Pineapple & Coconut Cupcakes

Coconut and Pineapple is a flavour combination I have been meaning to try out ever since I saw it used in cupcakes on Gigi’s blog. It sounded so tropical and exciting.

Last week when I sat munching on some pineapple I suddenly remembered the cupcakes and the fact I still hadn’t tried them out. I decided there and then that I was going to bake them that weekend for the first work Monday Munchers of the year. What better way to banish the January blues?

I made a very slight alternation to Gigi’s recipe in that as I had the fresh pineapple on hand, I decided to add some to the cake batter to enhance the flavour. I was worried that it might make the cakes too wet and stodgy but it actually helped make them incredibly soft and moist.

I chose to add some toasted coconut on top of my cupcakes, which really took the flavour to another level. I have never used coconut milk in a cake before and it gave the most wonderfully creamy taste and fluffiness to the cake and the little chunks of pineapple added a lovely tropical note.

Over Christmas my grandmother gave me some daisy cutters for my sugar craft work and, being eager to try them out, I decided to decorate the tops of some of the cupcakes with sugar daisies. I used the end a cocktail stick to make the thin leaf veins and left them to dry on a plate before using. They were very simple to make but added a lovely sunny finish.

Thanks for the recipe Gigi, the cakes are yummy, I highly recommend them. I converted Gigi’s recipe, which was in cups, into grams as I went along, so now no one has an excuse not to try them.

Pineapple & Coconut Cupcakes
Ingredients
1¼ cups plain flour (180g)
1 tsp baking powder
7 tbsp butter (85g)
¾ cup caster sugar (150g)
2 eggs
2/3 cup coconut milk (130ml)
½ tsp vanilla
110g fresh pineapple

Method
Preheat the oven to 350F (180C) and line a muffin tin with 10 - 12 paper cases.
Chop the fresh pineapple into very small cubes, about 5mm square and set to one side.
In a large bowl beat together the butter and sugar until pale, light and fluffy.
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each one. Stir in the vanilla.
Add half the coconut milk and beat well. Then add the baking powder and half the flour, repeat with the remaining coconut milk and then the second half of the flour.
Gently fold in the pineapple.
Divide the mixture between the muffin cases, filling about ¾ of the way.
Bake for 20-25 minutes until lightly golden brown, springy to the touch and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Leave to cool on a wire wrack before icing and decorating.

For the topping
150g icing sugar
Coconut milk
100g desiccated coconut
First, scatter the desiccated coconut into a dry frying pan and set over a low heat. Stir gently with a spatula at 10second intervals until the coconut has turned a very light brown. Don’t let it get too dark or it will taste burnt.
Spread the coconut over a cool plate to cool down quickly.
When you are ready to decorate your cakes, simply sieve the icing sugar into a small bowl and gradually add coconut milk until you have a thick, spreadable icing.
Spoon/spread a layer of the coconut icing over the cupcakes and then immediately scatter over a shower of toasted coconut so that it sticks to the icing.
Allow the icing to dry slightly before serving.
Makes 10-12 cupcakes.