If you like all things tropical then these are the cupcakes for you. They are such fun cakes to make and of course eat and remind me of my favourite holiday tipple in beautiful St. Lucia.

Pina Colada Cupcakes

INGREDIENTS

For the cupcakes

250g self-raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

¼ tsp salt

200ml coconut milk

1 tsp white rum

120g unsalted butter

150g caster sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

125g canned crushed pineapple, drained

For the buttercream

120g unsalted butter, softened

200g icing sugar

2 tbsp coconut milk

1 tsp white rum

To decorate

12 maraschino cherries

Desiccated coconut

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan. Line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases.

In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, bicarb and salt. In a separate bowl, mix together the coconut milk and rum.

In a mixing bowl and with an electric hand whisk, beat together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and beating well after each addition.

Mix in half the flour and then beat in half the coconut mixture. Repeat with the remaining flour and coconut mixture. Finally, stir in the vanilla and fold in the pineapple pieces.

Divide the mixture between the paper cases and bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Let the cakes cool in the tin for 5 minutes before placing them onto a wire rack to cool completely.

While the cakes are cooling make the buttercream. In a mixing bowl and with an electric hand whisk, beat the butter until light and soft. Gradually beat in the icing sugar until the mixture is smooth and creamy, then beat in the coconut milk and rum.

Spread each cake with a thin layer of the buttercream then press some desiccated coconut around the outside of the cake. Spoon the remaining buttercream into a piping bag and with a large star nozzle, pipe swirls onto the cakes. Top each cake with a cherry.