Coconut Cupcakes

My sister got married a week ago today. I was lucky enough to have her let me make a lot of her reception goodies. I made upwards of 400 cupcakes, a mixture of coconut and chocolate cupcakes. In addition to that, I made about 150 brownies. While that can sound (and indeed the required ingredients pictured below make it look) overwhelming, I was actually excited about it and enjoyed the process. Maybe one day I can make cupcakes for people for real. 

The receptions were truly beautiful and everything went very well as far as I could tell.

In addition to my baked goods, there were cream puffs, Brazilian pudding cups, M&Ms, oreo balls, and cake balls. 

And now to the Coconut Cupcakes. I think these were by far the favorite. Every one raved about these. I made a trial run a few weeks before and got rave reviews then too. Family, coworkers, friends, and people I have never met before told me how much they loved these. They were referred to as "crack cupcakes" by more than one person.

Here are a couple pictures from the trial run. Complete with halloween cupcake wrappers. 

Make these cupcakes and make them soon. Everyone will love and thank you.

Recipe:
Yield: about 75 mini cupcakes (I have yet to make them normal size - mini ones are so much better in my opinion! I'm guessing you would get around 20-25 normal sized cupcakes.)

Cupcakes:

2 1/4 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter, at room temperature

1/4 cup coconut oil, melted

1 1/2 cups sugar

4 egg whites

1 tsp coconut extract

1 1/4 cups canned coconut milk

1 cup shredded, sweetened coconut

Frosting:

10 oz cream cheese

6 tbsp butter, at room temperature

3 1/4 cups powdered sugar

4 tsp coconut extract

Shredded Coconut for toasting and topping (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place cupcake liners in cupcake pan.

To make the cupcakes:

In a medium bowl combine the flour, powder, and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl, combine the butter, coconut oil, and sugar and mix until light and fluffy. By hand or low speed on a mixer, add 1/4 cup of coconut milk and coconut extract. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture followed by 1/2 cup of coconut milk, add another 1/3 of the flour mixture, then the rest of the coconut milk, and then the rest of the flour mixture. Mix until well combined, but do not overmix.

Put all of the egg whites in a clean bowl and whip until soft peaks (the eggs don't quite hold their form when the beater is mixed) form. Fold half of the egg whites into the batter. When the first half is blended in, add the second half and gently fold in until well mixed. Fold in the shredded coconut. 

Pour the batter into the prepared cupcake cups and bake for 10-12 minutes for mini cupcakes, 20-22 minutes for normal sized cupcakes. 

To make the frosting:

Combine the cream cheese and butter in a bowl and beat together until smooth until light and fluffy. Add in the cream cheese 1/2 cup at a time. Add the coconut extract and mix until well combined. 

Try not to eat all the frosting before frosting your cupcakes and enjoy!

Toast the coconut on a frying pan on low on the stove until it lightly browns. Be careful because it can burn very quickly so don't walk away while it is toasting (I speak from looooots of experience here, trust me). Sprinkle on top of frosted cupcakes. 

Source: adapted from Annie's Eats and Williams Sonoma Essentials of Baking