Piña Colada Sprinkle Cupcakes

Meagan Glemboski

An adaptation of my Piña Colada Confetti Cake

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 30

Curd-Chilling Time 8

Course Dessert

Cuisine Boozy, Dye-Free, Party, Tropical

Servings 24 cupcakes

Calories 320 kcal

Preheat the oven to 350℉ and prep two muffin tins. I use reusable, silicone, muffin-tin liners like these.
Sift together cake flour, corn starch, salt, and baking powder into a large bowl. Gently whisk, then set aside.
Cream together unsalted butter and granulated sugar in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy.
With the mixer running, slowly add the egg whites, mixing after each one until incorporated. Add the coconut oil and extracts.
Reduce speed on mixer to low. Then, alternate adding dry ingredients and whole milk, about ⅓ of each at a time. Mix until just barely combined.
Gently fold in the Supernatural Rainbow Crunchies, making sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl.
Divide the batter evenly between muffin tins. I like to use a cookie-dough scoop. Bake until an internal temperature reads between 205-210℉ or once it passes the toothpick test, about 20 minutes.
Allow cupcakes to cool in the tins for about 10 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack to finish cooling.

Bring two cups of pineapple juice to a boil over medium-high heat. Allow it to simmer for about 20 minutes, until roughly 1 cup of concentrated pineapple juice is left.
Mix lime juice, granulated sugar, corn starch, and egg yolks together in a medium saucepan. Whisk until smooth and even.
While constantly whisking, slowly pour in the concentrated pineapple juice to avoid cooking the yolks. Once smooth, add the butter, a bit at a time, and whisk after each addition to ensure smooth incorporation.
Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, whisking constantly.
Once it begins to boil, reduce to medium heat. When the pineapple curd becomes thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, allow it to cook for about 5 more minutes. Cook until internal temp check is 180-190℉.
Remove from heat, then blend thoroughly with an immersion blender. Strain through a mesh sieve into a heat-proof bowl to ensure a velvety smooth curd. Cover bowl with cling wrap, and make sure it's touching the curd to prevent a skin from forming.
Chill in the fridge until completely set and ready to use. Best to refrigerate overnight.
Once ready to use, transfer to a piping bag with a med-large open-star piping tip.

Chill stand mixer mixing bowl and wire whisk attachment in the freezer for about 15 minutes.
In chilled bowl, beat mascarpone on medium-high speed for about a minute. Reduce speed to low. Slowly stream in heavy whipping cream.
Increase mixer speed to high and whisk until medium peaks form.
Add coconut extract, cream of coconut, confectioner's sugar, cream of tartar, and salt. Beat on low speed until frosting resembles a lightly-fluffy, pipeable buttercream.
Transfer coconut-mascarpone whipped cream to a piping bag fitted with a large, open-star tip.

Toast the sweetened coconut flakes on a cookie sheet in the oven, 350℉ for about 12 minutes. Stir every few minutes. Turn the oven off, leave the flakes in for 4-5 more minutes, until golden brown and crispy.
Combine 1 cup of the toasted coconut flakes and about 3 coconut cookies together in a food processor, and pulse until sandy. Empty into a bowl with the remaining toasted coconut.
Carefully blitz Macadamia Nuts with salt. Just a few pulses, or it'll start to turn into nut butter. Add to bowl and gently mix.

Fill pipettes with coconut rum and pineapple vodka. One of each flavor for each adult cupcake.

Once cupcakes are completely cool (I chilled them in the fridge overnight in an airtight container), use a large, open-star tip to carefully core each cupcake. Make sure you don't go all the way through the cupcake. Ideally, the depth should be about 2/3 of the cupcake. Gently twist the tip into the center of the cupcake, then carefully remove the core.
Fill the center of each cupcake with pineapple curd, slowly retracting the piping tip as it fills. Allow the pineapple curd to overfill slightly.
Once each cupcake core is filled, pipe the coconut-mascarpone whipped cream on top of the cupcakes. If you don't have the neatest piping skills and would rather spread it on top, that's okay, too. It'll mostly be covered up!
Once each cupcake is frosted, generously spoon the coconut-crumble mixture over the top of each one.
For optional, boozy flair, add two pipettes to the top of each cupcake: one containing coconut rum and one with pineapple vodka.
Serve, squeeze, and enjoy!

I consider it a bonus having leftover curd and/or coconut crumble. I store leftover curd in one of our Rubbermaid Brilliance glass storage containers for a yogurt mix-in. I store the coconut crumble in one of our Stashers; it's amazing in yogurt or as an ice cream topping!
If you're a stickler for dye-free, but really want to find a plant-based, colorful sprinkle that stands up to baking temperatures, Supernatural Rainbow Crunchies are the only way to go! Pricey, but well-worth the peace of mind and vibrant color pop!

Keyword boozy, cake, coconut, curd, dessert, pineapple, treat, tropical