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Piña Colada Cupcakes

Published , Last updated by Stef
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Piña Colada Cupcakes are perfect cupcake versions of the drink – complete with coconut, pineapple, and rum. If you love piña coladas, these cocktail cupcakes are for you!

These boozy cupcakes aren’t just moist; their insides are almost wet due to the juicy pineapple bites scattered throughout the cake. They are so close to the piña colada drink that eating them can make you feel like you are taking a mini tropical getaway.

Pina Colada Cupcakes
These tasty pineapple cupcakes come complete with a boozy cream cheese frosting. Perfect for the summer time, you’ll love these easy cocktail cupcakes!
Table of Contents show

How to Make Piña Colada Cupcakes

  1. To give these cupcakes their signature flavor, you’ll start with mixing the liquid ingredients together. The important ones are the rum, coconut milk, and pineapple juice.
  2. You can use any rum that you like, and there is no need to go out and buy anything special. But, if you happen to have Malibu coconut rum [paid link] or pineapple rum on hand, I would highly recommend those flavors.
    • Tip: Don’t buy pineapple juice for this recipe. You’ll need crushed pineapple later in the recipe, so buy a can of crushed pineapple in juice and use the juice from the can.
Adding liquid to the batter
Using coconut milk in the batter of these pineapple cupcakes gives them a distinct piña colada flavor.
  1. You will next alternately add the liquid mixture and dry ingredients to butter, sugar, and eggs. If you are new to prepping the basic cupcake ingredients, be sure to read my post on how to make cupcakes to get you started.
Adding dry ingredients
The process of making these pineapple cupcakes is just like making most other cupcake recipes. Once you get the basics down, you can make a wide variety of desserts just like these boozy cupcakes!
  1. Lastly, the pineapple cupcakes get even more flavor by folding in desiccated coconut (also known as baker’s coconut) and crushed pineapple.
folding in crushed pineapple
Adding crushed pineapple ensures that these cocktail cupcakes are bursting with fresh flavor and have a tender, moist interior.
  1. Fill the cupcake liners 3/4 full and bake for about 25 minutes.
  2. Note that pineapple cupcakes like this don’t dome. They aren’t a light and fluffy cupcake that rise a lot. Rather, they are more moist and dense and packed with flavor!

Frosting for Piña Colada Cupcakes

  • You can’t go wrong with basic Cream Cheese Frosting. Everyone loves it!
  • But, like I do with my Margarita Cupcakes, I like to put the flavor of the drink in the cupcake frosting. So, I love adding a splash of Malibu rum to the frosting to create a coconut buttercream instead of using vanilla extract. You can also use coconut extract to accentuate the coconut flavor.
  • Top the cupcakes with cocktail cherries (also called Maraschino cherries), cocktail umbrellas [paid link], and paper straws for the perfect presentation. Another way to decorate is to press some sweetened shredded coconut or toasted coconut flakes into the frosting.
Pina Colada Cupcakes
Piña colada cocktail cupcakes are your new favorite summer dessert. Pair these pineapple cupcakes with a sweet and refreshing beverage and enjoy!

FAQs

Can you make these without alcohol?

If you don’t want any alcohol in these cupcakes, replace the rum with more pineapple juice and optionally use a teaspoon of rum extract. You can use rum extract in the frosting or just stick with a basic cream cheese frosting – leaving off the rum flavor entirely.

Can you put fruit in cupcakes?

Absolutely! Just be aware that natural fruit juices will lead to coconut pineapple cupcakes with more moisture. When it comes to these pineapple coconut cupcakes, I like to drain the crushed pineapple to prevent too much moisture.

Will these cocktail cupcakes get you drunk?

No, because of the baking process most of the alcohol evaporates from the cake. There isn’t enough rum in the frosting to get you drunk either. It’s just there for flavor!

Did you make this recipe? Leave a review!
Pina Colada Cupcakes
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4.59 from 12 votes

Piña Colada Cupcakes

These Piña Colada cupcakes are perfect cupcake versions of the drink – complete with coconut, pineapple, and rum! If you love piña coladas, these cocktail cupcakes are for you!
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings 24 cupcakes
Calories 272kcal
Author Stefani

Ingredients

Cupcake Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup Malibu coconut rum [paid link] use any rum you have on hand, but coconut- or pineapple-flavored rum works best
  • 3/4 cup canned coconut milk
  • 1/4 cup pineapple juice
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter room temperature
  • 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 cup desiccated coconut both sweetened and unsweetened work
  • 1 cup crushed pineapple drained

Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients

  • 8 ounces cream cheese room temperature
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter room temperature
  • 3 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tablespoon Malibu coconut rum [paid link]
US Customary – Metric

Instructions

Cupcake Instructions

  • In a small bowl, combine rum, coconut milk, pineapple juice, and vanilla. Set aside.
  • In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
  • In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
  • Add eggs to the sugar mixture one at a time, beating well after each addition.
  • Alternately add the flour mixture and the rum mixture, beating well after each addition.
  • Fold in the coconut and pineapple.
  • Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full.
  • Bake at 350 F for 25 minutes or until cupcakes bounce back when lightly touched.

Cream Cheese Frosting Instructions

  • Mix cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy.
  • Mix in powdered sugar a little bit at a time.
  • Mix in coconut rum.
  • Pipe or spread on cooled cupcakes.

Notes

  • Note that the original published frosting recipe called for 3 tablespoons of coconut cream instead of the coconut rum. Many people love that version, so I’m leaving it here for reference.
  • If you want to play up the rum flavor in the frosting, you can add a second tablespoon of rum. However, this will make the frosting a little looser and it won’t hold up as well. You can use rum extract to avoid this. You can also replace the rum in the frosting with 1 teaspoon of rum extract for a non-alcoholic alternative.
  • Store the cupcakes in the the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before serving.

Nutrition

Calories: 272kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 46mg | Sodium: 112mg | Potassium: 79mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 27g | Vitamin A: 339IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 19mg | Iron: 1mg
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