Pineapple Cupcakes
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These pineapple cupcakes are moist, buttery, and loaded with the flavor of fresh pineapple. They are paired perfectly with pineapple buttercream frosting as a tropical treat.
I am a huge fan of fruity desserts – if you have been reading along with this blog for any length of time, this is hardly a newsflash. I want fruit in all my desserts. It’s an obsession that I can’t control.
While I love all fruits, there is something particularly addictive about pineapple. It is juicy, refreshing, bursting with flavor, and tastes like vacation.
When I first came up with my pineapple cupcakes recipe, I made batch after batch to develop the best recipe possible. I had seen the recipes for cupcakes that call for store-bought box cake mix and a can of crushed pineapple. It’s probably delicious, but you know how we do it here. We bake from scratch.
After many attempts, I finally landed on these moist, buttery cupcakes that were bursting with pineapple flavor. Trust me, they are fabulous! They’re even better with pineapple frosting swirled on top!! Or, if you are going for a pina colada vibe, and why wouldn’t you – use my whipped coconut frosting.
This recipe base isn’t limited to making cupcakes. I’ve used the base for my pina colada cupcakes and it turned out amazing. And I did something similar with my pineapple upside-down cake.
Stop what you are doing right now and go bake these cupcakes. It will be the best 30 minutes you’ve ever spent. They are amazing!
Recipe Snapshot
TASTE: Vanilla and pineapple flavored cupcakes.
TEXTURE: Moist, buttery, and fluffy.
EASE: Remarkably easy for how delicious they are.
TIME: Just about a half hour.
What You’ll Need
Ingredients
How to Make Pineapple Cupcakes
It is easy to make these vacation-flavored cupcakes at home, from scratch. They are so much better than any cupcakes you would pick up at the market.
Be sure to check out the full recipe and ingredient list below
- Prepare to bake. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line a 12 cup muffin pan with cupcake liners.
- Mix the dry ingredients. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir with a whisk to combine. Set aside.
- Mix the wet ingredients. In a separate mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until creamy. Turn the mixer to low, beat in the vanilla, and then beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add in the crushed pineapple and its juice. Add the flour mixture, mixing just until combined.
- Bake. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean.
- Cool the cupcakes in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Top with the buttercream frosting of your choice.
Tips For Success
- Measure the flour correctly! Lightly spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level with the back of a knife. For more accurate measurements, it’s best to weigh the ingredients.
- The recipe calls for one 8-ounce can of crushed pineapple. Crushed pineapple will be broken down much more than pineapple chunks. Make sure you are in fact using crushed pineapple.
- Use the entire contents of the can of crushed pineapple. The juice and all the pineapple bits!
Storage & Freezing
Cupcakes can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Pineapple Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the cupcakes
- 1 ⅔ cups (2216 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- ¼ cup (53 g) light brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 8 ounces (234 g) crushed pineapple, undrained
For the frosting
- 1 cups (43 g) freeze-dried pineapple
- ¾ cups (170 g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 2 ¾ cups (240 g) confectioners' sugar, sifted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream
Instructions
Make the cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line a 12 cup muffin pan with paper liners.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir with a whisk to combine. Set aside.
- In a separate mixing bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy. Add the sugar, continue to beat for 3 minutes.
- With the mixer set to low, beat in the vanilla. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
- Beat in the crushed pineapple and its juice. Add the flour, mixing just until combined.
- Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean.
- Cool the cupcakes in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Top with pineapple buttercream frosting.
Make the frosting
- Using a food processor, grind the freeze-dried pineapple into a fine powder. Sift the powder through a fine-mesh sieve and discard any large bits. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a large mixing bowl with a handheld electric mixer, beat the butter on medium-high speed until creamy and pale in color, about 5 minutes.
- Add half the confectioners' sugar and beat on low speed just until the sugar has fully moistened, then turn the speed up to medium-high and beat until well incorporated, about 3-5 minutes.
- Add the remaining confectioners' sugar and pineapple powder and beat on low speed just until the sugar has fully moistened, then turn the speed up to medium-high and beat until well incorporated, about 3-5 minutes.
- Add the vanilla and salt. Turn the mixer on low speed and slowly add 1-2 tablespoons of the heavy cream. Turn the mixer up to medium-high and beat until the cream is well incorporated, about 3-5 minutes. (After 2 minutes stop and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl then continue mixing.)
- Check the consistency of the frosting and add more cream, ½ tablespoon at a time, if needed. The frosting should be soft and spreadable but not so loose that it doesn't hold its shape.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided is for convenience and as a courtesy only. It is not guaranteed to be accurate because nutrition information can vary for a variety of reasons. For precise nutritional data use your preferred nutrition calculator and input the exact ingredients and brands you used in the recipe.
I want to make these for a luncheon I am hostessing but the picture makes the cupcakes look very flat . I don’t mean they did not raise but more like not much batter volume. Would eight be a better number to expect?
You could try to go for eight.
Do you think chocolate frosting would work for those not a fan of coconut?
If you like chocolate and pineapple together then go for it!!
I’m not sure I’ll ever make another kind of cupcake. That good. My grandmother used to make a delicious pineapple coconut cake. No one else compares. It is really time consuming though and makes a huge cake. Since I’m the only coconut fan in the immediate family, I never make it. These are the perfect substitute. I’m so happy to have this recipe. Thanks a bunch for perfecting this and sharing it!
I’m happy to hear that you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for giving it a try!
I’m not sure I’ll ever make another kind of cupcake. That good. My grandmother used to make a delicious pineapple coconut cake. No one else compares. It is really time consuming though and makes a huge cake. Since I’m the only coconut fan in the immediate family, I never make it. These are the perfect substitute. I’m so happy to have this recipe. Thanks a bunch for perfecting this and sharing it!
I needed a dessert for some company tonight, had no cake mixes, and a sleeping baby so shopping was not an option. This was such a delicious recipe. Not too sweet, and the cake really is a creamy dream. I will definitely be making this again.
It’s so great to hear that you had such success with these cupcakes. They are some of my favorites! Thank you for the positive feedback!
I needed a dessert for some company tonight, had no cake mixes, and a sleeping baby so shopping was not an option. This was such a delicious recipe. Not too sweet, and the cake really is a creamy dream. I will definitely be making this again.
I ended up making them with 50/50 pineapple and orange, and some with all orange, and they turned out great! I took some pieces of orange and blended them up using my Magic Bullet and some orange juice, and just weighed it all out to 8oz. on my scale.
These cupcakes are delicious and moist. Not really like a “fluffy cake”, but super moist, slightly dense, but not doughy. The flavor of pineapple (or orange) really shines through. Mai Tai cupcakes were a success! I will be saving your recipe, thank you 🙂
Do you think you could sub the pineapple for oranges blended up? They both have acidity but I’m just not sure. Just curious. I’m looking to make some Mai Tai cupcakes and it seems a lot of mai tai’s actually do not have pineapple, to my surprise! This looks like a great recipe.
Hi, Tisch. I haven’t tested the recipe with oranges that way, so I can’t guarantee the results. I want to say that it would work fine but I don’t know how much liquid you will get out of the oranges. The can of pineapple plus its juice provide enough liquid for the recipe. You may need to add some milk if the batter looks too thick and dry.
Okay thanks for the reply 🙂 Maybe I will try orange AND the pineapple, just do half and half, & the orange liquid could come from orange juice. Pineapple-orange, I don’t think you can go wrong with that flavor 🙂
Sounds great, Tisch. I’d love to hear how it turns out!
I ended up making them with 50/50 pineapple and orange, and some with all orange, and they turned out great! I took some pieces of orange and blended them up using my Magic Bullet and some orange juice, and just weighed it all out to 8oz. on my scale.
These cupcakes are delicious and moist. Not really like a “fluffy cake”, but super moist, slightly dense, but not doughy. The flavor of pineapple (or orange) really shines through. Mai Tai cupcakes were a success! I will be saving your recipe, thank you 🙂
So glad to hear the cupcakes turned out great for you!
Coconut + Pineapple = Woman’s best friend.
These cupcakes are absolutely gorgeous! That frosting is just to die for 🙂
Thanks so much, Melissa!
That is an absolutely perfect summer cupcake! I love the pineapple and coconut goodness going on in it!!!