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.

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12 Responses to “Crockpot Cranberry Pork Roast”

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    1
    Rachel — November 17, 2009 at 5:21 pm

    this sounds really good-will be trying this!

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    Kerstin — November 17, 2009 at 5:56 pm

    This looks so tasty and easy to make! I need to get a crockpot.

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    Megan — November 17, 2009 at 10:15 pm

    I made that recipe last week – and everyone loved it! I only wish I’d gotten pictures…..

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    4
    oneordinaryday — November 17, 2009 at 10:15 pm

    This looks wonderful. Bookmarking right now! Thanks!

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    5
    Ingrid — November 18, 2009 at 3:26 am

    Oh, boy this looks wonderful! I love slow cooker recipes like this. What side did you serve with it? Just veggies?
    ~ingrid

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    Kat — November 18, 2009 at 12:40 pm

    Both your cranberry recipes look great. I am hoping Santa brings me a new crockpot for Christmas as my previous one was nuclear. This recipe looks so easy. I am not a pie fan so am thinking the cranberry apple dessert would be nice for hubby and I for Thanksgiving. Thank you for sharing!

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    Jen — November 18, 2009 at 12:44 pm

    Yep just some steamed veggies.

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    Kasey — November 23, 2009 at 7:13 pm

    I made this over the weekend and it was delicious! Thanks for the posting!

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    Krystal — November 24, 2010 at 4:50 pm

    I finally made this recipe after having it bookmarked forever. Thanks to Kelsey for reminding me about it – it was soooo good and it definitely hit the spot!!! Thanks Jen!

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    Amanda Pronko — December 22, 2013 at 3:36 pm

    I make this every year for Christmas dinner 😀 We always go out for a fancy Christmas Eve dinner, and then we have a huge fancy Christmas Breakfast… by the time Christmas dinner comes around we are wiped out and not really in the mood to cook. This recipe is perfect because I can throw it all in the crock pot on Christmas Eve morning and pop in in the fridge. Then on Christmas day I put it on low and put wild rice in the rice cooker. My family always looks forward to it and we just love how delicious it is. I really wanted to let you know that this has been a tradition for us for about 3-4 years!! Thanks so much and Merry Christmas!!

    • beantownbaker — December 26th, 2013 @ 11:06 am

      I love hearing stories like this! Family traditions are so heart warming during the holidays 🙂

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    Liz — January 25, 2014 at 10:31 am

    Nice recipe – Thank you. I love slow cooker recipes. Have a Happy Weekend!

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