Bubbly*****

happ17

Okay, back to cupcakes. I don't know what flavors you're going for, but I found a few "tropical" cupcake recipes for you:
 

Coconut Orange Cupcakes Recipe

1 cup Sugar

2/3 cups Vegetable oil
2 Eggs
1 cup orange Juice
3 cups All-Purpose Flour
1 TBSP Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 can (11 ounces) Mandarin Oranges, drained
1 cup White chips
TOPPING:
1 cup Flaked Coconut
1/3 cup Sugar
2 TBSP butter, melted

In a mixing bowl, combine the sugar, oil, eggs and orange juice. Mix well.

Combine the dry ingredients and stir into orange juice mixture just until moistened.

Fold in oranges and chips

Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two thirds full.

Combine topping ingredients. Sprinkle over cupcakes

Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Preheat oven to 160 degrees C. Line a 12 cupcake pan with cupcake papers.

In a med-sized bowl, beat eggs lightly, then add butter and sugea, mix until light and fluffy.

 

Tropical Spice Cupcakes

• 2 1/2 cups cake flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon Grand Marnier
• 1 large orange, juice and zest of, for use in the recipe
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup coconut

Frosting

• 2 tablespoons orange juice, from the freshly juiced oranges (see above ingredients)
• 2 tablespoons coconut milk
• 1/2 teaspoon Grand Marnier
• 2 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 3 1/2-4 cups confectioners' sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Place 18 cupcake liners in muffin tins

In a medium bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Whisk the mixture lightly until there are no clumps, and the spices are mixed throughout. Set aside.

Cream the butter with a mixer for a few minutes until soft and fluffy.Add the sugars and eggs to the butter, and beat until light in color and fluffy in texture (about 5 minutes)

 

 

1. In a medium bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Whisk the mixture lightly until there are no clumps, and the spices are mixed throughout. Set aside.
2. Cream the butter with a mixer for a few minutes until soft and fluffy.

3. Add the sugars and eggs to the butter, and beat until light in color and fluffy in texture (about 5 minutes).

4. Next, add the Grand Marnier and beat until incorporated.

5. Add 1/4 cup juice from the freshly squeezed orange and 1/3 of the flour mixture, and beat until incorporated, scraping the batter down into the bowl as necessary. Add the coconut milk and 1/2 the remaining flour mixture, and beat until blended. Add the buttermilk and the rest of the flour mixture and again beat until incorporated, scraping the bowl as necessary

6. Measure 2 - 3 tbsp orange zest from the freshly zested orange, and add to the mixture; also add the coconut and mix until blended.

7. 9

   Fill the cupcake liners with one scoop of batter each (filling the liners about 3/4 full).

8. 10

   Bake 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean.

9. 11

   Remove from the oven and let rest in the muffin pan for 15 minutes.

10. 12

    Remove the cupcakes from the muffin tin, and place on a rack to cool thoroughly before frosting.

11. 13

    Make frosting: Beat the cream cheese in a medium bowl until creamy.

12. 14

    Measure 2 tbsp juice from the freshly squeezed orange and add to the cream cheese.

13. 15

    Measure 1 cup of confectioner's sugar and add to the cream cheese mixture. Beat until the ingredients are smooth.

14. 16

    Add the coconut milk, the Grand Marnier, and another cup of confectioner's sugar. Beat until smooth.

15. 17

    Add another cup of confectioner's sugar and beat until smooth.

16. 18

    Add 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar and beat until smooth.

17. 19

    At this point, check the consistency. If it is firm enough to spread on the cupcake, it's finished. Add a little more confectioner's sugar (a few tablespoons at a time) if it needs to be firmer.

18. 20

    Spread the frosting on the cooled cupcakes.

 

Tropical Luau Cupcakes

Ingredients:

2

cans (8 ounces each) crushed pineapple in juice

1

package (18-1/4 ounces) yellow cake mix without pudding in the mix

1

package (4-serving size) banana cream instant pudding and pie filling mix

4

eggs

1/3

cup vegetable oil

1/4

teaspoon ground nutmeg

1

container (12 ounces) whipped vanilla frosting

3/4

cup flaked coconut, toasted*

3

to 4 medium kiwi

30

(2-1/2-inch) pretzel sticks

Preparation:

1.

Preheat oven to 350?F. Line 30 standard (2-1/2-inch) muffin cups with paper baking cups. Drain pineapple, reserving juice. Set pineapple aside.

2.

Beat reserved pineapple juice, cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, oil and nutmeg in large bowl with electric mixer at low speed 1 minute or until blended. Increase speed to medium; beat 1 to 2 minutes or until smooth. Fold in pineapple. Fill muffin cups two-thirds full.

3.

Bake 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted into centers comes out clean. Cool cupcakes in pans on wire rack 5 minutes. Remove from pans; cool completely on wire racks.

4.

Frost tops of cupcakes with frosting; sprinkle with coconut. For palm trees,* peel kiwi and cut into 1/8-inch-thick slices. Create palm fronds by cutting each slice at 3/8-inch intervals, cutting from outside edge toward center. (Leave about 3/4- to 1-inch circle uncut in center of each slice). For palm tree trunk, push pretzel stick into, but not through, center of each kiwi slice. Push other end of pretzel into top of each cupcake.

 

 

 

 Orr, you can take the eady way out, which is what I would do. Cake mix. Your can probably throw in some food coloring or mango or pineapple chunks. Just use pineapple juice instead of water.

 

you can put a slice of pineapple to the bottom of each cupcake lining to make it a pineapple right-side up sake

 

For a decorating idea, this is what I would do.  

 I'd dye some frosting in a can a Tannish color. Spread the icing on the cupsake. Now, dip the rim of the capake (anout half an inch or an inch orso) on some white frosting. Put am opened cocktail umbrella into the middle of the cale--voila! Get it?a beach island surrounded by water, with an umprlla for shade.

You can also even put a few swedish "sharks" in the water surronded the island.

Kapalua

lord, Happ...I don't think I can open your posts anymore! 

 

and sfl 

BubblyToes

Holy crap. 

I love the frosting idea.  I think I'm going to go the cake mix route, but make my own frosting.  

It's sick how excited I am about this.

happ17

Dude, I don't mess around when it comes to food and parties. I go all-out crazy, it's obscene.

I realized how tired I was last night. I meant color the frosting the same color as sand, put on cupcake, and then dip the rim/edges of the cupcake into blue crystal sugar (they sell the big cans/jars of it in Michael's and stuff.

Ooh you can even get pre-made rolled fondant and cut them into little rectangles so they look like beach towels under the umbrellas.

Um...I need to stop now.