Hummingbird Cupcakes with Pineapple Flowers
Today I’m bringing you the final recipe that Megan and I baked together at our last baking date. If you remember, we made Homemade Peeps and Hot Cross Buns for Easter and we also wanted to make something appropriate for Mother’s Day. I was flipping through my Martha Stewart Cupcakes Cookbook when I saw these cupcakes and asked Megan if she was interested in making them.
The pineapple flowers on top did cause us some problems. We ended up baking them twice as long as the recipe said and they still weren’t fully dried out. Next time I make these, I’ll definitely do the pineapple flowers a day in advance so that I’m not in a rush to get them out of the oven. A few of the slices that were thinned did completely dry out, but it’s really hard to cut a pineapple very thin so some definitely were still a bit gooey.
Even with the frustrations of the pineapple flowers, these cupcakes were a huge hit. The flavors in the cupcake reminded me of a Caribbean vacation. And of course, everyone loves cream cheese frosting! If you wanted to make these but not deal with the pineapple flowers, you could top them with candied pineapple, or just leave the garnish off all together.
Megan and I had a great time baking together again and I can’t wait until we can do it again! We’re thinking of making ice cream since she’ll be hosting next time and she has an ice cream maker! If you have any ideas of something you’d like to see us bake, let either one of us know.
One Year Ago: Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Two Years Ago: Roasted Red Pepper Dip
Hummingbird Cupcakes
Yield: 36 cupcakes
Ingredients:
For the Hummingbird Cupcakes
3 cups flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 cups mashed ripe banana
2 cans (8 oz each) crushed pineapple, drained
1 cup walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
1 cup unsweetened coconut
For the Cream Cheese Frosting
2/3 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
2 2/3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
For the Dried Pineapple Flowers
2 large or 4 small pineapples, peeled
Directions:
For the Hummingbird Cupcakes
Preheat oven to 350. Line muffin tins with cupcake liners.
Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
Beat butter, vanilla, and sugar until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until incorporated. Scrape sides of bowl as needed. Continue to beat until mixture is pale and fluffy.
In another bowl, stir together the banana, pineapple, walnuts, and coconut. Add to egg mixture and beat until combined. Stir in flour mixture.
Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full and bake for 25-28 minutes. Cool completely before frosting.
For the Cream Cheese Frosting
Beat butter and cream cheese until fluffy, about 2-3 minutes on medium-high.
Reduce to low and add sugar, 1/2 cup at a time. Add vanilla and mix until smooth, scraping sides of bowl as needed.
For the Dried Pineapple Flowers
Preheat oven to 225. Line 2 baking sheets with a silpat or parchment paper.
Using a small melon baller (or a spoon), remove and discard pineapple "eyes".
Use a sharp knife to cut pineapple into very thin slices. Place slices on baking sheets.
Bake until tops look dried, about 30 minutes. Flip slices and bake until completely dried, 25-30 more minutes (or longer as needed).
Pinch center of each pineapple slice and shape into a cone. Let cool in a clean muffin tin to form flower shape. Once cool, flowers can be stored stacked for up to 3 days at room temp in an air-tight container.
Hummingbird Cupcake Recipe from Martha Stewart Cupcakes
Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe from Martha Stewart Cupcakes
Dried Pineapple Flower Recipe from Martha Stewart Cupcakes
I’m using this cake as my monthly What’s Baking challenge. The theme this month is Something for Mother’s Day. Be sure to check out The Boys Made Me Do It for the roundup later this month.
Don’t forget about Bloggers Bake for Hope – Bloggers Bake. You Bid. 100% of proceeds go to Komen for a Cure. Register to bake by April 30th, come back for bidding May 4-6.
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
As a teacher, I still get nervous for the first day of school! Same butterflies in my tummy I had for the first day of high school 🙂
The look SO yummy, hope to try making them soon.
The flavor combination of PB&J always brings me back to my childhood. I loved the first day of school – new outfit, new backpack and school supplies…
Yum these look great Jen!! I totally agree on adding more jelly or jam to these…the ooey gooey of PB sticks to the roof of my mouth. Make sure to have milk if these bars are made! LOL
Tomorrow marks the first day of my eight year of teaching so I love your back to school post. I am bookmarking this recipe, love PB & J!
I have been obsessed with peanut butter lately and these look simply amazing….even if I’m not headed back to school! Yum!
These bars looks absolutely perfect.
My favorite part of going back to school was (and I know I’m a nerd for saying this) was using new school supplies. My mom always got us the best pens, pencils, folders, binders, erasers…you name it. And whipping them out the first week of class was the best feeling ever.
This looks perfect for the back to school season! I’m a nanny so I know the little I watch would love to make these for herself and friends. I guess I know what we are doing tonight 🙂
This is very similar to my favorite workout bar–Clif Mojo Peanut Butter & Jelly. Maybe I can start saving money and make my own bars. Thanks!
I’ve made something similar before, but these look SO good my stomach is grumbling 🙂 Definitely bookmarking for soon! I miss the new outfits and seeing who’s in all your classes 🙂
Sues