Tropical Cupcakes with Doctored Cake Mix
Homemade cakes and cupcakes are the bomb dot com, but sometimes you just want to go back to the box. We’re going to doctor up a box of pineapple cake mix, fill our cupcakes with store bought lemon curd, and then top it all off with a luscious coconut buttercream. Let’s jump right in to whip up these tropical cupcakes!
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This recipe/ post was originally published on April 11, 2019. It was republished on February 3, 2022 with updates.
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Why Should I Use Boxed Cake Mix?
I’ll be the first to admit, I don’t usually like boxed cake mix. It used to be my favorite thing ever, but now that I’m used to homemade cakes and cupcakes, I’m just spoiled. That being said, there are some instances where a boxed mix is just the right choice.
Boxed mixes are an especially great choice when you want a flavor that is difficult to achieve at home. Like pineapple. You can go with artificial flavors in your regular cake recipe, but I feel like a box of pineapple cake mix is the easiest option. But that doesn’t mean you can’t jazz it up.
Recipe Development
I first made these tropical cupcakes years ago and they were a bit of a blunder. While they tasted totes delicious, they sunk terribly in the center. So what went wrong? I added too much liquid and the cupcakes just weren’t strong enough to retain their structure.
This time around, I added the box of instant pudding to the cake mix, but I did not add sour cream like I had done previously. It worked perfectly! I ended up with soft, fluffy pineapple cupcakes that had a subtle banana vibe.
Tropical Flavors Galore
There’s a lot going on with these tropical cupcakes, but the great news is that you can customize them however you like. I used pineapple cupcake mix + banana pudding + lemon curd + coconut buttercream.
Use whatever instant pudding mix floats your boat. In the past, I’ve used coconut, but I think vanilla would work great as well. The lemon curd is slightly overpowering, so if lemon isn’t your jam, you can skip that.
Pineapple and Coconut Cupcakes
These tropical cupcakes are incredibly simple to make. Dump everything in a bowl and mix, scraping down the bowl once or twice. Boom. Done. I used coconut milk and coconut oil (melted), but you can use whatever liquid and fat you have on hand.
I made a tiny blunder when I filled my cupcake pans though. Out of habit, I used my cupcake scoop to portion out the batter. This gave me only 20 cupcakes instead of 24. Bad move. I forgot how high boxed mix rises! Make sure you divide the batter evenly among the 24 cupcake cavities. Skip the scoop and just use spoons.
Related Reading: Almond Joy Macarons with Coconut Ganache
Coconut Buttercream Frosting
I love that the coconut flavor comes from coconut cream instead of extract. Flavor extracts are great and all, but they just never compare to the real thing. The coconut cream adds a very mild flavor though. If you want more intensity, add a few drops of this coconut flavor from Lorann Oils.
Normally I add a few tablespoons of milk to get the right consistency in my buttercream. But with this recipe, I just added more coconut cream. The coconut cream is solid, but very soft at room temperature. It was a great way to achieve the right consistency and add more flavor.
Cupcakes… Assemble!
I’m sorry. I can’t help myself, I’m a nerd. Anywho… It’s super simple to core and fill cupcakes without any fancy tools as long as you have an apple corer! I got this trick from Cupcake Jemma and it’s pretty awesome.
Since you’re covering these tropical cupcakes with shredded coconut, you don’t even have to worry about how pretty your piping looks! Just aim to have a decent coverage and it will all get smushed into a nice dome when you roll around in the coconut bath. I love when you don’t have to worry about perfection.
Or you can do pretty piping and only add some decorative coconut on the sides or sprinkled on one half of the cupcake. There are so many ways to make these tropical cupcake look cute! I used an Ateco 888 piping tip.
Enjoy!
Tropical cupcakes are an easy dessert you can make with a doctored boxed mix, store bought lemon curd, and homemade frosting. It’s the best combination of easy and delicious! Serve these at a tropical themed party and they’ll be a hit.
Tropical Cupcakes
Ingredients
Pineapple Cupcakes
- 1 box pineapple supreme cake mix 15.25 oz
- 1 box instant pudding 3.4 oz
- 1 cup coconut milk or water 8 fl oz
- 3 eggs room temperature
- 1/3 cup melted coconut oil 2.5 fl oz
- 1 cup lemon curd optional
Coconut Buttercream
- 16 oz unsalted butter softened
- 32 oz powdered sugar sifted
- Pinch of salt
- 4- 6 oz coconut cream
- Shredded coconut for topping
Instructions
Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350℉ and line your cupcake tins with paper cases. Set aside.
- Dump the cake mix, pudding mix, coconut milk, eggs, and oil into a large bowl. Beat on low until moistened, then beat on medium for 1- 2 minutes until the batter is well combined.
- Divide the batter evenly among the 24 cupcake cases. Bake for 15- 18 minutes or until the tops spring back when poked.
- Allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing to a cooling rack to cool completely. Once cool, make the frosting.
Frosting
- Beat the butter and 2 ounces of the coconut cream in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment for about 5- 10 minutes, scraping down the bowl as needed. The butter should be pale and fluffy.
- Add the powdered sugar in 3 or four additions. After each addition, beat on low until the sugar is mostly absorbed. Then bump the speed up to medium and beat until combined.
- Add the salt and 2 ounces of the coconut cream. Beat on until well combined, scraping the bowl as needed. Taste and add more coconut cream if desired. If the frosting is too thick, mix in a tablespoon of milk or cream or even more coconut cream until you have the right consistency.
Assemble
- Use an apple corer to take out a small chunk of the cupcake. Do not go too far down or the curd will leak out of the bottom. Fill the cavity with lemon curd.
- Pipe a swirl or blob of coconut frosting over the cupcake. Be sure to seal up the lemon curd filling.
- Roll the frosted cupcakes in a bowl of shredded coconut. Be gentle and make sure to coat completely. Or simply sprinkle some shredded coconut on top of the cupcakes.
Notes
- Because of the lemon curd, these cupcakes need to be refrigerated. Take them out 30- 60 minutes before you eat them so they can come to room temperature.
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Colleen
Hi there! I’m Colleen, a novice baker with a passion for learning and improving my bakes… and blunders. On Bakes and Blunders, you can find all sorts of tasty recipes that range in difficulty, but most importantly, I’ll try to explain the reason behind important steps. If you know why a recipe works, you can tweak and adapt it to suit your unique tastes, and you’ll be able to reliably produce some very delicious treats. If you love baking and want to expand and grow your skills, or if you are a casual baker and just need some pointers, my blog is right up your alley! Join me on my baking journey and we’ll learn how to make more impressive recipes together.
2 Comments
Heidi
They were Ah-mazing!!! They lemon curd was the perfect addition to the tropical flare and paired nicely with the Coco Pina flavor. It reminded me of that type of tamale. And it was so moist. Thank you for sharing.
Also, boxed recipes, I can do that baking lol! Do you have a sub for sour cream? I can’t have a lot of dairy
Colleen
Glad you liked them! Hmmm… I’m not really sure what to sub for the sour cream. I would maybe try adding 1/2 cup of coconut milk to add to the tropical flavor, but any non-dairy milk would be fine. And I suggest just a 1/2 cup because it’s not as thick as the sour cream. Can’t guarantee it would work, but the best part about experimenting in the kitchen is that usually even the blunders are delicious, even if they come out looking a bit ugly.