MELT IN YOUR MOUTH // COCONUT CUPCAKES

I’ve got a bit of a sweet tooth and I L.O.V.E. coconut so when my roommate sent me this recipe for coconut cake I was ecstatic. The first time I backed this cake I felt that it could have been much more moist and have more coconut flavor, so I have also included my modifications. Cupcakes are a great alternative to cake because they are already serving size and I believe they are much more fun to decorate. Most importantly you don't have to be a skilled baker to pull off delicious cupcakes, they usually don't require as much precision as many other baked goods. This recipe makes about 2 dozen cupcakes. 

 

Ingredients
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
1 cup canned sweetened cream of coconut (you can usually find this in the beverage/mixers aisle, near the bitters or in the world food isle at the grocery store)
4 large eggs, separated
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
(I use 1/2 cups buttermilk and a 1/2 cup coconut milk because I love the coconut flavor. The more buttermilk you use the less coconut you will taste.)
8 oz shredded, sweetened coconut

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 350.
2. Butter and flour cupcake pan or 2 9-inch round cake pans. You can skip this step if you have cupcake holders.
3. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and a 1/2 teaspoon salt.
4. In a larger bowl (preferably attached to an electric mixer), beat the sugar, butter, and cream of coconut until fluffy. Add the egg yolks and vanilla.
5. Gently beat in the dry ingredients and then add the buttermilk (and coconut milk) until just blended.
6. Beat egg whites until they make stiff–but not dry–peaks. Gently fold the eggs into the rest of the batter.
7. Bake until tester poked in the center comes out clean–about 45 minutes.
8. Cool in pans on rack about ten minutes, then remove from pan and let cool completely.
9. When cool, slather with Cream cheese frosting and then sprinkle the shredded coconut on top.
10. Taste one or two and share with friends!

*If you have cake decorating tools and you're feeling fancy, squeeze a little frosting inside of the cupcakes for a yummy surprise. Please note that if you do this then you will need to make more frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 cup white sugar (I prefer confectioner sugar)
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

Directions

1. Beat cream cheese, sugar, salt, and vanilla extract in a medium sized bowl.
2. Beat heavy cream in chilled medium sized bowl (pop it in the freezer for 5-10 minutes).
3. Combine whipped cream and cream cheese frosting
4. Decorate! 

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