Piña colada cupcakes

It's been awhile since my last update, huh? The last month or so has been relatively hectic - finishing up crazy class projects, figuring out what I'm actually doing in lab, and attempting to study for my grad school qualification exams. Despite all of this, I still managed to find time to bake at least once a week, but just wasn't able to find time (or motivation) to post any of the recipes.

Good news is that I did pass my exams (yay!) and right after, I jetted off to Puerto Rico for the week, along with many of my fellow classmates, for a much deserved (and much needed) break on the beach. The entire trip was pretty incredible - we stayed in a giant beach house, chilled on some gorgeous beaches, hiked/zip-lined/rappelled through the rainforest, kayaked through a bioluminescent bay, snorkeled through a beautiful coral reef, and more!

The food was amazing as well - so many plantains and fish were had. And who could forget the island-themed drinks, especially the piña colada? In fact, I already missed being in Puerto Rico so much, I made these piña colada cupcakes!

Unlike a traditional piña colada, these cupcakes do not have rum in them (if I had some on hand, I would have added some), but they are bursting with pineapple and coconut flavor. The cupcake itself has pineapple juice and coconut milk in it, while there's even more coconut in the whipped cream frosting.

Cheers to a great start to summer (and hopefully more regular updates!)

Piña colada cupcakes (makes a dozen cupcakes)
Recipe adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction

Cupcakes:

• 1 and 2/3 cups (210 g) flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup (150 g) dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup (50 g) white sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter (melted)
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup pineapple juice
• 1/2 cup coconut milk (full fat)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Frosting:

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 3 Tbsp powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp coconut extract
• Shredded coconut and pineapple chunks, for decoration

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Combine melted butter with brown and white sugars.
3. Mix in egg, pineapple juice, coconut milk, and vanilla extract
4. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together and then add to wet ingredient until combined.
5. Fill cupcake liners with 3 Tbsp of batter
6. Bake for 20 minutes
7. Let completely cool before frosting
8. Beat whipping cream in stand mixer on high speed until soft peaks form
9. Add powdered sugar and coconut extract and continue beating until stiff peaks form
10. Pipe onto cooled cupcakes and top with coconut and pineapple, if desired.
11. Enjoy!