PINA COLADA MINI CAKES

By idocakes

Ingredients

• 1 large can (15 oz.) crushed pineapple packed in juice
• 1 can (15 oz.) cream of coconut (found with drink mixers)
• 1 tiny bottle rum extract (flavoring)
• Baker's Joy flour/oil spray for dusting the pans
• 2 boxes golden butter cake mix (NO pudding added)
• 1/2 cup flour (only for high altitude)
• 2 boxes (3.4 oz ea.) instant vanilla pudding mix
• 2/3 cup canola oil
• 8 large eggs
• 2 cups heavy cream (for whipping)
• Prepared buttercream frosting (recipe on Thursday)
• 2 cup unsweetened flaked coconut (for a toasted garnish)
• 1 bag dried pineapple chunks, each cut in half lengthwise
• 2/3 cup powdered sugar

Details

Adapted from amazingcakesbyvanessa.blogspot.com

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and get out two mini cheesecake pans with removable bottoms (to bake 24 at a time) and the Baker's Joy. Put a gallon Ziploc bag into a medium bowl with the bag sides folded over in an open cuff, and have a pair of scissors handy.

Drain out about 1/2 cup of the pineapple juice into a small bowl for the glaze, and dump the rest of the pineapple and juice into your mixing bowl. Then both shake and stir the cream of coconut. Put 1 cup into the glaze bowl and the rest into the mixing bowl. Put a little rum extract into the glaze and the rest into the mixing bowl (I wanted the rum to bake out as much as possible).

Into the mixing bowl dump the two cake mixes, a 1/2 cup of flour if you are at a high altitude, the pudding mix, oil, and eggs. Mix on low for 30 seconds, stop and scrape to make sure it's all mixed together, then mix for another 1 1/2 minutes on medium speed. Stop the mixer, scrape the bowl thoroughly, and pour the batter into the open Ziploc bag. Zip the bag closed.

Spray each little well of the pans with the Baker's Joy, then snip 1/2 inch off one corner of the Ziploc bag full of batter. Carefully pour each mini cup about 1/2 full of batter, wiping up any drips. Put the Ziploc bag back into the medium bowl it was sitting in earlier, this time holding the cut tip up so the batter doesn't run out. Bake the mini cakes for 14 minutes (or so) until a toothpick comes out fairly clean. Remove from oven and let sit on cooling racks for about 10 minutes, then pop cakes out and remove little bottoms before sitting cakes on racks to completely cool. Wash the pans and bottoms then dry and spray with Baker's Joy again. Repeat process again to make 48 cakes. If you have extra batter left over you can either put it into a small pan and bake for eating later or just throw it out.

When all 48 cakes are cool, put the whipping cream into the mixing bowl and beat until soft peaks form, add powdered sugar and mix a bit longer, then fold in the reserved pineapple juice, coconut milk, and rum extract. Dip each cake into this glaze and set back on racks (they will drip off the excess). When glaze is firm, then put a dot of buttercream on each glass coaster, then put a cake on the frosting. These cakes were completely covered with stars of buttercream, then I garnished them with toasted coconut and a little chunk of dried pineapple. I finished the presentation with a little tag that told what flavor the cake was slid under the edge of the frosting on the corner of the coaster. Put into a couple of huge, flat boxes with lids and refrigerate until ready to serve.