HELLOOOOO SUMMER! The weather this week has been absolutely beautiful and I was super excited to celebrate the sunshine with an equally sunny cupcake.  My friend from work had her birthday yesterday so I decided to make cupcakes that not only screamed summer, but also packed a little punch.  These cupcakes were AWESOME.  Even if you don’t like coconut, they taste more like a pina colada than anything! These treats are soft and fluffy with a delightful hint of coconut rum.  I did the icing two different ways: I made a coconut rum buttercream for one batch but will opt for a coconut rum whipped cream icing for the weekend topped with a slice of fresh pineapple.

Ingredients:

• 1 C sugar
• 1/2 C butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 tsp. coconut extract
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 C all purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/3 C coconut milk
• 1/4 C shredded unsweetened coconut
• 1/4 C coconut rum (I used Malibu rum)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 F.
• Grease muffin tin or fill with paper liners.  Set aside.
• Using the paddle attachment of a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar together until fluffy.
• Add eggs one and a time and mix until combined.
• Add vanilla and coconut extracts and mix until combined.
• Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Add half of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing until just combined.
• Add the coconut milk.
• Once mixed, add remaining dry ingredients.
• Finally, add coconut rum and fold in shredded coconut.
• Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cupcakes comes out clean.
• Recipe yields approx. 12-15 cupcakes.

Coconut Rum Frosting

• 1/2 C butter, softened
• 1/2 C shortening
• 3 3/4 C icing sugar
• 2 Tbsp. coconut rum
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 Tbsp. coconut milk

• Cream butter, shortening, rum, coconut milk and vanilla extract until smooth.
• Gradually add powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached.
• Add more or less sugar depending on how thick you want your frosting.

Enjoy!

Source: Cupcake recipe adapted from Coconut Rum Cupcakes from How Sweet it Is