Cupcakes with Pineapple Buttercream Frosting

Since we came home from Disney this past February, I have been obsessed with anything and everything that reminded me of a Dole Whip. If you don’t know what a Dole Whip is, then let me tell you. It is a delicious concoction of pineapple and vanilla ice cream. We have made Dole Whips with our Vitamix blender multiple times (sometimes even with rum for the adults)! Saturday is a diet cheat day for my husband and I, so I’ve made many delicious treats for the family. This week I made gluten free pineapple cupcakes with pineapple buttercream frosting. The end result was amazing!

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I wish I had seen those adorable pineapple cupcake toppers before I made these! I would have totally ordered them! They are too cute and absolutely perfect for these cupcakes.

5 from 1 vote

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Cupcakes with Pineapple Buttercream Frosting

Delicious recipe for Dole Whip inspired cupcakes with pineapple buttercream frosting.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword cupcakes, dessert, gluten free, summer

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Cool 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes

Servings 12 People

Calories 500 kcal

Author Leah Kanaan

Ingredients

• 1 box Yellow Cake Mix*
• 1 Cup Crushed Pineapple optional
• 1 Cup Butter softened
• 4 Cups Confectioners Sugar
• 1/4 Cup Pineapple Juice
• 1 1/4 tsp Vanilla Extract

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350°. Prepare your muffin tin with cooking spray or muffin liners and set aside. Set your butter for the frosting on the counter to begin softening.

2. Prepare your boxed cake mix according to the box instructions. You may add 1 cup of crushed pineapple to the mix, if you choose.

3. Fill your muffin tin with the cake mix and bake according to the box instructions. Mine took about 25 minutes.

Pineapple Buttercream frosting

1. Using your stand mixer (or hand mixer), beat the butter until it is nice and creamy. Do not skip this step! This will insure there are no lumps in your frosting!

2. Now add the pineapple juice, vanilla extract and half of the confectioners sugar. Mix well.

3. Add in the remaining confectioners sugar. Mix well. If your frosting is not to the consistency that you would prefer, add a teaspoon or two of pineapple juice.

4. Put the prepared pineapple buttercream frosting in your piping bag and frost the cooled cupcakes!

Recipe Notes

*I used the Krusteaz Gluten Free Yellow Cake mix.

Pineapple Buttercream Frosting

When I was mixing the frosting up, I started to get nervous that the pineapple buttercream frosting would be too overpowering on the cupcake. Especially since I decided to add the crushed pineapple in the cupcake mix. I have seen many Weight Watcher recipes with sugar free cake mixes and adding crushed pineapple in the mix, so I figured it must be good. Although, let me be very clear, this is a CHEAT DAY dessert and is most definitely not Weight Watcher friendly! Since I follow a gluten free diet, I have yet to find a sugar free cake mix. But feel free to use a sugar free cake mix to lower the calories! I think this buttercream frosting would also be delicious on an angel food cupcake!

Trudeau Structured Silicone Muffin Pan, 12 Cup, Grey/MintWilton Batter Spoons 2103-1105 , Set of 3Good Cook Cooling Rack, Set of 2

The Cupcakes

The nice thing about this recipe is that you can easily make it gluten free or not, depending on your lifestyle needs! Want a little less sugar? Then use the sugar free cake mix! We follow Weight Watchers, and while these are not at all remotely close to being point friendly, we do enjoy a treat once a week and this is definitely the perfect treat! As for the crushed pineapple, it was good, but not necessary if you don’t have a can handy or would prefer to leave it out.

Must Have Kitchen Tools

There are only two things that I would say are must have kitchen tools. The Wilton Batter Spoons and the Structured Silicone Muffin Pan. Both of those items are essential for making muffins or cupcakes. With the batter spoons, you get the right amount of batter each and every time and your muffins and cupcakes are perfect! Personally, I prefer the silicone muffin pan because most of the time I am out of muffin liners and the silicone pan makes it easier to get the muffins and cupcakes out after they are done baking!