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pineapple

Piña Colada Cupcakes

February 28, 2022 By Ashley Leave a Comment

You know me, I love a good cocktail in cake form. This week, I’m sharing with you my piña colada cupcakes. These coconut cupcakes are fluffy and moist, and filled with caramelized pineapple and topped with pineapple caramel rum ermine frosting. The flavors in this cupcake are perfectly balanced, not artificial tasting, or overly boozy. Most importantly, they are super delicious.

Piña Colada Cupcakes

Coconut Cupcakes

Coconut is the star of these cupcakes. They get their coconut flavor from three sources – canned coconut milk, a smidge of coconut extract and lightly toasted coconut. Be sure to used the canned coconut milk (usually found in the Asian foods section of your grocery store) and not the kind that comes in a carton from the refrigerated section. Canned coconut milk has much more coconut flavor, and has a higher fat content, which contributes to keeping these cupcakes moist. You’ll also notice half and half is used. Why more fat?

Biting into a dry cupcake is an incredibly big bummer. White/yellow cupcakes tend to dry out in a small amount of time. Coconut flakes also tend to absorb a small amount of moisture . The higher fat content will keep them moist and increase their longevity.

This recipe makes 24 cupcakes, but you can halve it if you wish. Be sure to not over bake your cupcakes, baking them only until the tops look set, and toothpick comes out with few moist crumbs, but not wet batter.

Piña Colada Cupcakes

Caramelized Pineapple Filling

Pineapple is one of my favorite fruits, and caramelized pineapple is a game changer. This stuff is so, so good. Brown sugar, butter and salt are cooked together until melted, followed by a drained, crushed pineapple. The mixture reduces on the stove until reduced, thickened and golden brown. Add some rum and you have a super delicious caramelized pineapple filling.

Piña Colada Cupcakes

Pineapple Caramel

This caramel is made like any traditional caramel sauce, but instead of cooking the sugar with water, it’s cooked with pineapple juice. The pineapple juice adds another layer of flavor to the caramel sauce, giving the caramel more depth and a lighter, brighter fruity flavor. Rum and salt are added when the caramel is done. So, so good.

Piña Colada Cupcakes

Pineapple Caramel Rum Ermine Frosting

I wanted to use a lighter, whipped frosting for these cupcakes so ermine frosting was the way to go. For a step by step tutorial on how to make this light and fluffy frosting, check out my post on ermine frosting. The frosting is flavored with the pineapple caramel and also rum. Roll the edges of the frosted cupcakes with the remaining toasted coconut and top them with pineapple flowers and a maraschino cherry.

Piña Colada Cupcakes

If you make these piña colada cupcakes, let me know! Drop a comment or tag me on Instagram. I love seeing your bakes and creations.

Enjoy!

Ash xx

For more cupcake recipes, check out these posts:

Fruity Pebbles Cupcakes

Maple Bacon Blueberry French Toast Cupcakes

Black Forest Cupcakes

Funfetti Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Fudge Frosting

Piña Colada Cupcakes
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Piña Colada Cupcakes

Tender, fluffy and moist coconut cupcakes filled with caramelized pineapple and topped with caramel rum ermine frosting
Prep Time1 hr
Cook Time20 mins
Course: Dessert
Servings: 24 cupcakes

Ingredients

Coconut Cupcakes

  • 1 cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 2¼ cups (446g) granulated sugar
  • 2 ⅓ cups (280g) all purpose flour
  • 1 cup (120g) cake flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1 cup (241g) unsweetened coconut milk, canned, full fat
  • ⅔ cup (151g) half and half, room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • ¼ teaspoon coconut extract
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 ⅔ cup (57g) sweetened coconut flakes, lightly toasted

Caramelized Pineapple Filling

  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2/3 cup (142g) light brown sugar, packed
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 can (20 ounces) crushed pineapple, in juice, drained *Reserve 2 tablespoons of the pineapple juice
  • 1-2 tablespoons spiced rum

Pineapple Rum Caramel Sauce

  • ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons reserved pineapple juice
  • 2 tablepoons unsalted butter
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 2 teaspoons spiced rum
  • ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

Caramel Rum Ermine Frosting

  • 1 ½ cups (341g) whole milk
  • 1 ¼ cups (248g) granulated sugar
  • ½ cup (60g) all purpose flour
  • ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1 ½ cups (283g) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1-2 tablespoons spiced rum, to taste
  • 1 cup (85g) sweetened coconut flakes, toasted
  • pineapple, for decorating (optional)
  • maraschino cherries, for decorating (optional)

Instructions

Coconut Cupcakes

  • Preheat the oven to 350F. Line two cupcake tins with cupcake liners.
  • In a large skillet, add the coconut and place over low heat.
  • Toast the coconut, stirring occasionally so that the coconut doesn't burn. Toast the coconut until lightly golden. Set aside one cup of the coconut for decorating.
  • In the bowl of stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, on medium low speed, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes
  • Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cake flour, baking powder and salt.
  • In a large measuring cup, whisk together the coconut milk, half and half, vanilla, and coconut extract.
  • Add the eggs, one at a time, to the butter/sugar mixture, scraping the bowl after each addition.
  • On low speed, add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture in 3 parts, alternating with the wet ingredients, scraping the bowl after each addition.
  • Add the toasted coconut, reserving 1 cup for decorating.
  • Give the batter a final stir with a spatula to make sure everything is well incorporated.
  • Fill the cupcake lines 2/3 full. Bake cupcakes for 18-20 minutes or until the tops look just set and a toothpick comes out with few moist crumbs.
  • Cool the cupcakes in the pan for 5 minutes. Transfer the cupcakes to a cooling rack to finish cooling.

Caramelized Pineapple Filling

  • In a medium saucepan, over medium low heat, combine the butter, brown sugar, and salt, stirring until the sugar has melted and the mixture is smooth.
  • Add the drained pineapple, stirring to fully incorporate the brown sugar mixture.
  • Reduce the heat to low and simmer the pineapple mixture, stirring occasionally until most of the liquid has evaporated.
  • Remove the pineapple filling from the heat. Stir in the rum. Let the filling cool completely before using.

Pineapple Caramel Rum

  • In a medium sized saucepan, combine the sugar and the pineapple juice. Stir just until combined. 
  • Place the saucepan over medium heat. Let the sugar mixture cook, without stirring, until the sugar mixture turns a mid amber color. Take the mixture off the heat to stop the cooking process.
  • Add the butter to the saucepan and whisk to combine. Be very careful as the mixture is incredibly hot and will bubble up and steam when the butter is added. 
  • Whisk in the heavy cream, followed by the rum and the salt. Whisk until smooth.
  • Let the caramel cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a storage container to cool completely.

Pineapple Caramel Ermine Frosting

  • In a medium saucepan over medium heat, whisk together the milk, sugar, flour and salt, and bring to a boil.
  • When the mixture starts to boil, continue to cook, whisking constantly for another 2-3 minutes. The mixture will thicken and resemble pudding. Whisk in the rum.
  • Strain the mixture into a shallow container to remove any clumps. Place plastic wrap over the surface of the mixture to prevent a film from forming.
  • Leave to cool to room temperature or pop in the freezer for 15-20 minutes. It should be room temperature to touch, not cold.
  • When the mixture is cool, whisk in half of the pineapple caramel.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until light and fluffy.
  • Add the room temperature flour mixture to the butter, a few tablespoons at a time, allowing it to incorporate fully before adding more.
  • Once combined, whip the frosting on high for 3-5 minutes until smooth, light and fluffy.
  • Taste the frosting. Add remaining caramel to taste, a tablespoon at a time.

Assemble cupcakes

  • Using a sharp knife, cut a hole into the center of the cooled cupcakes to create a space for the pineapple filling.
  • Spoon the pineapple mixture inside each carved out cupcake. Fill the cupcake with the filling to the top, about a heaping teaspoon full.
  • Top the cupcakes with pineapple caramel ermine frosting. Roll the cupcakes into the reserved toasted coconut.
  • Top with pineapple and a maraschino cherry.
  • Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Notes

Cupcake recipe adapted from Trophy Cupcakes & Parties by Jennifer Shea
 

Filed Under: Cakes and Cupcakes Tagged With: buttercream, cake, coconut, cupcakes, ermine frosting, frosting, piña colada, pineapple, rum

Spicy Pineapple Margarita Granita

July 9, 2020 By Ashley Leave a Comment

If you’re looking for a refreshing, icy, adults-only sweet treat during these hot summer months, then look no farther than my spicy pineapple margarita granita. This granita is super easy to make, can be made in advance and doesn’t require an ice cream maker. Made with sweet, fresh pineapple, lime juice, jalapeño, tequila and orange liquor, this sweet, tart and spicy spin on a pineapple margarita cocktail is perfect for sunny, summer days and is absolutely delicious.

Spicy Pineapple Margarita Granita

What is granita?

Granita generally falls somewhere in between shaved ice and a sorbet. It’s not as coarse as shaved ice, but not as smooth and fine as a sorbet. Typically, granita is made with a flavored liquid, water and a sugar syrup that is frozen and is scraped with a fork every couple hours to create small ice crystals. Granitas are more intense in flavor compared to shaved ice, or snow cones, but can come close to sorbets in the intensity of their flavors – particularly when using purées. Sorbets and granitas are usually made with the same ingredients, though sorbet is churned and granita is not. The stirring and scraping of granita every few hours allows for fine ice crystals to form, allowing the mixture to freeze in a shaved ice-state, but with smaller and more delicate ice crystals.

Granitas can be made with just about any sort of liquid, usually being some sort of fruit juice or puree. But other liquids like coffee, wine and even chocolate are used often as well. I prefer to use purées for the most concentrated flavor.

Spicy Pineapple Margarita Granita

About the ingredients

A super ripe, fresh pineapple is the best for this recipe. Ripe pineapples are super sweet and have intense flavor, so not much sugar is added to this granita. Fresh lime juice is also needed for this recipe, as well as a small jalapeño. Don’t be scared of the jalapeño. A bit of spicy heat goes so, so well with pineapple and really makes this granita special. There are ways to control the heat level in the granita that I’ll hit on further down in the post.

Two different kinds of alcohol is used in the granita – tequila and orange liquor. I used Jose Cuervo Especial Silver Tequila. Use the tequila you like to drink in your margaritas. You can use any orange liquor – I used Grand Marnier because it’s what I use in my margaritas.

Spicy Pineapple Margarita Granita

How to make this spicy pineapple margarita granita

This granita is super quick to pull together and involves little work. Make a simple syrup by combining the water, sugar and jalapeño in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer, until the sugar is dissolved. This allows the jalapeño to steep and for the simple syrup to get infused with the heat and flavor.

*A note on jalapeño heat.* Heat and spice tolerance is subjective. What’s spicy to you, may not be noticeable at all to me, and so on. I want you to love this granita with the jalapeño, so I’m going to give you some tips on how to get a sweet, even heat and not an overpowering spicy nightmare. The goal here is to have a perfectly balanced pineapple margarita granita with a smooth hint of heat.

Spicy Pineapple Margarita Granita

When steeping the jalapeño, you can remove the seeds if you would like. This will help you err on the side of less heat in your syrup. I steep mine with the seeds to get the most flavor. The pineapple, lime juice, tequila, and orange liquor are blended until smooth in a blender. Then I determine how much heat I like in my granita but mixing in a little bit of the simple syrup at a time to the pineapple mixture, tasting it after each addition to determine if I need more. Remember, you can always add more, but you can’t remove it. Jalapeños don’t all have the same heat intensity – another reason to add the syrup little by little.

I should also mention that alcohol levels can be decreased or increased depending on your preference as well. This recipe is not intended to be a choose your own adventure type of recipe, but I’m merely pointing out, that it’s 100% customizable to YOUR preferences, but can still create a delicious spicy pineapple margarita granita.

Spicy Pineapple Margarita Granita

The mixture gets poured into a 13×9 or a shallow pan and popped in the freezer. Stir and scrape the granita every 30 minutes or so, mixing it up to break up any large chunks and ice crystals. This will also keep the mixture from separating. You will want to do this for 3 to 4 hours so that the ice crystals remain delicate and uniform and the consistency is close to that of a sorbet. At this point you can serve it or store it in the freezer.

I like to serve my spicy pineapple margarita granita in salt rimmed glasses and a sprig of mint. Enjoy!

Spicy Pineapple Margarita Grantita
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Spicy Pineapple Margarita Granita

Made with sweet, fresh pineapple, lime juice, jalapeño, tequila and orange liquor, this sweet, tart and spicy spin on a pineapple margarita cocktail is perfect for sunny, summer days and is absolutely delicious.
Prep Time10 mins
Chill4 hrs
Course: Dessert
Keyword: frozen margarita, granita, margarita granita, spicy pineapple
Servings: 8 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 cup water
  • 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
  • 1 small jalepeno, or 1/2 of a large jalepeno, cut into pieces
  • 1 lb (2 cups) fresh, ripe pineapple, peeled and cored
  • 1/3-1/2 cup tequila, to taste
  • 2 tablespoons orange liquor - I used Grand Marnier
  • Juice of 1 lime

Instructions

  • In a small saucepan, combine the water, sugar and jalapeño over medium-low heat. Bring to a simmer, until the sugar is fully dissolved. Cool until just warm.
  • Place the pineapple, lime juice, orange liquor, and tequila in a blender. Blend to combine
  • Add the simple syrup a few tablespoons at a time, stopping to taste the mixture to determine if you want more heat. It's possible you will not use all of the syrup.
  • Pour the pineapple mixture out into a shallow dish. I use a 13x9. Place the dish in the freezer.
  • Stir and scrape the mixture every 30 minutes for 3-4 hours or until chilled through. Serve immediately or store for up to one week in the freezer.

Filed Under: Ice Cream and Frozen Treats Tagged With: cocktail, frozen, granita, lime, margarita, pineapple, summer

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Hi, I’m Ashley! Welcome to the Little Vintage Baking blog – where you will find recipes, tutorials, resources and more for bakers and cake decorators.
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