Today's recipe was a request, which I was more than happy to fulfill because a) I like baking cupcakes, b) it gives me more motivation and c) it was for a good friend.
The answer is d) all of the above.
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| Happy Birthday Angela! |
My friend requested some cupcakes for her birthday. I gave her some choices, one being Blue Hawaiian because I know she likes to drink them. She chose Blue Hawaiian and I set out on some researching. I have recipes for plenty of boozy cupcakes, and one was a Blue Hawaiian that I had saved forever ago. But after re-reading the recipe, I didn't like it. I adapted a recipe for a pineapple cream cupcake I found and did the buttercream on my own. I was pretty pleased with how they came out.
Now, like most mixed drinks, looking up the ingredients I found many variations. I went with one that seemed easiest to convert to a cupcake - pineapple, coconut rum, and blue curacao. A good thing to know is that blue curacao is the same thing as orange curacao, except it's blue. AND, both curacaos are triple sec. Triple sec is just a little less sweet than curacao, but all of them are orange liqueurs. You could use a curacao, triple sec, Grand Marnier or Cointreau in this recipe and get the same result. Both Grand Marnier and Cointreau are drier then curacaos, and Grand Marnier is more brandy-based. If you have the higher end, then use it, but for these I grabbed a bottle of triple sec ($6) and used some blue food coloring. A bottle of blue curacao ran for $18. Seriously?! Eighteen dollars for a bottle of something orange flavored and disgustingly sugary that is added to drinks just to make them blue. Totally crazy.
I took a recipe for a doctored box-mix and added my own little twist. Now, normally I'm against using a boxed cake mix for my cupcakes, but every now and then I don't mind a recipe that doesn't just call for you to make a batch according to the box directions. This recipe did that and I doctored it even further, so I feel okay about it. I added in some coconut rum and some cream of coconut. I have never used cream of coconut, but it is thicker than I expected. I wish it came in smaller cans, because I used about 2 tablespoons of it and ditched the rest. Such a waste.
Blue Hawaiian Cupcakes
cake adapted from Your Cup of Cake
For the cake:
1 box yellow cake mix
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 and 1/4 cup crushed pineapple with juice
3 eggs
1 tbsp cream of coconut
3 tbsp coconut rum
For the buttercream:
4 sticks (2 cups) unsalted butter, room temperature
6-7 cups powdered sugar
1 tbsp coconut rum
2-3 tbsp triple sec
30-40 drops blue food coloring
1. Preheat oven to 350 and line cupcake pans for 20-22 cupcakes.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the butter, pineapple, eggs, cream of coconut and coconut rum, and beat until combined.
3. Add the cake mix and beat until combined.
4. Fill liners 3/4 full and bake for 17-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
5. Let cool.
6. For the frosting, in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter until creamy and fluffy.
7. Add powdered sugar, one cup at a time and beat until desired consistency.
8. Add the rum and triple sec and beat on medium-low speed. Add more sugar if the frosting is too thin. Add food coloring and mix until fully distributed.
9. Frost cooled cupcakes and top with cherries and umbrellas!
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