Ye olde piratey treat

In case you live under a rock, Friday was International Talk Like a Pirate Day. It comes around every September 19 and is a jolly good time for all.

It was also my office's second annual Pirate Day potluck. We all bring in a pirate themed treat and yell "Arrgh!" and such at one another. What fun!

This year I brought Caribbean Cupcakes, which I called Bahama Biscuits so as to disguise their identity from my cupcake-fanatic coworker.

For my Caribbean Cupcakes, I used a banana cupcake recipe and topped them with cream cheese frosting and sweetened coconut. The cake was dense and flavorful, similar to banana bread, and the frosting was easy and delicious. They were a hit with the scallywags aboard t'e ship ... err ... my co-workers.



Banana Cupcakes
Source: Cake Batter & Crumbs
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 cups self-rising flour
4 eggs
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 cup (about 2 large mashed ripe bananas)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 C). Place 18 paper baking cups in muffin pans. Cream together the butter and sugar until it is pale and fluffy. Sift together the flour and nutmeg. Lightly beat the eggs into a bowl. Slowly add part of the flour mixture to the sugar and butter and then alternate with the eggs until all of the flour and eggs are incorporated. Fold in the mashed bananas. Spoon the batter into the cupcake liners and bake for 20 minutes.

Cream cheese frosting
Source: Joy of Cooking as seen on Slashfood, posted by Sarah J. Gim
8 ounces cream cheese, cold from the fridge or softened at room temperature
5 tablespoons butter, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted (I found this to be a little too sweet and will probably reduce the sugar next time.)

Beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla until combined. Gradually add powdered sugar and beat to combine.


Recently, I asked you for suggestions on how to transport my cupcakes without buying a cupcake carrier. Here's my solution:


I used a Sterilite Ultra·Seal 16.0 cup container. It held 12 regular-size cupcakes and didn't squish a single one!