The Piña Colada is the perfect summer cocktail full of coconut and pineapple flavors, and the rum of course! These tasty Piña Colada Cupcakes have all the fun flavors of this summer cocktail in a cute little package! And these are especially delicious with the Salted Caramel Rum Sauce!
What's in these Cupcakes?
The base of these cupcakes is a white vanilla and pineapple sponge cake. The cake itself is super light and fluffy!
Once the cupcakes bake, we fill the center with a coconut rum and pineapple compote, giving these a nice gooey surprise center!
Coconut Buttercream Frosting
To give these all the piña colada vibes, the frosting is a coconut buttercream (American buttercream) and is so perfectly rich and creamy and is perfect with the cupcake base.
Salted Caramel Rum Sauce
For the final touches, we drizzle the cupcakes with a Salted Caramel Rum Sauce. The sauce is very easy to make and can be stored in the fridge and used on other desserts, ice cream, pancakes or waffles!
Additionally, we added toasted coconut to the cupcakes and a dehydrated pineapple slice to really bring all the vibes of summer to life!
Enjoy!
We hope that you enjoy this recipe for Piña Colada Cupcakes! If you give them a try, leave us a comment below or tag us on Instagram @cooking_with_wine!
Looking for more recipes like this? Check these out:
- Whiskey Maple Chocolate Ganache Cupcakes
- Apricot and Pistachio Tartlets
- Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
- Strawberry Basil Cheesecake
- Brown Butter and Pecan Rum Cake
📖 Recipe
Piña Colada Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Rum Sauce
Ingredients
For the cupcakes
- 1 ⅔ cups (216g) all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter – room temp
- ¼ cup (53g) light brown sugar
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 8 oz can crushed pineapple and juice
Coconut Buttercream
- 1 ½ cup (339g) unsalted butter, very soft
- 5 cups (600g) confectioner’s sugar, sifted
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoon canned coconut cream
Pineapple Compote
- 1 cup chopped fresh pineapple
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon coconut rum
Salted Caramel Rum Sauce
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 6 tablespoon (90g) salted butter
- ½ cup (120 ml) heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoon coconut rum
Toppings
- 1 cup coconut flakes, toasted
- Dehydrated pineapple slices
- Salted Caramel Rum Sauce
Instructions
Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line cupcake pan with liners
- In a clean mixing bowl add butter and sugar and whisk to cream until you have a light and fluffy mixture. This will take about 3-4 minutes.
- While the butter and sugar are creaming, mix together the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder and salt. Stir with a whisk to combine and set aside.
- Next add the eggs one at a time to the creamed butter and sugar. Scrape the sides as needed. Once the eggs are incorporated, add the crushed pineapple, juice and vanilla.
- On a low speed, add the dry ingredients a little at a time until full incorporated.
- Don’t over mix. Overmixing will develop too much gluten and make the cupcake chewy. Once just combined, pour the batter into the cupcake liners in the pan, filling just half way.
- Bake for 15- 20 minutes check with a wooden toothpick inserted into the middle of the cupcake. If it comes out clean it is ready. Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool completely.
Pineapple Compote
- While the cupcakes bake, make the compote.
- Chop the pineapple into small cubes. In a saucepan add the pineapple and lemon juice and bring to a boil, then add the sugar. Turn the heat to low, simmer for 8-10 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and add the rum. Stir to incorporate, then allow the compote to cool completely before filling the cupcakes. If you make this in advance, store in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to use.
Coconut Buttercream
- Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment cream the butter until super soft and creamy. This should take around 5 minutes. Add 2 cups of confectioner’s sugar at a time until all has been added and incorporated. Finally add coconut cream and mix well until really light and fluffy.
Salted Caramel Rum Sauce
- Heat sugar in a heavy duty saucepan with high sides on medium heat (stainless steel preferred, avoid using nonstick if possible). Stir constantly with a high heat resistant spatula. Sugar will form clumps and eventually melt into a thick brown liquid. PLEASE BE CAREFUL it will be extremely hot!
- Once sugar has melted, immediately stir in butter until melted and well combined. Then, very slowly stir in ½ cup of heavy cream, since the heavy cream is colder it will rapidly bubble. If nervous, wear an oven mit.
- Remove the caramel sauce from the heat and stir in the salt and rum. Allow the sauce to cool down before use, it will thicken once cooled. The sauce can last up to 1 month in an airtight container in the fridge, make extra and put some on ice cream, waffles, etc.!
Air Fryer Dehydrated Pineapple Slices
- Peel and core the pineapple, and thinly slice around ⅛ of an inch thin.
- Place the slices in the air fryer, you may need to do it in batches, so they are not overlapping
- Cook at 250°F for 30-40 minutes or until nice and crispy.
To Assemble Cupcakes
- Using an apple corer, or small knife, core a hole in the middle of the cooled cupcake, and fill with the pineapple compote. Place the cut out back on top of the compote, then pipe on the coconut buttercream.
- Top each cupcake with a sliced dehydrated pineapple, toasted coconut and drizzle with salted caramel rum sauce! Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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Kim Glover says
How fun! These sound perfect for our upcoming Labor Day celebration in Bay St. Louis, MS, an end of summer treat we can enjoy dockside - or on the boat - along with a real piña colada.
Angela and Mark says
Enjoy! And if you like Piña Coladas, check out our Piña Coladas with Dark Rum recipe too!