‘Sunkiss’-ed! Pineapple Orange cupcakes with Cointreau buttercream.

Sunkissed…nope, this time its not me! Those are my cocktail inspired cupcakes. Okay, this is my 3rd cupcake in 3 weeks. But believe me when i say these are different. These are boozy and grown up cupcakes with a generous dose of Cointreau. I know I know…looks can be deceptive!

I love liqours. I think I love them more in desserts than in cocktails. My little collection of bottles have all been procured at some time with a sweet treat in mind. Cointreau without a doubt is my favourite.

I have been meaning to make use of pineapple too in a big sort of way. That is out of guilt for not having used it in a long time. I googled up orange and pineapple cocktails and found this one using both. I am also a edible garnish fanatic. They add height to a dish and just elevates it to another level. The dried pineapple flower is simple to make and is packed with flavour. I followed the recipe from Martha Stewart.

The cupcake is super moist and I added Cointreau to both the cupcake and the frosting. I used my basic buttercream frosting recipe for this.

These cupcakes are a part of the March Sweet Adventure Blog Hop challenge. This is my first challenge and though there wasnt a lot of time since I came to know of this, the theme was too tempting..Cocktail Party. So here I am with my ‘sunkiss’-ed cupcakes hopefully making it to the finishing line.
Check out the boozey treats by others at the end of this post.

Pineapple Orange Cupcakes (adapted with variation from Joy of Baking)
Yields 13-14

2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temparature
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
1 large egg
3/4 cup sour cream
1 tbsp grated orange zest
1 cup crushed pineapple, drained
2 tbsp Cointreau

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C and place rack in centre of oven. Grease or line a muffin pan with paper liners.
In a bowl whisk to combine the flour, salt and baking soda.
In the bowl of your electric mixer or with a hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy(about 2 mins). Add the egg and beat until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat in the sour cream, orange zest and Cointreau. Add the flour mixture and beat just until incorporated. Fold in the crushed pineapple.
Spoon the batter into the paper liners. Bake for 15-20 mins or until light browned and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Remove the cupcakes from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Once completely cooled, frost with buttercream.

Cointreau Buttercream

2 cups icing sugar, sifted
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temparature
3 tbsp Cointreau
1 tbsp finely grated orange zest
Food colours (optional)

In an electric mixture or with a hand mixer, cream the butter until smooth and well blended. With the mixer on low speed, gradually beat in the sugar. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the Cointreau and beat on high speed until frosting is light and fluffy (about 3-4 mins). Tint the frosting with the desired food colour (I have left it plain here).

To Serve: Garnish each cupcake with a dried pineapple flower on top of the buttercream and insert a toothpick in the centre to prevent it from sliding off.