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Pineapple cupcakes topped with pineapple buttercream frosting sitting on a wooden board.
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Pineapple Cupcakes Recipe with Pineapple Frosting

If you're dreaming of a tropical getaway, these pineapple cupcakes will transport you to a sunny island with just a few bites! Light, moist, and bursting with sweet pineapple flavor, I paired these cupcakes with my fluffy pineapple buttercream. These tropical treats are perfect for any occasion.
Prep Time25 minutes
Cook Time18 minutes
Total Time43 minutes
Course: Cupcakes, Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 12 cupcakes
Author: Trang

Equipment

Ingredients

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 pineapple frosting

  • 1 bag freeze-dried pineapple 1 oz, 28 g
  • 8 oz unsalted butter 2 sticks, 227 g, room temperature
  • 1 ¼ cup powdered sugar 150 g
  • A pinch of kosher salt
  • ¼ cup heavy whipping cream 60 g, room temperature
  • ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

  • Make pineapple 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.
    Mixing egg, oil and vanilla in a glass mixing bowl.
  • Add ⅔ cup of brown sugar and 1 cup of canned crushed pineapple (don’t drain the pineapple), beat again to fully combine.
    Adding brown sugar and pineapple to the wet ingredient mixure.
  • 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.
    Combining flour mixture with wet ingredient to make pineapple cupcake batter.
  • 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.
    Dividing the pineapple cupcake batter with a cookie scoop and bake.
  • 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 pineapple frosting: Grind one 1-oz bag of freeze-dried pineapple in your food processor or high speed blender until a fine powder forms. Set aside.
    Grinding freeze-dried pineapple in a food processor.
  • Cream 8 oz of softened butter in your stand mixer bowl on medium to medium high speed until it is light and creamy.
    Cream butter in a stand mixer.
  • Add 1 ¼ cup of powdered sugar, along with the pineapple powder and a pinch 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.
    Incorporate powdered sugar and pineapple powder into creamed butter.
  • Add ½ teaspoon of pure vanilla extract, and stream in ¼ cup of heavy whipping cream. Beat 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.
    Add cream and vanilla to complete pineapple frosting recipe.
  • Decorate the cupcakes: Transfer pineapple frosting to a pastry bag fitted with a 1M tip and pipe frosting on top of cooled cupcakes. Serve at room temperature and enjoy!
    Piping frosting on a cupcake.

Notes

  • Freeze-dried pineapple substitutions: you should be able to find freeze-dried pineapple in store or online. I got mine at Target. If you can’t find freeze-dried pineapple, you can use pineapple jam or pineapple extract to add flavor to the frosting.
  • Runny frosting fix: if your frosting is a bit runny, try refrigerating it for 15-30 minutes before piping.
  • Storage: these cupcakes should last 3-5 days in the fridge, and up to 3 months in the freezer.

Nutrition

Serving: 96g | Calories: 381kcal
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