Happy Tuesday everyone! I haven’t been posting recipes for the last week (but you can still look at all the things I bake on my Instagram account, so don’t forget to follow me there). I’ve been a little bit busy with other things so I did not have the time to sit and write down all the recipes, but here I am!

Summer starts in a couple of days (it’s been super hot here in Northern California) and  we just joined a boat club at Lake Berryessa, so we might spend a good amount of our Summer at the lake having some fun. I’m sure I’ll make a post about it and be ready for all the pictures to come!

This recipe is about pina colada cupcakes! Who doesn’t love pina coladas in a hot day? I love them. I remember I had a lot of these tropical drinks when we were at Cancun relaxing by the pool…. ok… I really want to go back to one of those all inclusive Mexican resorts soon!

Pina colada cupcakes: soft pineapple cake (with a splash of rum) + pineapple coconut buttercream  (with a splash of rum too!)

Are you ready?

Yield 24 cupcakes

Ingredients

For the Cake:

3 1/3 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/3 cup  white granulated sugar

1 cup unsalted butter, melted

2 large eggs, room temperature

1/2 cup pineapple juice (I prefer to use the one from Trader Joe’s)

1/2 cup crushed pineapple (without the syrup)

1 cup full fat coconut milk (I prefer to use the one from Trader Joe’s)

3 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2-3 tablespoons rum

For the Frosting:

1 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

6 cups powdered sugar (good quality), sifted

1/2 cup heavy cream

4 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon coconut extra

2-3 tablespoons  rum

a pinch of salt

For decorating:

small chunks of pineapple

toasted coconut

maraschino cherries

Directions

For the cake:

1.- Preheat oven to 350 F. Line muffin pans with cupcake liners. Set aside.

2.-  In a medium bowl, sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

3.- In microwave- safe bowl, melt butter in the microwave. Whisk in both sugars. Add eggs, pineapple juice, coconut milk, vanilla and rum, mix until combined.

4.- Add dry ingredients into the wet ingredients (slowly), mix until no lumps remains. Add crushed pineapple and mix for 20 seconds.

5.- Fill cupcake liners 2/3 (not more otherwise they will overflow). Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

For the Frosting:

1.- In a bowl of a stand mixer and with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed for about 4 minutes until smooth and creamy. Turn mixer off and add powdered sugar in 2 batches, cream, vanilla, coconut extract and rum. Mix on low for 2 minutes then increase to high speed and mix for 4 minutes. Please, if you think the frosting is too thin, add a bit more of powdered sugar . Add a pinch of salt if it’s too sweet.

2.- Frost cupcakes. I used Ateco #808.

3.- Decorate with pineapple chunks, maraschino cherries and toasted coconut.

4.- Store the cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up 2 days.

Enjoy!!!

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