Lindsey, my official taste tester for the month, wasn’t too impressed with culinary experimentation. Might have been the throat-scratching, ginger-infused coffee I concocted. Her face twisted when she sipped on the spicy drink and, without hesitation, shoved the drink aside. But when I handed her my Cuisinart standing mixer’s wire whisk caked with piña colada cupcake batter and she wiped her finger into the creamy rum and pineapple, her face didn’t purse up. My sugary experimentation was a success.
Roughly Following the guidelines of a piña colada cupcake recipe from a recent Christmas present, “Cupcakes Galore,” I created a fairly decent batch of cocktail cakes. I tossed in a few different ingredients—I replaced shredded coconut with almond slivers since Lindsey doesn’t like the white flakes and in place of crushed pineapple I added the same amount (1/3 cup) of apple sauce, which added a sweet lightness to the batter and softened the pineapple juice. I would additionally suggest adding at least ¼ cup of vegetable oil to ensure the cake stays moist.
¼ pound unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/3 cup pineapple juice
1 Tablespoon rum
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 large eggs
1 ½ cups flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
1/3 cup crushed pineapple (or 1/3 cup applesauce)
1/3 cup shredded coconut (or 1/3 cup slivered almonds)
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease the muffin pan or line with paper cups. In a large bowl or standing mixer, beat together the melted butter, pineapple juice, rum and vanilla extract. (Add the ¼ cup of oil here.) Beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. In a separate bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add dry ingredients to the creamed mixture, ½ cup at a time, until combined. Fold in the applesauce and almonds. Fill the cupcake liners three-quarters full. Bake 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
