Pina Colada Cupcakes

   

Pina Colada Cupcakes

 Sunday was the big celebration for my son's skills graduation. We did a Mexican themed buffet and it was a big hit. We had tacos, chicken fajitas, Mexican rice, chips and salsa, guacamole, hot cheese dip, brownies and pina colada cupcakes.

     My husband makes some really awesome tacos, so I had him do his magic and make his world famous tacos for our event. People just love his tacos. People were going back for thirds on Sunday and needless to say we did not have very much taco meat left after the party.

     My chicken fajitas ran a close second to the tacos. It did well, but not as good as the tacos. I had one full pan left of fajitas which isn't too bad because we love them and we don't mind eating them as leftovers.

     Now the Mexican rice was a different. I doubled the recipe and it made a boat load of rice. I should of just made one recipe and not doubled it, but the recipe said it served 6 so I thought well I'll need to make more. It was, however, very good and next time I would just make the recipe without doubling it.

     For dessert I made brownies and some pina colada cupcakes. The brownies are just some brownies from a box and canned frosting, but the cupcakes were a doctored up cake mix that was amazing and the frosting was canned frosting with a little kick.

     Pina Colada Cupcakes
1 box (18.25 oz. box) Yellow Cake mix
1/3 C Vegetable oil
1/2 C water
1/4 C pineapple juice, reserved from the crushed pineapple
1/4 C Malibu coconut rum
3 whole eggs
1/2 C sweetened shredded coconut
1/2 C crushed pineapple, drained

Icing
1 container (16oz size) white frosting
2 T pineapple juice, reserved from the crushed pineapple
2 T  Malibu coconut rum
1/4 C sweetened shredded coconut, toasted

Preparation Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with paper muffin liners.
Blend together cake mix, oil, water, pineapple juice, coconut rum and eggs with a hand mixer for two minutes. Use a spatula to scrape the edges of the bowl. Fold in shredded coconut and crushed pineapple.
Portion mix into paper liners, filling 2/3 full. Bake for 19 minutes. Let cool in pan for 3-4 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool. Store over night in an airtight container.
Whip together frosting, pineapple juice and coconut rum. Refrigerate overnight to allow flavor to maximize and icing to thicken.
Keeping the icing as cold as possible,spread the icing over the cupcakes with a spatula. Sprinkle with toasted coconut. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

Recipe adapted from Tasty Kitchen

How to toast coconut
 Preheat oven to 350ºF. Spread unsweetened coconut shavings, or sweetened shredded or flaked coconut on a rimmed baking sheet and bake, stirring once or twice, until golden, about 5 to 10 minutes. If toasting sweetened coconut, check and stir more frequently because the added sugar causes irregular browning.

Read More http://www.bonappetit.com/tipstools/tips/2008/04/how_to_toast_coconut#