Coconut Cupcakes

photo courtesy of shimelle

One of my favorite desserts is coconut cupcakes! I've always found coconut cupcakes a little tricky. They either turn out too dense or too flavorless. Sometimes it tastes like a sponge with a big scoop of shredded coconut on top!
That's why I made it my business to bring you a great coconut cupcake recipe that actually tastes as good as it sounds. The secret ingredient is....coconut! I use coconut milk and shredded coconut where other recipes use regular milk and coconut extract.
Coconut cupcakes are a great treat for many reasons. It looks like a basic vanilla cupcake and therefore can be used and decorated for all sorts of occasions. This includes holidays such as Halloween, the Fourth of July, and Christmas. They can make for very festive winter cupcakes since shredded coconut resembles snow.  They make great birthday cupcakes, excellent wedding cupcakes, and perfect any-time-you-have-a-craving-for-coconut cupcakes!

Coconut Cupcakes Ingredients:

3 cups cake flour (not self rising)
2 heaping tsp Baking Powder
3 sticks (1.5 cups) salted butter
2 1/4 cups sugar
.5 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup coconut milk
8 large egg whites
1 1/3 cups shredded sweetened coconut
frosting of your choice (I'll cover this later)
toasted coconut for garnishing (optional)
Makes 2 dozen

• Preheat over to 350. Line cupcake pans with paper liners.
• In a bowl mix together flour and baking powder.
• In another bowl beat butter and 2 cups sugar until light and fluffy. With an electric mixer this should be about 3 or 4 minutes.
• Add vanilla. Carefully add one third of the flour mixture while still beating. Then add half of the coconut milk. Then add the second third of the flour mixture, and then add the rest of the coconut milk. Finish by adding the rest of the flour mixture. When it is combined (careful not to overmix!) set aside.
• In a clean bowl, whisk together egg whites and remaining 1/4 cup of sugar. You can do this manually or with an electric mixer. Beat until stiff and glossy peaks begin to form. 
• Gently fold the egg mixture into the butter and flour mixture. Until combined. You might want to do this in 2 parts. Then carefully stir in the shredded coconut. Don't over mix!
• Divide batter in cupcake pans, using about 1/4 cup of batter for each cupcake.
• Bake for 20-25 minute. Rotate pans half way through. The cupcakes are down when they turn golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean from the center. 
• Allow to cool.
• For toasted coconut: I use fresh coconut. It has amazing flavor and really adds a nice touch. This will go on top of the frosting. You can buy coconut meat, raw, or buy the whole coconut and go from there. Use 2 coconuts. Grate the coconut meat. Spread out on baking sheet and place in over preheated to 350. Allow to cook keeping an eye on it! If it's cooking unevenly, rotate the pan. It's done when it's just starting to turn golden brown

As far as frosting goes, this is really a personal choice. Using buttercream frosting is fine! It tastes great with these coconut cupcakes. I, personally, love chocolate and coconut together, so I use chocolate frosting. Some people pair lemon frosting with these cupcakes, and some like boiled frosting with them. You can also pair them with cream cheese frosting. Coconut cupcakes, as I said before, go with nearly everything. So these are the perfect cupcakes for all you coconut lovers!

Enjoy and come back soon for more cupcakes recipes.