The Pina Colada, Puerto Rico's official national cocktail since 1978, is a creamy, fruity Tiki style drink made with fresh pineaple juice, cream of coconut and rum. Coco Lopez, the original cream of coconut, is said to have been the inspiration for our modern day Pina Colada recipe. Developed by Ramon Lopez-Irizarry, a Professor of Agriculture at the University of Puerto Rico, supposedly Coco Lopez was introduced to bars in 1954 along with blenders and a challenge to use the ingredient in signature cocktails. Therein lies the beginnings of the tales of this tropical Tiki style drink.
Originating in Puerto Rico, there's a lot of folks who lay claim to the creation of the Pina Colada, including a story that attributes the very first recipe to the pirate Roberto Cofresí (El Pirata Cofresí) who was said to drink a concoction of rum, pineapple and coconut milk sometime in the early 1800's.
Modern day versions are claimed by: Ramón “Monchito” Marrero Pérez of the Caribe Hilton in San Juan who was said to have blended up a version using local rum, pineapple, condensed milk and coconut cream sometime around the mid 1950's.
Ricardo Garcia, also from the Caribe Hilton, says he created the Pina Colada when he had run out of coconuts for his signature Coco Lopez cocktail, substituted pineapple juice then served his in a real pineapple shell.
Ramón Portas Mingot also lays claim to the Pina Colada while bartending at The Barrachina in 1963.
The Caribe Hilton's original Pina Colada Recipe (ala Pérez) is 2 ounces of white rum, 1 ounce of cream of coconut, 1 ounce of heavy cream, 6 ounces of fresh pineapple juice and 1/2 a cup of crushed ice blended until smooth and garnished with a slice of pineapple and a cherry.
The Barrachina freezes their pineapple juice and coconut cream instead of adding ice then adds the rum.
My love of the Pina Colada has led me to create a number of my own original Pina Colada style recipes and I'll probably end up doing several more in the future. After all, you just can't beat the combination of fresh pineapple, coconut and rum.
Some classic variations on the original Pina Colada include the Chi Chi which is a Pina Colada with vodka replacing the rum, the Amaretto Colada where the rum is replaced with Amaretto, and the Blue Hawaii where vodka is added with the rum and the coconut us replaced with Blue Curacao.
On July 23rd, 1904 a waffle cornucopia aka The Ice Cream Cone was introduced to the world at the St. Louis World’s Fair.
To celebrate I thought it might be fun to make some booze infused ice cream cones to mark the occasion.
The alcohol infused ice cream cone cupcakes below are really easy. I've used just a simple boxed cake mix and packaged frosting and simply added a few "extras" to them - including a nice little shot of booze.
If you're not as lazy as I am, then by all means, go ahead and use your favorite homemade cake and frosting recipes. The whole key to my recipe is the addition of alcohol by permeating the cupcake itself after baking and drizzling on a little of a complimentary liqueur on top of the frosting. Since I am the ultimate in lazy when it comes to cooking, I stick with mixed but I admire those of you who have the time and energy to bake from scratch.
You can even add more booze by mixing some in with the frosting mixture and adding a little more confectioner's sugar to thicken it up if the liquor thins the frosting too much.
The nice thing about infusing the alcohol AFTER the baking process is 1.) None of the alcohol bakes off, making these a true cocktail cupcake and 2.) You don't have to do all the cupcakes in a batch the same flavors.
AND, yes, this method works for regular cupcakes and mini cupcakes as well, in fact, this method works for all cakes.
Place your ice cream cones into the muffin tins and wrapped coiled aluminum around the base to keep them from tipping over while filling and baking.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Prepare your cake mix as instructed on the package then fill the ice cream cups only half way.
Carefully place the cone laden muffin tin into the oven.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until a bamboo skewer comes out clean.
Allow cupcakes to cool.
While cupcakes cool prepare your frosting by mixing in the orange zest.
Once the cupcakes are cool take the bamboo skewer and poke about 10 holes into each cupcake cone, being careful not to poke completely to the bottom of the cone.
Slowly and carefully drizzle the Chambord into the holes. Do not pour in too much or it will soak to the bottom and create a soggy cone.
Pipe the frosting onto your cupcakes, drizzle on a bit more of the Chambord onto the frosting, decorate with some fresh raspberries and cute cake decorations.
MORE IDEAS & TIPS!
Try other flavor combinations like:
Lemon cake with lemon zested frosting and drizzled with Limoncello.
Chocolate cake with chocolate cream cheese frosting and drizzled with a home made chocolate liqueur.
Orange cake with lime zested frosting and drizzled with Cointreau, Orangecello or Grand Marnier.
Add some chocolate chips to the cake batter or toss in some rainbow confetti cake decorations.
You can also combine the fruits and chocolate or try spice cake with banana liqueur and some candied nuts on top.
The possibilities are as endless as the kinds of cakes and liquors that are available. You can even create some inspired by any one of my cocktail recipes here on MartiniDiva.com, just type your chosen flavors or ingredients into the search bar and see what comes up.
July 23rd is National Ice Cream Cone Day and July is National Ice Cream Month.
