Sunday Brunchies and Crunchies: Pineapple Cupcake

2 September 2012

Author's note: The 'Sunday Brunchies and Crunchies' edition of Sunday Brunch explores a single item in WDW. Rather than dedicate a post to one whole restaurant, we'll be taking a quick and critical look at some delicious Disney treats and dining individually.

I hope you're not sick of cupcakes. I know I keep reviewing them, but I could never get tired of them. An explosion in the food world a few years ago, the gourmet cupcake is getting a little out of style these days, but Walt Disney World is still churning them out as new ideas are tried and tested and served. Here at Disney, the cupcake, no matter what the latest trend, will never go out of style for hungry guests. Still, there comes a point with anything in life that too much causes the excitement to wane just a smidge.

Today we'll be taking a bite out of the new Pineapple Coconut Cupcake at Sunshine Seasons at the Land pavilion in Epcot. With all the cupcakes that I've reviewed the past two years, I've finally found one that actually let me down more than impressed me. Unfortunately, there were a lot of expectations going into this cupcake, which probably was my first mistake. Firstly, I was at Sunshine Seasons, probably my favorite and most often reviewed quick service dining location at Disney. Secondly, I was reviewing yet another Disney cupcake, and my taste buds may have been fatigued of cupcakery for the year. Thirdly, I am incredibly biased when it comes to Pineapple desserts since they are my favorite fruit.

With all that out of the way, we take a look at the topic at hand: the Pineapple Coconut Cupcake. Plain and simple as its descriptive name, that's what this cupcake was. No bells and whistles, no gimmicks or Disney decorative magic. The cake part of the dessert was a yellow cake with a moderate flavor of pineapple; the buttercream was simple, and more on the less sweet side which I've come to admire with recent cupcakes. The cupcake was finished with a garnish of fresh pineapple chunks and a coating of toasted coconut. This cupcake had a clean look with just enough color to catch the eye and did nothing more than the core purpose of food: to satisfy my hunger. Overall, the cupcake was fresh and satisfying, though it lacked the Disney magic found in the other cupcakes of the resort.

In all my days reviewing cupcakes, I've been spoiled and have come to expect an exciting filling or interesting flavor combination. Nothing new and exciting with the tried and tested pineapple coconut combination. Though that does not mean to say this cupcake was bad in anyway. It was still a delicious dessert and I did enjoy it. But being in Disney World, I just kept wanting more after having experienced the best cupcakes they've had to offer. For those who just need a pineapple dessert after their Sunshine meal, this does the job. For those looking for a magical Disney cupcake experience, wait until Easter and pray that Disney's Hollywood Studios brings back their version of the Pineapple Coconut Cupcake.