Gluten Free Piña Colada Cupcakes

The best piña colada I’ve ever had was also the most difficult to get to. Difficult in a good way – just lots of legs of transportation involved. It was also the best because I got to enjoy it on a tiny beach alongside my younger, taller, sister, Kendra, the other half of Sisters Sans Gluten. We started taking “Sister Trips” every year after our first trip together for Kendra’s 21st birthday, when we both flew down to LA, stayed in our first solo AirBnB, and spent the weekend in Universal Studios (Harry Potter world), around farmers markets and old bookstores and dining halls in downtown LA, and generally being tourists in our own country as newly-minted adults. It was an awesome trip. The following year, we decided to pull our savings together and go a little bigger: international! We decided on Puerto Vallarta, Mexico because it was a quick flight and seemed gorgeous while not overly-resorty/expensive like Cabo. Thankfully, I was still working in LATAM sales so my Spanish was proficient to get us around, chat up taxi and uber drivers, and order whatever incredible food we could get our hands on. And drink, of course.

Which brings us to the show-stopping piña colada. We had heard from our AirBnB host, and from a few waiters around town that Yelapa was the place to go. It was a tiny village down the coast and you had to take a bus to a slightly larger beach town where you’d then ask around for one of the water taxis that would be heading out to take a group of ten or so to the coveted, quiet spot. So, after a glorious visit to the Vallarta Botanical Gardens (highly recommended!), we managed to catch a cab down to Boca de Tomatlan, the cove where boats gathered and plastic chairs shaded by Pepsi umbrellas shaded mid-day resters and hot puppies waiting for treats from well-meaning new comers like us (Kendra basically adopted three stray dogs during the week there). After chatting with our driver, he wanted to be sure we found the right boat, so wandered down to the beach-front bar with us and asked around for us (thank you again!!). After we’d paid our $6 a piece to the woman who ran the boats, we waited and sipped fresh-squeezed tangerine juice in the shade, before following our boat captain down the cement dock and hopping in the small motor boat. And then we were off! Zipping down the jungled coastline for for about 20 minutes, stopping once in Playa las Ánimas to drop off the first bunch of travelers, then continuing on to our final destination: Yelapa. The sun-soaked beach town stretched just the length of the white sand, but we had been told there was a waterfall up through the narrow cobble-stone streets on the edge of town. Worth the walk – if you happen to be lucky enough to go! We finally wandered over to the beach, randomly picked one of the few beach-front restaurants/bars to plunk ourselves down in front of on outstretched beach chairs, and settled in. And that, my friends, is when we were presented with the BEST piña colada we’d ever had. It wasn’t overly-sweet or syrupy, and clearly had been made with fresher ingredients than any city bar we’d mistakenly ordered this sunny cocktail at before. It came in a giant fish-bowl of a goblet and we happily sipped away (after applying my 10th coat of sunblock – I burn, Kendra tans) for the better part of the afternoon.

So, if you’re looking for a gorgeous destination away from the crowds and resorts and tourist traps, include Yelapa on your list – it’s worth it for the waterfall and the piña colada alone. And here’s to Sister Trips, though we’ve had to postpone ours this year due to COVID, we’ll be headed up to Vancouver, BC (we’ve still never been to Canada, despite living two states away our entire lives – I know, sacrilege) next spring, we hope! We’d love to connect with other gluten-freers/bakers while we’re there! If you’re missing any Mexico/Central America trips this year and want to eat your feelings at home, might we recommend these new favorite cupcakes, or these AMAZING guava cheesecake cupcakes, or if your 2020 travel plans had previously involved more Mediterranean destinations give these rosemary honey and fig cupcakes, or these Amalfi Coast-worthy lemon ricotta cupcakes!

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Gluten Free Piña Colada Cupcakes

These gorgeous piña colada cupcakes are a cocktail in cupcake form – and full of summer

Prep Time45 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Cooling time20 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free

Keyword: coconut, cupcakes, gluten free, pina colada, pineapple, tropical

Servings: 24 Cupcakes

Calories: 350kcal

Author: Amelia Farber

Equipment

• Cupcake pans
• Electric mixer

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

• 3 large eggs
• 3/4 Cup white sugar
• 1/4 Cup packed brown sugar
• 3/4 Cup canola oil
• 3/4 Cup full fat coconut milk
• 2 Tbsp dark rum
• 3/4 Cup crushed pineapple in it's juice (do not drain)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp coconut extract
• 1/4 Cup cream of coconut
• 2 Tbsp finely ground toasted coconut flakes instructions below
• 1 1/2 Cup gluten free 1-1 flour with xanthan gum in it (if your mix does not contain xanthan gum, add 3/4 tsp of it now)
• 1 1/2 Cup blanched almond flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 Cup powdered freeze dried pineapple instructions below
• 2 tsp lime juice

For the buttercream frosting:

• 1 14 oz can sweetened condensed coconut milk
• 2 Cups salted butter
• 5-6 Cups sifted powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp coconut extract
• 1 Tbsp cream of coconut
• 1/4 Cup powdered freeze dried pineapple
• Unsweetened, dried pineapple rings for decoration optional

Instructions

• First, make your cupcakes! Preheat the oven to 350° F and line two 12-cupcake pans with paper cupcake cups. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugars, oil, coconut milk, rum, vanilla extract, cream of coconut, lime juice and coconut extract until smooth and combined. Add the crushed pineapple and whisk to combine. Separately, using a nutribullet or food processor, blitz up large toasted coconut flakes (sweetened or unsweetened) until they become a fine powder, and add into the cupcake batter. Then, using the same food processor, blitz up the freeze dried pineapple until it's also a fine powder, and add it to the batter. Add in the flour, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and mix to combine.
• Spoon cupcake batter into each lined cupcake cup – they should be a little over 3/4 full. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Let cupcakes cool completely before frosting them.
• While cupcakes are cooling, make the frosting! In a large bowl, using the electric mixer, beat together the butter and sweetened condensed coconut milk on high for at least a minute until smooth and fluffy. Add in the powdered sugar one cup at a time until smooth. Add the cream of coconut, coconut extract, vanilla, and the additional powdered, freeze dried pineapple (same as above). Beat until smooth, add in more powdered sugar to stiffen up the frosting, or add more cream of coconut if it's too stiff.
• Once cupcakes are cooled, scoop frosting into a large piping bag with your choice of piping tip, and pipe frosting onto cupcakes. Top with a section of unsweetened dried pineapple rings (optional) and then serve!

Tag @sisterssansgluten on Instagram if you snap a photo of your cupcakes!

Food photography and styling by Amelia Farber