Kendra's Treats

I asked for cupcake flavor suggestions and had a suggestion for Malibu Bay Breeze Cupcakes. I don’t drink alcohol, but a quick google search told me that it was a drink made with coconut rum, pineapple, and cranberries. It sounded delicious and I was up for the challenge =). I spent more time debating how to execute those flavors into a cupcake than I’ve ever spent coming up with a recipe. There aren’t many recipes out there that have all the flavors and most of them started with a cake mix, but after much debate I finally decided on a pineapple-coconut rum cupcake with a cream cheese cranberry coconut-rum frosting. I do have a confession though- they don’t actually have any coconut rum in them =/. I used extracts instead, but I’m sure you could substitute the real deal if you wanted. However, even with the extracts the flavor combo is delicious! Enjoy!

And you may have noticed the new color scheme, larger photos, and “pin it” buttons when you hover over the pictures? I’ve been putting my software engineer (aka Jordan) to work. It’s a work in progress but hopefully we can finish this weekend. =)

Malibu Bay Breeze Cupcakes
for the cupcakes:
3 eggs
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
3/4 cup cream of coconut
1 cup coconut milk
8 oz crushed pineapple, drained
2-1/2 cups all purpose flour
2-1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp coconut extract
1/2 tsp rum extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 muffins cups with paper liners.
2. In bowl of stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat eggs and sugar on medium high for 5 minutes. 3. Add in oil and cream of coconut and beat until smooth.
4. In separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
5. Alternately add the dry ingredients and the coconut milk to egg mixture, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Stir in drained pineapple and extracts.
6. Divide batter between prepared pans and bake for 15-20 minutes or until tops are lightly bornwed and spring back when touched. Makes 24 cupcakes.

for the frosting:
8 oz cream cheese
1/4 cup butter
~1/2 cup whole berry cranberry sauce, pureed slightly
1/4 tsp coconut extract
1/4 tsp rum extract
4 cups powdered sugar

1. In bowl of stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add powdered sugar and beat until combined.
2. Gradually add in cranberry sauce puree until you reach your desired consistency. (As you can see, I got mine too thin to pipe so I just spread it on with a knife.) Add in extracts.
3. Spread on cooled cupcakes. Garnish with toasted coconut, if desired.

Notes:
1. I do not drink alcohol and like to keep my baked goods kid-friendly but feel free to substitute a splash of coconut rum for the extracts.
2. Cake batter will be thin – this is normal.