Pina Colada Cupcakes {Recipe}
I’ve been playing with this recipe for over a year, and I’m very happy with the final results. I’ll be doing a dessert display for a big luau party this weekend and wanted to perfect this recipe before the party. I took this batch to a church pot luck tonight and got lots of great reviews. The Pina Colada effect comes from matching a Pineapple Cupcake with Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting. Although if for some (crazy!) reason you don’t like coconut, these cupcakes would be delicious with Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting (and maybe a small slice of fresh pineapple).
Pineapple Cupcakes
(recipe by Glory Albin)
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups canned crushed pineapple (drained slightly)
Directions-
1. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the eggs and sugar until slightly thickened and a light cream color (about 2 minutes).
3. On low speed, mix in the oil and vanilla until blended.
4. Add in the pineapple and sour cream and mix until fully incorporated.
5. Add the flour mixture and blend until just combined and smooth.
6. Line a cupcake pan with 12 paper liners and fill about 2/3 full.
7. Bake cupcakes in a pre-heated 350*F oven for about 22 minutes.
8. Remove from pan and cool on wire rack.
9. Frost with Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe below)
Recipe yields 24-28 cupcakes.
Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting
(this is just a slight variation on my Cream Cheese Frosting recipe, but I’ll add it to this page as well, so it’s easy to find)
½ cup (1 stick/8 Tablespoons) butter (cool)
8 oz. cream cheese (directly from fridge)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (always use pure vanilla extract if possible)
1 1/2 teaspoons coconut extract (you may want to start with just 1 teaspoon of coconut extract, you can always add more, but you can’t take it out!)
4 cups powdered confectioners sugar
1 Tablespoon heavy cream, heavy whipping cream or milk
-or-
1 Tablespoon Dark Rum
Directions:
*Place butter in a large mixing bowl and blend until smooth. Add cream cheese and blend until well combined, about 30 seconds.
*Add vanilla extract, coconut extract and powdered sugar (1 cup at a time) and blend on low speed until combined. Increase to medium speed and beat until it begins to get fluffy.
*Slowly add the heavy cream or rum.
*Beat until fluffy, about 1 minute.
*Use at once or keep refrigerated. (This frosting will keep well in the refrigerator for several days, but you may need to re-beat it for the best texture.)
For added flavor and texture, top frosted cupcakes with toasted coconut.
(To toast coconut- lay about 1 1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut on a baking sheet and bake at 375*F about 4-5 minutes).
Decorate cupcakes with fresh pineapple, maraschino cherries or paper umbrellas.
Enjoy!
These look so divine! Really inventive and creative and perfect for summer. Can't wait to make these!!
Oh my! Those look heavenly. Must make them soon. I hope to make your chocolate cupcake recipe next weekend. You're so talented.
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Gorgeous! and some of my favs of yours. Will you bringthem to the langes luau or is that over and we missed it. when is it?!!?
i lovee pineapple in baked sweets! and those cupcakes look divine…i espicially love how you decorated them, very cute!
Yum Glory, these sounds absolutely delicious!
These cupcakes look and sound delicious! I just made tropical fruit crumble, with coconut crumble topping! It was delicious but your cupcakes beat me hands down in the looks department
These look very yummy!! Great presentation too!
give me a cocktail – or one of your cuppies! mmmh, they look delicious! and i am SO much into maraschinocherries, that's why these are perfect for me
keep on going, glory, i love your blog!
Glory! For some reasons, I dont like the processed coconut but the one that you made was awesome! I enjoyed it so much when you shared them at the pot luck! Cant wait to taste more
-Leng
Oh, it looks amazing! I have googled and came up with lots of recipes for pina colada cupcakes and can tell from the ingredient list, that this one will be very moist!
I don't have sour cream on hand, but always have 2% plain yogurt. Could I substitute?
Thanks!
I made these and they are delicious! One question, though-my frosting came out too liquidy, not the right consistency. I had left out the butter and cream cheese for a long time. Actually, I also used Smart Balance instead of butter. Did I maybe leave them out of the fridge for too long, or was it thta I didn't use real butter? I would love to make them again.
Anonymous- Glad you enjoyed the recipe! For the frosting, I think you identified your two problems already… Yes, I think the Smart Balance is an issue. If it is whipped, or has water in it, then it will not work well for frosting. If you want a butter alternative you might try Earth Balance (often in the health food section). Just make sure it's not whipped.
Also, warm butter and warm cream cheese would also be a problem. If you have a heavy stand mixer you can use the butter right from the fridge, or leave it out maybe 15 minutes. The cream cheese should definately be used right from the fridge.
If your frosting is too warm (which would make it too soft to pipe on cupcakes, or hold any shape), put the whole bowl of frosting in the fridge until it firms up (maybe an hour). You may need to re-whip it a bit.
RA- Yes, plain yogurt would probably work fine.
Enjoy!
This is an amazing recipe. Hellloooo baking attempt for next week! :]
I made those today and I love how moist the cupcakes are. I will have to adjust the frosting for next time, I had the same issue with the frosting being too liquid (I wish I had read the comments before trying to pipe it in) also the frosting was too sweet for DH…
I laminate the recipes that I do over and over again, this pina colada is not ready to be laminated YET, but your chocolate cupcakes +chocolate frosting are! Those are the best ones I have ever had!!!
Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful recipes… I also love the way you decorate everything…
very yummy recipe!! I added a 1/2 a tsp. of Malibu rum in the frosting along with the coconut flavor and 1/2 tsp. pineapple juice from the can and gave frost fun flavor!! thanks for sharing
!!!
These were fantastic! I was a little unsure about how I'd feel about a pineapple cupcake, but I can't tell you how much I love these! My coworkers gobbled them down almost instantly. Thank you for the amazing recipe!!
I made a batch this weekend for my mother's surprise party and they were a big hit. I did omit the coconut extract in the frosting but they were still delicious! Thanks for a fabulous recipe
Your cupcakes look amazing!
I have never made cupcakes with oil (only butter). Did you find they tasted a bit oily? I find this happens when I make banana bread with oil vs butter.
Looking forward to your reply and trying this recipe.
TIA!
oh so beautiful and summery! i want to have a summer party just so I can invite people to eat these! i love your photo with the grass matting background – so perfect
I made these for a birthday party today and they were indeed glorious! Seriously, I can't stop eating the leftovers, they are simply delightful.
Thanks for sharing the recipe!
I made these for a family lunch and they were a real hit and everybody loved them! My only comment is that the cupcake did not taste much to pineapple, any way to solve that? Pineapple juice perhaps?
I want to try this recipe! Is it ok to subsitute the oil for butter?
I stumbled upon your recipe and they looked delicious! I had to make them, everyone that tried them agreed that they were addicting! Thanks for sharing!
i baked these last night with gluten free flour and they were AMAZING! everything worked perfectly and there was no horrible after taste that comes with most gluten-free treats! thank you so much for taking the time to perfect your recipe. it's perfect!
Awesome recipe! Thanks so much for sharing – everyone loved them!!!!
Just made a batch of these. They were delicious! I too found the icing a bit runny but next time I'll just add more icing sugar. I didn't bother trying to perfect the icing consistency this time as it tasted amazing and any more time spent fixing it would mean less time eating cupcakes.
Would these freeze well?
I just tried this recipe for my daughter's 16th birthday and they are delicious! Thank you so much for the recipe.
Amazing! So, my friend wants this for her wedding reception. If I do a two layer 9 inch round cake, would this recipe yield enough batter? I figure 24 cupcakes is the same as two 9 inch round pans worth. Any help would be appreciated! Thank you!!!
Glory replied: — June 25th, 2012 @ 6:17 pm
Alicia- I have not made this recipe as a cake, although I’m sure it would be delicious! The cupcakes are on the smaller side, so I’m not 100% sure if it would be enough batter for two 9″ pans… I think two 8″ pans may be better. I’m sure 9″ pans would work… but it may be a short cake. Happy baking!
I’m thinking of making these tonight – what type of decorating tip did you use for your cupcakes in this photo? Also, did the pineapple slice stay up nicely or did it want to fall down? You just stuck it in the icing, right?
Great blog!
Glory replied: — July 2nd, 2012 @ 5:49 pm
Michelle- I used a 1M tip to frost them. Make sure your butter and cream cheese are still cool when you use them, so that your frosting will be thick enough to hold it’s shape. I just stuck the pineapple in and it stayed on it’s own fine. Just make sure the slice is very thin. Happy Baking!
I just finished decorating these for our BBQ today. They look and taste amazing!!! I will definitely make them again!
I saw these on Pinterest and HAD to make them for my annual tiki party. DELISH!!! I had to come comment too because being a fellow blogger I love when people leave me bloggy love. I have a feeling a lot of people are going to be making these because they have been repinned off my board A LOT. Plus I shared their yummy deliciousness and your blog on my Fizzy Party FB page. I hope people who come to you through me leave some blogy love.
I had just made these, and i noticed that the batter was very liquidy. When i took them out if the oven i noticed a very strange consistency and it doesnt feel like cake at all. I know someone who has tried the recipe once before and had the same problem….. any tips?
Glory replied: — July 26th, 2012 @ 12:48 am
Yes, the batter will be very thin, that is correct. Not sure what you mean by it doesn’t feel like cake? What does it feel like? Did you let them cool and try one yet?
Should these be refridgerated? Do they hold up well if I had to make them the day before?
Glory replied: — August 2nd, 2012 @ 10:28 pm
The cupcakes should be perfectly fine left (loosely covered) at room temperature for a day.
Small question, when I made these cupcakes today the oil seems to have seeped through the cupcake liners leaving the cupcake itself “oily”. Is a full cup of oil really necessary?
Glory replied: — August 2nd, 2012 @ 10:27 pm
As with any food, baking comes down to personal preferences. Feel free to experiment. I would image you could reduce the oil a bit without any adverse effects. If you remove too much oil, you’ll need to replace it with another moist ingredient. Happy Baking!
I made these cupcakes the other day and they were soooooooooooo good! The recipe was easy to follow and the results were amazing! Literally tastes like a pina colada, which I love! Thanks for the great recipe! I will be making these again!
I have made these cupcakes and they are so delicious and so moist! I am wondering if I can puree a cup and a half of strawberries and make a strawberry cake with the base of this cupcake recipe. What do you think Glory?
I made these cupcakes today and they are phenomenal!!!! My only problem is that the icing came right off the cupcakes. I ended up scraping the icing off the ones that I have already done. I was thinking it was because I used generic cream cheese, but i’m not sure. I saw other people was having problems with this also. I had made the icing yesterday and stored it in the fridge to ice the cupcakes today. Should I make another batch of icing using philadelphia or do you have any suggestions on saving the icing?
Side note: I’ve made many of your cupcakes before and never had this problem. HELP! I’m serving these in 3 hours and need some guidance.
Glory replied: — August 23rd, 2012 @ 5:43 pm
If the icing is coming off the cupcakes, either your frosting is too thin, or your cupcakes are still warm ? If the frosting is too soft, put the full bowl of frosting in the fridge 15-20 minutes, then use it to frost the cupcakes. Make sure your butter and cream cheese are both cool or cold. I do prefer to use philadelphia brand, but a generic brand should be ok, as long as it’s full fat (reduced fat has added water).
These are the best cupcakes I’ve ever made in my entire life. Absolutely delicious….seriously absolutely delicious. Thank you for sharing your brilliance, I am truly grateful!
If you like pineapple and coconut this recipe will definitely be a crowd pleaser.
I made these cupcakes for a Luau Party my wife and I threw and they were amazing. I followed the recipe exactly as written and they came out perfect. The party guest absolutely loved them and were fighting for the last ones. Thanks for the great recipe.
Thanks for this awesome recipe! Just made a ‘test” batch for my sons 1st birthday party (luau) theme. My husband, and neice have gulped down a few each already, and my son is currently crying for me to give him more! I too followed the recipe exactly and they came out perfect. I knew these were a winner when my husband’s first words were “oh wow!”
Mmmmmm… absolutely lovely cupcakes!!
I’m sure I’ve commented before, but every time I make these I’m sooooooo thankful for the recipe. They’re always a hit, a great recipe!
I love this recipe, so amazing. Best cupcakes ever! I just had to share!
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THIS recipe is GREAT!!! OMG they taste like pineapple upside cake!!! For the frosting I added an extra teaspoon on Pineapple Coconut Rum…So YUMMY!!!
ThanK You for sharing!!!
These cupcakes look great! Did you use cake flour or AP flour?
I made these for a birthday celebration and they were sooo yummy. I just left off the coconut. They have been added to my cupcake library
Totally making these whenever summer starts, these are so cute and they look delicious. I have only recently started looking at your recipes and I already love them.
How many cupcakes can you make with this recipe?
This recipe sounds delish!! Would a pineapple filling inside this cupcake be too much? I tried a coconut recipe the other day (to be filled with pineapple filling) but i didn’t care for the flavor or extra steps to make them. I’ll have to try these with the filling and see.