Piña Colada Pikachu Cupcakes
Updated: Aug 26, 2020
Piña Colada Pikachu Cupcakes
These piña colada cupcakes will bring you right to the beach, even if it's not possible to travel there right now! The pineapple cupcake base is moist and fluffy, while the coconut frosting really makes this taste just like the cocktail!
Of course, the Pokémon decorations do make these cupcakes kid-friendly! There is rum extract in the cupcake base which can be omitted if preferred.
Servings: 12 Cupcakes
Prep Time: 1.5 Hours
Total Time: 6 Hours
Ingredients
Pineapple Cupcakes
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 + 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 + 1/2 teaspoons rum extract
1 8oz can of crushed pineapple
Coconut Frosting
1 + 1/4 cups unsalted butter, softened
4 + 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup canned coconut milk
1/2 teaspoon coconut extract
Cherry Pokéballs & Pikachu Ears
1 jar maraschino cherries
8 oz white chocolate, melted
Black decorating icing gel
8 oz yellow fondant
4 oz black fondant
Instructions
Pikachu Ears: We would recommend making the fondant pieces either the day before or a few hours before you start on the cupcakes. This gives the fondant a chance to firm up so it is easier to work with during assembly. For the Pikachu ears, you will need both yellow and black fondant. You can buy white fondant and color it yourself, or buy the colored fondant pre-made. The ears are pretty large so you’ll need a good amount of yellow fondant, and about half of the yellow fondant quantity for the black portions of the ears. This is much easier illustrated in the video, but please see below for instruction.
Pikachu Ears: Piece out the fondant so that you have 24 balls of yellow fondant and 24 smaller balls of black fondant. Place a toothpick in the center of each of the yellow balls of fondant and roll until the fondant sphere is long and skinny. Make sure the yellow fondant completely covers about half of the toothpick, with the other half sticking out the bottom. Use a pair of scissors to slice the tip of the yellow fondant. Repeat for all yellow fondant spheres. Then repeat for all black fondant spheres, except you will be cutting the bottom of the black fondant pieces so that the sliced tip of the black fondant pieces align with the top of the yellow fondant pieces. Use half of a toothpick for the black fondant pieces.
Pikachu Ears: Insert the black fondant piece’s toothpick into the yellow fondant piece and then press until the two edges meet. Roll the two pieces together until they form one ear. Repeat for all pieces until you have 24 completely ears. Stick the ears in a piece of Styrofoam or pierce the toothpick through a box so that the fondant pieces can dry standing up.
Cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350°. Line a cupcake pan with 12 red liners.
Cupcakes: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
Cupcakes: In a large mixing bowl, beat the unsalted butter until light and fluffy (1-2 minutes). Add the two sugars and beat until well-combined (about 2-3 minutes). Add the vanilla extract and rum extract, and beat until well-combined. Then add the eggs and beat until well-combined.
Cupcakes: Add in the flour mixture and beat until just combined. Then add the can of crushed pineapple (do not drain the pineapple can, mix in the juice as well). Mix until combined, but do your best to not further crush the pineapple. Add in yellow food coloring until the desired color is achieved.
Cupcakes: Fill the liners in the cupcake pan until ¾ of the way full. An automatic ice cream scoop usually does a perfect job! Bake for 16-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the cupcakes comes out clean. Allow to completely cool.
Cherry Pokeballs: Dump out the cherries from the jar, wash, and dry. Make sure the cherries are completely dry before proceeding to the next step.
Cherry Pokeballs: Melt the white chocolate in the microwave using the defrost setting in 30 second increments or utilizing a double boiler. Dip half of each cherry in the white chocolate. Place on a piece of wax or parchment paper to cool.
Cherry Pokeballs: You can use homemade black royal icing or a decorating gel pen (like we did) for the black line in the pokeball. Pipe a black line along the edge of the white chocolate on each cherry. Allow to firm up. We put the cherries in the freezer to expedite the process and really firm up the icing.
Cherry Pokeballs: Using a toothpick, put a dollop of melted white chocolate on the center of the black piped line on each pokeball. Allow to completely dry and firm up. Again, you can leave in the freezer if you choose.
Frosting: Beat the butter in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy (about 1-2 minutes). Beat in the powdered sugar in ½-1 cup increments. Add the coconut milk and coconut extract and beat until well-combined. You may want to add additional powdered sugar if the frosting is not stiff enough for your liking. Put the frosting in a piping bag and then place in the fridge for 5-10 minutes to stiffen up the frosting.
Frosting: Beat in yellow food coloring until the pigment of the frosting matches the pigment of the cupcake/Pikachu ears for best results.
Assembly: Pipe the coconut frosting over the top of the cooled cupcakes. Then take two Pikachu ears and place on either side of the cupcake, utilizing the toothpick to stabilize. Top each with a cherry Pokeball.
Enjoy!
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