Strawberry-Pineapple Cupcakes: An Experiment

My brain is running all the time trying to come up with not only new dinners to make, but new flavors of treats to make. I was walking through the veggie and fruit aisles at the grocery store the other day and saw some pineapple chunks. I then thought of the strawberries that I had in the freezer. Hmmm, could that be good?

So, I tried it!

Ultimately, it was a very dense cake as you can see in the pictures below. Because it was so dense, it took a while to cook and the edges got a little crispy. Brian liked that about them, but I prefer light and fluffiness. So, if I do these again, definitely lower and slower.

Then there's the icing. I knew with the flavors I was doing that I didn't want a really thick, heavy icing. I knew I wanted to mix in some whipped topping. Then once I saw how dense the cupcakes were, I knew the whipped topping was the way to go. I made a pineapple buttercream and mixed in some whipped topping. My final thoughts on the frosting...less butter, actual pineapple pieces, and this isn't a frosting...this is a filling.

Well, ok, I have a filling then...but I don't want a big heavy frosting. Fine. I'll make a hole and fill them and puff it out of the top of the cupcake just enough that it won't run. Sounds good. Tasted good. Some changes will be made, but this recipe is a keeper! Pics below!