at my bakery, Sugar Blossom Bake Shop, and I’m so excited to share this recipe with you.
Inspiration
My Piña Colada Cupcake was inspired by a trip to Puerto Rico with my girlfriends. Every time I bake these cupcakes, memories of sipping piña coladas with my feet buried beneath warm Puerto Rican sand come flooding back to me.
Ingredients
This cupcake is super flavorful thanks to the rum and coconut milk in the batter. The addition of sour cream gives the cupcake a tender crumb.
Rum
I highly recommend using Ron del Barrilito rum. This full-bodied Puerto Rican rum is exceptional tasting and will give your cupcakes amazing flavor. It’s a bit of a challenge to locate here in the United States, but well worth it if you manage to get your hands on a bottle.
Frosting
I frost the cupcake with cream cheese frosting and toasted coconut. I find that the cream cheese complements the flavors well and the toasted coconut adds a welcome crunch.
Pineapple
The “piña” is in the form of a caramelized baby pineapple ring. Brover sells canned baby pineapple rings of excellent quality. See my recipe for how to caramelize pineapple.
If you’d like more cupcake recipes from my bakery Sugar Blossom, check out my cookbook Beach House Baking on Amazon.
Piña Colada Cupcakes
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 1½ cups cake flour
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup butter (unsalted), 1 stick room temperature
- 1¼ cups sugar
- ½ cup coconut milk
- ¼ cup rum Ron del Barrilito
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 2 cups coconut toasted shredded, for garnish
- 14 caramelized baby pineapples Brover brand for garnish
- 14 maraschino cherries with stems, for garnish
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 6 ounces cream cheese cold
- 5 tablespoons butter (unsalted), at room temperature
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Directions
Make the cupcake:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pan with 14 liners. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the butter, sugar, coconut milk, and rum on low speed for 2 minutes. Add eggs one at a time and mix well after each addition. Scrape bowl. Add the sour cream and dry ingredients alternately, beginning with cream and ending with the flour.
- Scoop the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them just below the rim. (I use a 2-ounce ice cream scoop.) Bake for 16 to 17 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Make the frosting:
- Sift the powdered sugar and set aside.
- In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla on medium speed until blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl well and mix for another 2 minutes to ensure no lumps remain.
- Add the powdered sugar all at once and beat on low speed just until sugar is incorporated. Then beat at high speed for 10 seconds. Scrape down sides well. Beat the mixture again on high speed for 10 seconds.
Finish
- Frost the cupcakes with the cream cheese frosting, crumb the edges with the toasted coconut, and top with a caramelized baby pineapple and maraschino cherry.