These Piña Colada Cupcakes are light and fluffy coconut cakes, topped with coconut frosting, fresh pineapple chunks, and sweetened coconut. Perfect for Cinco de Mayo, summer parties, celebrations, and more!
Who loves a refreshing Piña Colada? It is one of my favorite drinks – any time of the year. I’m completely obsessed with the pineapple and coconut combo.
So when it comes to our Cinco de Mayo celebrations (and pretty much all our other warm-weather gatherings too) I’m all about the Piña Colada flavors. This is why I decided that it was time to take that beloved combo and turn it into cupcakes!
If you love these Piña Colada Cupcakes – you’ll love our Easy Coconut Cupcakes too!
These cupcakes not only have the extra sweetness of the pineapple juice mixed in but there are little pineapple bits in there too. Call it an extra little surprise.
Then they are topped with a creamy coconut frosting and additional sweetened coconut – they make my eyes roll back with every bite. Plus they are super simple to make – so you can wow your friends and family! I know you’ll love them.
Cinco de Mayo cupcakes
Here are some commonly asked questions
Can these cupcakes be made with a box mix?
Sure! If you are tight on time and want to just whip up the cupcake portion of the recipe using a box mix – that will work fine too.
Just follow the instructions on the box and then use a pineapple flavoring/extract instead of the pineapple juice so you don’t skew the ratios. You can still stir in the pineapple bits – those should be just fine as long as they aren’t adding too much additional moisture.
How to store leftover cupcakes
Store leftover cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to
Freezing: Unfrosted cupcakes can be frozen for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before frosting and serving.
Prepare cupcakes 1-day advance and keep cupcakes covered tightly at room temperature until ready to be frosted.
Can this recipe be doubled?
This recipe works fine when doubled, especially if you use the cookie scoop to get the portions divided equally between all of the cupcakes.
Why do the ingredients need to be at room temperature?
Room temperature ingredients help to ensure that everything blends together perfectly. You don’t want any pockets of unblended butter. You want everything evenly disbursed for the perfect texture.
When your dairy products are at room temperature, they can create an emulsion. It’s essential to have an emulsion because air gets trapped, so the baked goods expand and get fluffy as it bakes.
What do you mean by soft butter?
You will need to take your butter out of the fridge about an hour before you would like to make the recipe for the butter to soften but not get too soft.
How to soften the butter to room temperature?
First
There are a couple of ways to do this. The first being that you can take the butter (& any other ingredients that need to be at room temperature) out, leave it on the counter for about 30 minutes while you prep for baking.
I usually start with all my chilled ingredients and pull everything I need out onto the counter before getting started – so I know for sure I have everything before I’m mid-way through I realize I’m out of something.
But sometimes it’s winter and that isn’t enough time to get the ingredients warmed up – OR – I’m just not that organized to plan ahead. It happens. So I have another couple of tricks.
Second
I place the butter in the microwave – wrapped in the paper. (don’t do this if it is wrapped in foil) Then I microwave for 2 seconds – flip – go another 2 seconds – flip again – and continue for 2 seconds on each side.
This is usually enough to get it perfect – sometimes stopping before if it feels soft enough. Take care when doing this method – overly softened butter from the microwave WILL ALTER the end result of the recipe. Don’t over-do it.
Third
My third method is to place the wrapped butter sticks in a zip-top bag and place it in a bowl of warm water. I do this with the eggs too. If the water isn’t too hot it can be THE PERFECT way to get “room-temperature” ingredients.
Ingredients for Piña Colada Cupcakes
Cupcakes
- all-purpose flour
- baking powder
- baking soda
- salt
- butter – room temperature
- granulated sugar
- cream cheese – room temperature
- large eggs
- pineapple juice
- fresh pineapple – finely chopped
Frosting
- unsalted butter softened
- sifted confectioner’s sugar
- milk
- coconut flavoring optional
Optional Garnish:
- toasted coconut flakes
- pineapple chunks
- maraschino cherries
Why are my cupcakes dense?
Overmixed batter and using excessively heavy ingredients can lead to a dense cupcake. This means you don’t want to add too much flour and avoid over-mixing the batter. Be sure to correctly measure the flour using the spoon and level method.
Fresh baking powder is also important to get nice, light, and fluffy cupcakes!
How to Make Piña Colada Cupcakes
Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and place cupcake liners into the cupcake pans.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a large bowl add the butter and sugar. Use a stand or handheld mixer, mix until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Add room temperature cream cheese and mix until well combined.
- Slowly add the eggs, one at a time until well incorporated.
- Then add half of the dry ingredients to the batter and mix until just combined.
- Add the pineapple juice and mix.
- Mix in the remaining dry ingredients until fully incorporated.
- Fold in the finely chopped pineapple pieces and scrape down the sides to make sure all of the ingredients are well combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared cupcake liners.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 19 minutes.
- Allow the cupcakes to cool before adding frosting and decorating.
Frosting
- In a large bowl, beat the softened butter until light and fluffy.
- Slowly add 1 cup of the confectioner’s sugar at a time.
- Next, add the milk and coconut flavoring and beat until creamy.
- Use your favorite frosting tip to pipe the frosting and garnish.
Notes for the Best Piña Colada Cupcakes
- Use 100% pineapple juice (not syrup).
- Use full-fat cream cheese.
- Toasted coconut is optional, if you aren’t a fan of toasted coconut regular sweetened coconut flakes can be used.
- Try using Creme of Coconut in place of milk for the frosting for an added coconut flavor. It’s the stuff in the white bottle, found in the cocktail aisle of the market. It’s already sweetened and ready to add to recipes.
- Top with a maraschino cherry for an added pop of color. Plus it makes the cupcakes super cute.
Other Cinco de Mayo Recipes to Serve with these Cupcakes
There are so many great recipes you can serve for Cinco de Mayo. It seems we are always pulling recipes that I remember my aunt making when I was growing up. Here are the recipes we make the most frequently – however these delicious cupcakes will pair with just about anything.
This Piña Colada Cupcake recipe is SUPER EASY and delicious – and if you’re like me, then you maybe already have some of these items on hand OR maybe you have never made homemade cupcakes before, & you might be a bit nervous – but you’re going to love them. I have made a list below of the things I absolutely can’t live without when it comes to making this delicious dessert recipe. (you can also SHOP MY FAVORITES in my store)
If you love this Piña Colada Cupcakes recipe, you’re going to love these other CAKES AND CUPCAKES too. Please click each link below to find the easy, printable recipe!
If you love this recipe for Piña Colada Cupcakes as much as I do, please write a five-star review, and be sure to help me share on Facebook and Pinterest!
CONNECT WITH YUMMI HAUS!
Be sure to follow me on my social media, so you never miss a post!
PIN THIS TO SAVE FOR LATER
Piña Colada Cupcakes
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons butter room temperature
- ¾ cups granulated sugar
- 6 tablespoons cream cheese room temperature
- 3 large eggs
- ½ cup pineapple juice
- ⅓ cup pineapple finely chopped
Frosting
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 4 cups sifted confectioner’s sugar
- 3-4 tablespoons milk
- 2-3 drops coconut flavoring optional
Optional Garnish:
- ½ cup toasted coconut flakes
- pineapple chunks
- maraschino cherries
Instructions
Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and place cupcake liners into the cupcake pans.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a large bowl add the butter, and sugar. Use a stand or handheld mixer, mix until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Add room temperature cream cheese and mix until well combined.
- Slowly add the eggs, one at a time until well incorporated.
- Then add half of the dry ingredients to the batter and mix until just combined.
- Add the pineapple juice and mix.
- Mix in the remaining dry ingredients until fully incorporated.
- Fold in the finely chopped pineapple pieces and scrape down the sides to make sure all of the ingredients are well combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared cupcake liners.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 19 minutes.
- Allow the cupcakes to cool before adding frosting and decorating.
Frosting
- In a large bowl, beat the softened butter until light and fluffy.
- Slowly add 1 cup of the confectioner’s sugar at a time.
- Next add the milk and coconut flavoring and beat until creamy.
- Use your favorite frosting tip to pipe the frosting and garnish.
Notes
- Use 100% pineapple juice (not syrup).
- Use full-fat canned coconut milk.
- Toasted coconut is optional, if you aren’t a fan of toasted coconut regular sweetened coconut flakes can be used.
Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate. Please double-check with your own dietary calculator for the best accuracy. We at Yummi Haus cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site.
Reader Interactions
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Share Your Thoughts