These Piña Colada cupcakes feature a trio of rum to make them irresistible! These boozy cupcakes incorporate spiced rum in the cupcake, overproof rum in the pineapple rum syrup, and Malibu coconut rum in the buttercream.
The special piña colada extract kicks up the pineapple and coconut flavor in the buttercream and complements the spiced rum cupcakes. This new take on the classic piña colada cupcakes is a perfect recipe addition to a collection of alcohol infused cupcakes recipes.
Piña Colada Cocktail
With only three ingredients, rum, pineapple, and coconut, the Piña colada recipe offers a lot of flexibility to customize according to taste. Some prefer a more coconut forward drink in which case they increase the ratio of coconut cream or milk. Others lean more towards pineapple and decrease the ratio of coconut in their rendition. I prefer a balance of flavors where they all combine to create just the right cocktail. Below is my favorite recipe, the Perfect Piña Colada:
Perfect Piña Colada
Ingredients
1 oz Malibu Coconut Rum
1 oz Spiced Rum
2 oz Pineapple Juice
1 oz Cream of Coconut
Crushed Ice
Directions:
Add rum, coconut cream, pineapple juice and ice to a blender. Mix until smooth. Pour in a hurricane glass and garnish.
Enjoy!
Choosing Rum For Cocktails
Rum cocktails require different types of rum depending on the recipe being used. However, walking down the rum aisle at the local liquor store can leave you reeling from all the different choices. Do you choose dark or light, aged or not, flavored or spiced, premium or bottom shelf? The guide below is a simple cheat sheet to help you quickly figure out what to get.
Triple Rum Piña Colada Cupcakes
Equipment
- Stand mixer or handheld mixer
Ingredients
Easy Rum Cupcakes
- ½ cup Butter
- 2 large Eggs
- 1 cup Sugar
- 1½ cup All Purpose Flour
- 1½ tsp Baking Powder
- ¼ tsp Cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp Nutmeg
- ¼ tsp Salt
- ½ cup Milk
- ½ tsp Vanilla extract
- 1 tsp Spiced Rum
Pineapple Rum Syrup
- ½ cup Pineapple rum syrup (See recipe below)
Piña Colada Buttercream
- 1 cup Butter (2 sticks)
- 1 lb Confectioner's sugar (5 cups)
- 1 Tbsp Coconut Milk
- 1 Tbsp Pineapple Rum Syrup (see recipe below)
- 1 Tbsp Coconut Rum (Malibu Rum)
- ½ tsp Piña colada extract (Ck, LoreAnn)
Garnish
- ½ cup Shredded coconut or coconut flakes
- Pineapple wedges
- Maraschino cherries
Instructions
For the Cupcakes:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a cupcake pan with paper liners.
- In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt, nutmeg, cinnamon. Set aside
- In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add eggs one at a time mixing well after each addition.
- Add the rum and extract and mix well.
- Add ⅓ of the flour mixture into the batter.
- Once incorporated, add ½ of the milk.
- Continue incorporating ⅓ of the flour, the remaining milk, finally the last ⅓ of the flour, scraping between additions and making sure to beat until smooth.
- Fill the paper liners to ⅔ using a 2 inch scoop and bake in the oven for 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean.
- Remove the cupcakes from the oven and let rest 2 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
For the Piña Colada Buttercream:
- In a mixing bowl, using a mixer, beat butter until light and smooth
- Slowly add half of the powdered sugar until incorporated
- Mix in rum, extract, coconut milk, and rum syrup
- Add remaining powdered sugar. Increase spead to medium and whip 1 minute until light and fluffy
For the Assembly:
- Using a toothpick make multiple holes in the cooled cupcakes
- Brush on pineapple rum syrup dabbing to make sure it soaks in
- Pipe the frosting on the cupcakes
- Add shredded coconut or coconut flakes to food processor or blender and pulse until fine. Then sprinkle coconut dust on cupcakes
- Garnish with a pineapple wedge and maraschino cherry
Notes
Pineapple Rum Syrup
Ingredients
- 1 can Pineapple in 100% juice (sliced, chunks, crushed)
- 2 tbsp Overproof Rum ( or any available rum)
Instructions
- Strain the canned pineapple to use the juice (about 1/2 cup)
- In a small pan, boil juice on medium heat until reduced by half
- Transfer to a heat proof bowl and add rum
- Let it cool to room temperature