Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare a few cupcakes pans by placing the liners for approximately 24-30 cupcakes.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the softened butter and sugar.
Add in the egg whites, oil, baking powder, salt, rum flavoring and coconut milk. Combine well.
Add the flour and mix thoroughly. Stop the mixer, scrape the sides and mix again.
Fill each cupcake liner with enough batter to fill approximately ⅔ full.
Bake in preheated oven for 14-16 minutes or until slightly browned. Allow to cool completely before decorating.
Frosting
To make the frosting, combine the softened butter and powdered sugar until mostly combined in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add in the salt and coconut milk.
Beat until smooth - scraping the sides frequently and adding additional milk only if needed to bring the frosting together.
Transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip.
To toast the coconut, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread the coconut on a parchment lined baking sheet (for easy cleanup) and bake for about 5-10 minutes or just until browned. Watch closely as they can go from toasty to burned very quickly. Remove from the oven and allow to cool before stirring and sprinkling on cupcakes.
To decorate the cupcakes, gently pipe a spiral cone shape of frosting on each cupcake. Sprinkle with some toasted coconut, insert a wedge of fresh pineapple and top with a cherry.
Notes
Substitutes - We used fresh pineapple but canned could be used as well. We used maraschino cherries, but fresh could be used if desired. Also, we used sweetened flake coconut but any other varieties would work as well. Coconut - Coconut milk is used in this recipe, which tends to separate. Shake well and/or stir before measuring. Coconut milk could be substituted with regular milk if desired. Rum - We used rum flavoring (available at most groceries stores in the baking aisle), but you could use regular rum. Also, feel free to add additional rum to the frosting if you want an extra boozy kick! Garnish - The excess juice from the cherry and pineapple will begin to drip down the cupcakes - they are best served freshly decorated. Storage - Cupcakes are best served freshly decorated - if storing, remove or do not decorate with the pineapple or cherry until just prior to serving. Cupcakes can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days in the fridge or frozen for 3 months.