Pina-Colada cupcakes (with recipe)

Sunday, June 15, 2008

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.

Cupcakes, Dessert, Family Favorites

5 comments »

16 Responses to “Coconut Layer Cake Filled with Lemon Curd”

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Erica @ Inandaroundtown — April 6, 2011 at 4:22 pm

WOW – I would like to have a piece of that cake as soon as possible! looks beautiful and delicious!
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2

FunandFearlessinBeantown — April 6, 2011 at 4:26 pm

This cake looks beautiful and I love the addition of toasted coconut!
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Christina — April 6, 2011 at 4:32 pm

I love love cakes with coconut. So delicious.
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Maria — April 6, 2011 at 4:33 pm

Beautiful cake!
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DeliciousDish — April 6, 2011 at 4:48 pm

Totally agree – the more layers the better! The cake looks stunning!
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Paula Kelly-Bourque — April 6, 2011 at 5:04 pm

Had I been at your dinner party you wouldn’t have had to cook anything. I would have just completely indulged in this gorgeous cake!
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Evan — April 6, 2011 at 5:29 pm

This cake looks incredible! coconut and lemon are two of my favorite flavors; I’m glad you don’t have to choose one or the other with this recipe.
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Bianca Garcia — April 6, 2011 at 5:34 pm

This sounds wonderful. Coconut with lemon curd, yummmm!
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Taryn — April 6, 2011 at 5:49 pm

This looks fantastic – so springy and beautiful, and absolutely delish 🙂
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ammy 92 — April 6, 2011 at 6:28 pm

what a wonderful cake!
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ErinsFoodFiles — April 6, 2011 at 6:30 pm

Beautiful cake! I’ve been craving a coconut cake, but I know too many people who don’t like coconut cake that if I made it I wouldn’t have anyone to share. Boo.
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Shannon — April 6, 2011 at 8:01 pm

ooh, fabulous. love the lemon curd-coconut combo, and in a layer cake, fun!!
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A Boston Food Diary — April 6, 2011 at 8:30 pm

OF COURSE 4 is better than 2!!! This looks amazing….I love the idea of lemon and coconut together-and it’s gorgeous!
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Aimee — April 6, 2011 at 8:47 pm

Love lemon curd, love coconut, especially love a cake that lets me “frost” the sides with ease. This looks so yummy!!
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Nutmeg Nanny — April 6, 2011 at 9:31 pm

Such a delicious cake! I honestly didn’t know a 6 inch was half of a 9 inch….thank you 🙂
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Kelly Jaremco — April 29, 2015 at 8:39 pm

I told my girlfriend I would bake her a cake for her birthday this Sunday !!! I got lemon curd and coconut stuck in my brain, so I started googling… which led me to your page !!! This recipie looks almost perfect !!

Couple questions…

Do you think the coconut extract was too strong for the cake, because you also have the browned coconut pcs too? I was considering vanilla bean cake, lemon curd and toasted coconut on the outside… but perhaps that wouldn’t be enough coconut flavour…. your thoughts?

Lastly… what did you use as the frosting to keep the toasted coconut on? It looks like whipping cream…. ?!?!?

Thanks !!!
Kelly

P.S
This is the first cake I’ve ever baked !!! lol