Thursday, March 19, 2009

Pina-Colada Cupcakes (Gluten free)

I have a slight obsession with anything pineapple. My latest love affair, and afternoon snack, is Yoplait's "Pineapple Upside Down Cake" Light yogurt. It really makes my days bright and my sweet tooth dwindle.

I have some leftover ingredients I'd been meaning to use (coconut from my dad's German Chocolate Cake and Cream Cheese Frosting from Brad's Red Velvet cupcakes), so the creative juices were flowing. The other day I saw a recipe for a coconut cupcake on Sunset's website and thought it sounded delicious. However, I am not a huge coconut fan plain, so what better to add then some pineapple and rum to make it that much better? I have also been told the gluten-free flour works better on baked good such as breads, so I figured it would be a great opportunity to try again with the flour.

My changes from the recipe:
  • Used Jules' Nearly Normal Flour to make it gluten-free (plus I added an extra 1/2 cup)
  • Only 1/2 cup of coconut milk (I used light)
  • Add 1/2 cup of pineapple juice
  • No almond extract - substituted rum (It wasn't nearly enough though, next time I'd probably add about 1/2 cup instead)
  • Added the pineapple chunks (1 small can) to the frosting, and topped the cupcakes with maraschino cherries.

The outcome:
  • The frosting was absolutely sinful! It was a bit too runny, but it was sure tasty. (I have extra so I may have to make something else with what's leftover. Perhaps something with real wheat flour next time.)
  • The cupcakes were good, but they were a bit too cake-y (vs. light and fluffy)/ If I try it again I will definitely add more liquid and probably leave out the extra flour.


* I must complain minorly for a moment as the house I am staying in does not have a stand mixer. I have become spoiled by mine, I had forgotten how much work it is to do by hand! Yikes! I may have to go rescue mine from storage...

1 comment:

How To Eat A Cupcake said...

Mmm I bet these were delish!

Haha the reason I didn't post video of decorating the cake is because my brother came home, and I felt like a nerd videotaping myself. But next time I'm home alone during a cake making process, you bet the camera will be rolling! :D