Tuxedo Peeps and Coconut Rum Cupcakes

Far be it from me to let a holiday go by without celebrating it with food. I already have several goodies in the freezer ready to go for next Sunday but that's no excuse to not start the party early. When I spotted this tutorial for tuxedo Peeps I knew they'd be the perfect topper for my Easter cupcakes.

I don't usually go for silly decorations like this that have nothing to do with the flavor of the cupcake and need to be removed before one can dig in to the cake, but this was sort of a fun way to spruce up some traditional Easter treats. Just time consuming, which I wasn't in the mood for when I would have rather been watching more of my Danish crime thriller. If I had kids I probably would have enjoyed the process more. Still, I think the little guys turned out to be pretty cute.


I was craving something simple so I worked with a basic white cake recipe and added hints of coconut flavor and a dash of rum to the batter. My original plan was to fill it with lemon curd but the jar I had in the cupboard had expired so I scrapped that and went with a fig jam filling instead. The frosting was another simple one: cream cheese with shredded coconut sprinkled on top.

I don't have fancy coconut flavorings or coconut rum so I once again used a random ingredient from my fridge to make up for that. I had a coupon for a free bottle of Coffee-Mate so I've got a giant bottle of Coconut Creme-flavored creamer. I have to say, it did a wonderful job of imbuing the cake with a coconut flavor and the rum is definitely present but in a subtle way.

Coconut Rum Cupcakes
Recipe adapted from 125 Best Cupcake Recipes by Julie Hasson

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
2 eggs
2 tbsp coconut rum (I used regular spiced rum)
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup Coconut Creme Coffee-Mate (or substitute 1/3 cup milk)
1/3 cup milk

1) Preheat oven to 350 F. Line cupcake pan with 12 paper liners.
2) In a small bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, and salt.
3) In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, butter, eggs, rum, and vanilla until smooth.
4) Combine Coffee-Mate and milk.
5) Alternately whisk flour mixture and milk mixture into sugar mixture, making three additions of flour mixture and two of milk, beating just until smooth.
6) Spoon batter into prepared pan and bake in preheated oven 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and tops of cupcakes spring back when lightly touched. Let cool in pan on rack 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely on rack.
7) Using the cone method, fill with your favorite fruit jam.

Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting
Recipe adapted from 125 Best Cupcake Recipes by Julie Hasson

1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 to 2 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar (I only needed 2 cups but the recipe called for 2 1/4)
1/3 cup sweetened shredded coconut

In a bowl, using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat together cream cheese and butter until creamy. With mixer on low speed, beat in confectioners' sugar 1/2 cup at a time until desired consistency is reached. Increase speed to medium-high, beating until light and fluffy. Pipe frosting onto cupcakes and sprinkle shredded coconut on top.