Hummingbird coconut and pineapple cupcakes

Two of my friends celebrated their birthdays this week and I thought wouldn't it be nice if they had some freshly baked Hummingbird coconut and pineapple cupcakes on the day:

The inspiration came from my beloved Hummingbird bakery book (recipe here), but as always I adapted the recipe to suit my needs. I opted for self raising flour instead adding baking powder to plain flour, and a mixture of coconut cream and water worked well as a substitute for coconut milk. I also decided to mix in the pineapple chunks instead of using them to line the paper case.

After 30 minutes, the cupcakes came out of the oven, and I must admit, it took a lot of willpower to not eat them there and then! To decorate, I used a mixture of butter, coconut cream, icing sugar and pineapple juice. The result of which was a thick creamy frosting, which went perfectly with the tropical flavours of the cupcake.

Without a palette knife or piping bag, the icing wasn't as neat as I'd have liked, but luckily the cupcakes were delicious and they were a big hit with the birthday girl.

Even though I always adapt them, Hummingbird recipes never fail to impress and I'll definitely be doing more baking in the future. I'd love to improve my decorating skills though, so please do let me know if you have any tips on how to achieve the perfect icing pattern.

Are you a fan of Hummingbird cupcakes? What's your favourite flavour combination?