Pineapple Pull Apart Cupcake Cake Recipes

Steps:

• For the cupcakes: Line two 12-cup muffin pans with cupcake liners. Prepare the cupcakes according to the package directions. Transfer to cooling racks and cool completely.
• In a clean mixer bowl, combine 1 1/2 tubs of the frosting and about 1/4 teaspoon blue food coloring. Beat until smooth and no streaks remain, adding more color if needed to make a light blue frosting.
• Dollop a tiny bit of blue frosting on the bottom of the liner of one of the cupcakes (this will help anchor it to the serving tray), then dollop a generous amount on top of the cupcake. Anchor the cupcake to a serving tray large enough to hold all 24 cupcakes. Repeat with the remaining cupcakes, arranging them in a 4-by-6 cupcake grid with the edges touching.
• Using an offset spatula, smooth the blue frosting across the tops of the cupcakes, adding more as necessary, so it appears as 1 layer and the individual cupcakes are no longer visible. Smooth the remaining blue frosting on the sides to cover the cupcakes but not the liners.
• Put the remaining 1 1/2 tubs white frosting in a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip. Pipe the outline of a rectangle in white (about 5 by 7 inches) closer to one short edge of the cupcake grid to make the pool. Pipe around the outline of the rectangle all the way to the edges of the cupcake grid with white, leaving the inside of the pool blue. Smooth the white frosting with an offset spatula.
• For the decorations: Arrange a row of blue candy-coated chocolates on the white frosting around the perimeter of the pool, then arrange another row of blue candy-coated chocolates around the outer perimeter of the cupcake grid. Fill in between the 2 blue rows with rows of white candy-coated chocolates to make the pool deck. Chill the cake 30 minutes to set the frosting inside the pool.
• Meanwhile, bring 1/2 cup water to a boil in a small saucepan. Stir in the blue gelatin until dissolved. Combine a mixture of water and ice in a measuring cup to make 1/2 cup. Stir into the dissolved gelatin until the ice melts. Chill the gelatin mixture while the cake chills. After 30 minutes, pour the gelatin into the pool. Chill until completely set, about 2 hours.
• Cut 2 strips of sour candy belt, each slightly larger than a graham bear, to make beach towels. Lay 1 bear on each towel and arrange them to relax by the pool. Add a drink umbrella over each to shade them from the sun.
• Cut the candy necklaces open where they tie to make 2 long strips. Cut 2 strips the same size as the length of the pool and arrange them over the gelatin for lanes. Gently pull out and discard the strings, keeping the candies in straight lines. Arrange 3 bears around a jawbreaker in the pool to play a game of volleyball. Stick a bear in each gummy ring candy for floaties and add to the pool.
• Cut the chocolate chew into 4 pieces crosswise to make legs for the diving board. Cut a 1 1/2-inch piece from the white taffy and attach it to the legs to make a diving board. Set at the deep end of the pool and press a bear at the end, ready to dive in.
• Cut the green taffy into a rectangle a little larger than a bear. With the back of a paring knife, score lines in the taffy to resemble the puffy parts of a blow-up raft. Stick a bear on the raft and add him to the pool. Stick the remaining bears in the pool to hang out.

Steps:

• Move an oven rack into the middle of the oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Spray 24 muffin cups with cooking spray.
• Line a work surface with waxed paper.
• Spoon 1 teaspoon melted butter into the bottom of each sprayed muffin cup.
• Spoon 1 tablespoon brown sugar in each muffin cup.
• Press a maraschino cherry into the center of the brown sugar in each muffin cup.
• Spoon a heaping tablespoon of crushed pineapple over the cherry and compact it with the back of a spoon into an even layer.
• Mix pineapple cake mix, eggs, pineapple juice, and vegetable oil in a large bowl with electric mixer on low speed until moistened, about 30 seconds. Turn mixer speed to medium and mix for 2 minutes.
• Pour pineapple cake batter into the muffin cups, filling them to the top; do not overfill.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean, about 20 minutes.
• Allow cupcakes to cool at least 5 minutes before inverting muffin cups onto the waxed paper to release. Serve with pineapple and cherry sides up. Sprinkle cupcakes lightly with confectioners' sugar.

Steps:

• Color about 2 cups buttercream yellow. Color about 2 cups buttercream orange. Color about 2 cups buttercream turquoise. Transfer each color as well as the remaining 4 cups white buttercream to pastry bags fitted with large plain round tips.
• Arrange a 4-by-6 rectangle of cupcakes. Cover all the cupcakes with about half the white buttercream and spread to cover. Chill the cupcakes until the frosting is firm, about 15 minutes. Starting at one of the top corners the rectangle, pipe horizontal lines in different colors and thicknesses, keeping the lines as straight as possible. Reserve about a quarter of each frosting to decorate the top.
• Use a bench scraper (a flat and rectangular metal baking tool) to flatten and smooth the buttercream: With a gentle amount of pressure, drag the bench scraper along the buttercream in the same direction as the stripes, making sure to clean it after each swipe. Pipe an orange pair of flip flops on the blanket and make the strap with sour belts. Pipe a white outline of sunglasses and fill in the lens with blue. Pipe a white sunscreen bottle on the blanket. Decorate the sunscreen bottle as desired.

Steps:

• Reserve about 1 cup white buttercream and transfer to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip. Color about 2 cups buttercream dark tan/light brown (for the cone) using ivory food coloring with a few drops of brown. Color about 3 1/2 cups buttercream a medium pink (for the ice cream) using red food coloring.
• Assemble the ice cream cone: Arrange 8 cupcakes as follows to make the cone: one row of 3, two rows of 2 and 1 cupcake at the bottom. Use an ice cream scoop or large spoon to dollop about 1/4 cup of the tan/brown frosting on each cupcake and smooth over the top and sides of the cupcakes (but not the liners) to make a cone shape, smoothing to a point at the bottom. With the back of a butter knife, drag through the buttercream in a crosshatch pattern to resemble the lines on an ice cream cone.
• Wash and dry the ice cream scoop and offset spatula. Arrange 15 cupcakes above the cone to make a scoop of ice cream with a flat-ish bottom and a domed top. Use the ice cream scoop or large spoon to dollop about 1/4 cup of the pink frosting on each of the 15 cupcakes and spread with the offset spatula, making swirls in the frosting so it resembles a scoop of ice cream.
• Pipe a freeform pattern of white buttercream stars on the top of the scoop to resemble whipped cream. Place a large red gumdrop on the top cupcake for the cherry. Sprinkle the white buttercream with multi-colored sprinkles.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 24 regular-size muffin cups with cooking spray.
• Cut each pineapple slice into 4 pieces; set aside. In large bowl, beat cake mix, oil, eggs and reserved pineapple juice with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally.
• In small bowl, stir together melted butter and brown sugar. Spoon 1 1/2 teaspoons butter mixture into each muffin cup. Top each with 2 pineapple pieces. Place cherry half, cut side up, in center of pineapple pieces. Spoon 1/4 cup batter into each cup.
• Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes. Run knife around edge of cupcakes to loosen; invert onto cookie sheet. Serve warm.