Pina Colada Cupcakes

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These Pina Colada Cupcakes are made with moist and fluffy pineapple cake topped with a delicious coconut frosting! Inspired by the classic cocktail, these cupcakes are perfect for summer!

Pina Colada Cupcakes

This post is sponsored by Challenge Dairy, but all opinions are my own.

I have always been quite a fan of pina coladas. It’s hard not to be. The coconut and pineapple are just perfect together. And it just makes you feel like you should be on a beach somewhere with beautiful weather, a tan and some great beach music. The perfect summer drink – and even better in cupcake form!

These cupcakes are quite easy to make. To start, the creaming process is used which helps makes the cupcake super light and fluffy. Please, please do not skimp on the creaming. The butter and sugar should be beaten together for 3 to 4 minutes. You’ll notice the color of the mixture lighten and the texture will become light and fluffy. The process adds air to the batter and without it, you’ll end up with a denser cupcake.

Of course I’d recommend a great quality butter, like Challenge Dairy butter, as well. One of the things I love about their butter is that it’s an all-natural butter with no hormones, additives or fillers. They were the first brand to make dairy products without growth hormones. It’s also super fresh and Challenge controls the whole process of making the butter – from milking the cows all the way to packaging. Gotta love that!

Once you’ve got your butter and sugar creamed, sour cream is added. I love the flavor and moisture that sour cream adds to a cupcake! The rest of the ingredients are pretty straightforward – egg whites, flour (all purpose keeps it simple), baking powder, pineapple juice and crushed pineapple. You should end up with a batter that is delicious and ready for baking! And if your husband is anything like mine, he’ll be right behind you waiting to lick the empty bowl when you’re done. 🙂

Once the cupcakes are baked and cooled, they’re topped with a wonderful coconut frosting. I added a touch of pineapple juice to it as well, just to boost that flavor a bit. There’s even a touch of rum, but that could easily be substituted with some water or milk, if you prefer.

To finish off the cupcakes, they’ve got a rim of coconut around the edge, a cherry and little piece of pineapple. If you hold a little coconut loosely in the palm of your hand, it should be pretty easy to press it onto the sides of the cupcakes. If you like, you could even stick a little straw in them – and you’re done! A fun, summery, delicious cupcake!

Recipe

Pina Colada Cupcakes

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 2 reviews

• Author: Lindsay
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 15 minutes
• Total Time: 35 minutes
• Yield: 12-15 Cupcakes
• Category: Dessert
• Method: Oven
• Cuisine: American

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Description

These Pina Colada Cupcakes are made with moist and fluffy pineapple cake topped with a delicious coconut frosting! Inspired by the classic cocktail, these cupcakes are perfect for summer!

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Ingredients

CUPCAKES

• 6 tbsp (84g) Salted Challenge Butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cups (155g) sugar
• 6 tbsp (86g) sour cream
• 3 egg whites
• 1 1/4 cups (163g) all purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup (120ml) pineapple juice*
• 4 tbsp crushed pineapple

FROSTING AND TOPPING

• 3/4 cup (168g) Salted Challenge Butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup (95g) shortening
• 5 cups (575g) powdered sugar
• 1 tsp coconut extract
• 2 tbsp (30ml) pineapple juice*
• 1/2 tbsp coconut rum
• 1/2 cup sweetened coconut flakes
• Sliced pineapple, cut into pieces
• 12–15 maraschino cherries

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C) and prepare a cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light in color and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Do not skimp on the amount of creaming time.
3. Add sour cream and mix until well combined.
4. Add egg whites in two batches, mixing until well combined after each. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to be sure all ingredients are well incorporated.
5. Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Add half of the dry ingredients to the batter and mix until well combined. Add the pineapple juice and mix until well combined. Add remaining dry ingredients and mix until well combined.
6. Stir in the crushed pineapple and scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to be sure all ingredients are well incorporated.
7. Fill cupcake liners about halfway. Bake for 15-17 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out with a few crumbs.
8. Remove cupcakes from oven and allow to cool for 2-3 minutes, then remove to cooling rack to finish cooling.
9. While the cupcakes are cooling, make the frosting. Beat the butter and shortening together until smooth.
10. Add about half of the powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
11. Add the coconut extract, pineapple juice and coconut rum and mix until smooth.
12. Add the remaining powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
13. Pipe the frosting on top of the cupcakes with a swirl. I used Ateco tip 808, a large round icing tip.
14. To decorate the cupcakes, lightly press the coconut flakes onto the sides of the cupcakes then top them with a piece of pineapple and a cherry.

*For the pineapple juice in the cupcakes and frosting, I used the juice from the cans of crushed and sliced pineapple used in the cupcakes and in the frosting. I used an 8 oz can of crushed pineapple (for the cupcakes) and an 8 oz can of sliced pineapple (for the frosting and topping)

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Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 Cupcake
• Calories: 437
• Sugar: 48.2 g
• Sodium: 27.4 mg
• Fat: 22.3 g
• Carbohydrates: 59 g
• Protein: 2.5 g
• Cholesterol: 38.3 mg

Enjoy!