Moist and Tropical Pina Colada Cupcakes

Bring the island vibes to your kitchen with these tropically delicious Pina Colada cupcakes! This recipe stars my super easy and moist pineapple cupcakes – packed with crushed pineapple – and topped with a creamy rum-infused coconut frosting. They are perfect for any summer party, tropical-themed gathering, or whenever you’re craving a little island-inspired indulgence. 

Gather your ingredients

Jump to the recipe card for the full list of ingredients with quantities. Below you will find labeled ingredient photos for both the cupcakes and the frosting, as well as some notes and substitution tips for the key ingredients.

For the cupcakes 

• Brown sugar – I like using brown sugar here to play up the rich honey-like sweetness of pineapple, either light or dark brown is fine. You can use granulated sugar if that’s all you have though.
• Crushed pineapple – I love using canned pineapple for convenience! Just measure out 1 cup with the juice—no need to strain. If you’re going with fresh pineapple, make sure to chop it up really fine or blend it with a blender or food processor before measuring.

For the frosting

• Coconut milk or cream – I used canned coconut milk to infuse a light coconut flavor to this frosting. Canned coconut cream will work too but not coconut milk from the carton. Now, if you don’t have coconut milk, you can use heavy whipping cream as a substitute, since most of the coconut flavor will come from the coconut rum.
• Malibu rum – this rum has coconut liqueur in it which will enhance the coconut flavor in this frosting. The flavor is mostly coconut, and it’s not too alcoholic. If you’d like to skip it or substitute a different type of rum, I recommend using just a little bit of coconut extract to amp up the coconut flavor in this frosting.
• Sweetened coconut flakes – I forgot the coconut flakes when I took the ingredient photo but I used a handful of sweetened coconut flakes, toasted in a skillet until golden for topping. If you only have unsweetened shredded coconut, that works too.

My pina colada cupcakes – revamped

I loved the flavor of my original Piña Colada cupcakes, but they had such mixed reviews, especially with the cupcakes not holding up well. So I took this opportunity to retest them, to make sure these revamped cupcakes are the best they can be!

Skip to the recipe card for detailed instructions and step-by-step photos. Below, I provide some recipe testing notes and some frosting pairing options.

Cupcake testing notes

My original Pina Colada cupcakes recipe featured both pineapple and coconut milk in the batter. However, when I recently tested the recipe again, I felt that neither flavor was coming through as strongly as I wanted. So, I decided to switch things up—intensifying the pineapple flavor in the cupcakes while letting the coconut shine in the frosting.

I also tested the cupcakes with butter, but while the flavor was buttery and delicious, the cupcakes were dense and dry. So the final recipe features oil-based pineapple cupcakes that are super moist and hold together well.

Frosting options

The original recipe used a homemade whipped cream, infused with Malibu rum, as the frosting. I really liked the lightness of whipped cream in this but wanted a more substantial frosting, so I opted for a coconut buttercream frosting in this version. I’m going to leave you the original ingredient list below if you want to use whipped cream instead.

• 1 + ½ cup heavy whipping cream
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoon Malibu Rum
• ⅓ cup granulated sugar

Simply add all the ingredients to a mixing bowl and beat until stiff peak forms.

For an alcohol free option: swap out the Malibu rum for just half a teaspoon of coconut extract.

For a dairy free option: try this coconut whipped cream. You’ll probably need to double the recipe to make enough for a full batch of 12 cupcakes.

Storage

You can keep your pina colada cupcakes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. While they will last longer in the fridge, the cupcakes will start to dry out. So it is best to enjoy them as soon as you can. Serve them at room temp for the best texture.

You can also freeze these cupcakes for up to 3 months. For easy freezer storage, I recommend flash freezing the frosted cupcakes on a baking sheet. When they are frozen solid, you can wrap them up in foil and plastic and store them in a freezer bag to save space.

3 from 3 votes

Pina Colada Cupcakes Recipe

By Trang

Bring the island vibes to your kitchen with these tropically delicious Pina Colada cupcakes! This recipe stars my super easy and moist pineapple cupcakes – packed with crushed pineapple – and topped with a creamy rum-infused coconut frosting. They are perfect for any summer party, tropical-themed gathering, or whenever you’re craving a little island-inspired indulgence.

Servings: 12 cupcakes

Prep Time: 25 minutes mins

Cook Time: 18 minutes mins

Total Time: 43 minutes mins

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Equipment

• Stand Mixer
• Standard Size Muffin Pan

Ingredients 

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For the pineapple cupcakes

• ▢ 3 oz oil, vegetable or canola, 6 tablespoons, 74 g
• ▢ 1 large egg
• ▢ ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ▢ ⅔ cup brown sugar, light or dark brown, packed, 132 g
• ▢ 1 cup crushed pineapple, with juice, 238 g
• ▢ 1 ⅓ cup all-purpose flour, 180 g
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon kosher salt

For the rum infused coconut buttercream

• ▢ 8 oz unsalted butter, 2 sticks, 227 g, room temperature
• ▢ 1 ¼ cup powdered sugar, 150 g
• ▢ Two pinch of kosher salt
• ▢ ½ cup coconut milk, or coconut cream, canned, 118 g
• ▢ ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ▢ 2 tablespoon Malibu rum
• ▢ Sweetened coconut flakes, toasted, for topping

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Instructions 

• Make the cupcakes: Add 3 ounces (or 6 tablespoons) of vegetable or canola oil to a large mixing bowl along with 1 large egg and ½ teaspoon of pure vanilla extract. Beat with a whisk until thoroughly combined.
  
• Add ⅔ cup of brown sugar and 1 cup of canned crushed pineapple (don’t drain the pineapple), beat again to fully combine.
  
• In a smaller mixing bowl, sift together 1 ⅓ cup of all-purpose flour along with 1 teaspoon of baking powder. Add ¼ teaspoon of kosher salt and stir until distributed evenly. Note: I don’t sift the salt with the flour and baking powder because kosher salt has larger grains that won’t go through a fine mesh sieve.
• Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredient mixture and mix lightly with a whisk or fold with a spatula until just combined, take care not to over mix.
  
• Let the batter rest while you preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a standard size muffin pan with cupcake liner.
• When the oven is ready, divide the batter with a large cookie scoop into 12 muffin cavities and bake in the middle rack for 17-18 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a cupcake comes out clean with just a few crumbs attached.
  
• Remove the muffin pan from the oven and set it on a wire rack to cool to the touch, about 10-15 minutes. Then remove the cupcakes from the pan, and set them on a wire rack to cool completely before adding frosting on top.
• Make the frosting: Cream 8 oz of softened butter in your stand mixer bowl on medium to medium high speed until it is light and creamy.
  
• Add 1 ¼ cup of powdered sugar, along with two pinches of kosher salt. Stir first to combine to prevent the powdered sugar from puffing up. Then gradually increase mixer speed to medium high and beat until completely incorporated and creamy.
  
• Add ½ teaspoon of pure vanilla extract, and stream in ½ cup of coconut milk or coconut cream, followed by 2 tablespoons of Malibu rum, while beating at medium low or medium speed to incorporate. Then continue beating on medium high until the frosting is light and fluffy, an extra 5 to 10 minutes.
  
• Decorate the cupcakes: Transfer the frosting to a pastry bag fitted with a 1M tip and pipe frosting on top of cooled cupcakes. Sprinkle toasted coconut flakes on top, and serve at room temperature.
  

Notes

• Rum substitutions: If you don’t want to use Malibu rum, you can substitute a different type of rum and add a splash of coconut extract to amp up the coconut flavor in the frosting.
• Make it kid friendly: Simply skip the rum and add half a teaspoon of coconut extract.
• Other frosting options: Homemade whipped cream infused with Malibu rum (see additional notes within the post), or coconut whipped cream.
• Storage: These cupcakes should last up to 3 days in the fridge, and up to 3 months in the freezer.

Nutrition

Serving: 101g, Calories: 384kcal

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!

More pineapple recipes

• Use leftover crushed pineapple and coconut milk to make this Pina Colada smoothie.
• You can also use leftover crushed pineapple to make these Pineapple dog treats if you have some fur babies at home.
• Another way to add pineapple flavor to dessert is to use freeze-dried pineapple. I used it in these Pineapple truffles and this Pineapple frosting.
• Here’s a recipe that uses fresh pineapple – Pineapple tart with coconut frangipane!
• And one that uses pineapple juice – Hawaiian dinner rolls.

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