Pineapple-Dried Apricot Cupcakes

I really don't bake cupcakes very often.  I actually think one of the reasons why I don't like making them is because I have these cheap cupcake liners and old free muffin pans so the liners don't really fit when I put the batter in.

Pineapple cupcakes!

Yeah they aren't the prettiest, but I was really happy about these...BECAUSE I made the entire recipe up.  I was also happy about these cupcakes 'cause I didn't have any milk on hand so I thought pineapple puree would be a great substitute. Although I didn't measure things exactly, I have approximates, so the recipe will be at the end of this post.  Haha, I wonder if anyone would actually try it...

Creaming butter and sugars

And I think I've decided on my new favorite flavor of cupcakes, yup, pineapple.  I love the brightness and the sweetness it adds to cake.  Mmmm, mmm good! I used dark brown sugar because the pineapples are so sweet and acidic. I've been eating one cupcake every morning for breakfast :P Shh, don't tell my parents...or doctor...

Dried apricots!

As I was making these cupcakes, I was reminded of these dried apricots I had at the farmer's market.  They were great! They were just pure dried apricots with nothing added to them, had such a great flavor. But I didn't buy them because I had some store bought ones at home.

Ready to go in the oven!

Hmm, I don't really know what to talk about...My days have been pretty empty.  I've been reading a bit more of "On Food and Cooking" book.  I'm learning so much just from reading a couple pages.  It's like a dictionary and those books that go from A-Z with a bunch of information....oh my gosh, I don't know what it's called. Yup, I'm stupid.

And yeah, I'm just gonna post the rest of the pictures below..

Done!

Hey, it actually looks like a cupcake on the inside!

Yeah, not bad for a recipe straight out of my butt. Please let me know if there are any errors or things you need clarified. Thanks for stopping by!

Pineapple Dried Apricot Cupcakes
1 ⅓ cup all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

2 pinches of salt

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature

¼ cup granulated sugar

½ cup dark brown sugar

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 Tbsp spiced rum

½ cup pineapple puree [can be substituted with crushed pineapple]

½ cup dried apricots, diced

Pineapple puree:

-Cut ⅓ of a fresh pineapple into chunks. Cook over medium heat with 2 Tbsp brown sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon, until fragrant and softened.  Blend until smooth.

Cupcakes:

-Preheat oven to 350. 

-Line a regular12 cupcake/muffin tin with liners or spray with non-stick spray.

-Whisk flour, baking powder and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside

-Beat butter and both sugars for 2-3 minutes on medium high speed until well combined.  Scrape down bowl.

-Add eggs one at a time until combined. Add vanilla and spiced rum. Beat on medium speed for about 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Scrape down bowl.

-Add half of the flour mixture. Blend on low speed until just combined. Add half of pineapple puree. Blend on low. Repeat. Scrape down bowl.

-Add dried apricot and blend until combined.

-Fill cupcake tin until they are 2/3 full. Bake in the middle rack for 18-20 minutes until a cake tester/toothpick comes out clean. Let cool and enjoy!