Rum Punch Cupcakes

Jessii and I love cupcakes, saying that is actually an understatement.

Don't get me wrong, I like cakes, but there's something special about a cupcake.  It's small, sweet and it lives in a cutely decorated wrapper.  Also, they are portion controlled ;)

With that being said, you will see a LOT of cupcakes being posted here.  I'm not kidding, we make a LOT!

First up was a new recipe for me, Rum Punch Cupcakes.  My husband and I were invited to a Sangria party, so I had to make a dessert that had alcohol in it, right?

These are moist, slightly sweet and they have a punch of Rum in the cake AND the frosting.

The balance of coconut milk, rum and pineapple is wonderful, and the best part is the frosting is whipped cream (with some rum, of course!)

Look how pretty she is, simple and sweet :)

One thing I will mention is that this is the first cupcake recipe that I have made where the batter was very thick, it reminded me of thick frosting, see:

Don't be fooled though, they baked wonderfully and were very moist.

I took a big bite.  Hey... I wanted to show you how moist it is :D

Try these sometime if you are having an 21+ party and want a sweet treat.

Rum Punch Cupcakes (recipe borrowed from This great lady )

Yield: 24 cupcakes
Ingredients:

For the cupcakes:
3 cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
¾ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
16 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature (yeah, that's a cup!)
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
¾ cup canned coconut milk
3 tbsp. dark rum (optional, I used it)

For the rum glaze:
6 tbsp. canned coconut milk
3 tbsp. sugar
¼ cup dark rum

For the frosting:
1 cup chopped pineapple
2-3 tbsp. rum
2 tsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
2 cups heavy cream
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar

Directions:
To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  Line cupcake pans with paper liners.  In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg.  Stir to combine.  In the bowl of an electric mixer combine the butter and sugar.  Beat together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.  Beat in the eggs and egg yolks one at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Blend in the vanilla.  Combine the coconut milk and rum in a measuring cup.  With the mixer on low speed, alternately add in the dry ingredients and the milk mixture mixing each addition just until incorporated, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.

Divide the batter between the cupcake liners.  Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 18-20 minutes.  Let cool in the pan 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack set over foil or wax paper.

Meanwhile, make the rum glaze.  Combine the coconut milk and sugar in a small saucepan.  Heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves.  Off the heat, add the rum.  Poke each cupcake several times with a wooden skewer.  Drizzle some of the glaze over the cupcakes.  (If desired, brush with additional rum.)

To make the frosting, combine the pineapple, rum and lime juice in a blender or food processor.  Pulse briefly so that the pineapple is finely chopped but not fully pureed.  In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the heavy cream and confectioners’ sugar on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form.  Gently fold in the pineapple mixture with a spatula.  Pipe the pineapple whipped cream on top of the cupcakes as desired.

-April