Rum Punch

When I made all of those cupcakes for the 4th of July I thought I'd make something for just the adults to enjoy. These Rum Punch cupcakes were fantastic! While I had high hopes for them I think they exceeded my expectations. From the reviews I received I think the frosting just put it over the top. It was fabulous.

Make these cupcakes from scratch. I love this base recipe. I might have to use more often. The cake was light and fluffy.

While the cupcakes are baking make the rum glaze. You're going to love this. . .unless you don't like coconut flavor.

Get your syringe out and fill it up with the rum glaze. Inject your cupcakes with it. Again, I have a thing for injecting food. Injecting the bomb pop cupcakes weren't enough for me. I had to find another cupcake to make just so I could do this. 

This frosting is out-of-this world. It's a whipped frosting with rum and pineapple.

Frost your cupcakes and add a cute umbrella for garnish.

It's party time! My Lutheran Stud even loved these and he's not a coconut fan. I offered him a different cupcake, but he wanted to try these.

Rum Punch Cupcakes

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

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)

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, or find a small syringe and inject cupcakes with rum glaze.  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.

Thank you to Annie's Eats for another fabulous cupcake recipe!