Tasty Tuesday: Coconut Cupcakes..mon amour

Baking is slowly but surely beginning to grow on me. Lord knows that a Duncan Hines cake mix would suffice at times but in the need for improving the baking skills I rise to the challenge. As time has passed, I’ve learned that a person either cooks or they bake. It’s that simple.

You either like the precision of baking or the open recipes and free flowing way of whipping something together out of ingredients in your refridge. I’m more of the latter but like how baking fills an entire day if you’re stuck indoors.

These baked lovelies were put together for a wine night with a bunch of friends and went over extremely well. The cake is loaded with coconut but has just a small bit of almond extract that is delicate and will turn the heads of anyone nipping into one.

So from my kitchen to yours (more like from my lady Ina’s kitchen to yours) here’s a lovely recipe that is geared up for all of the fans of coconut. Enjoy!



Coconut Cupcakes
Batter ingredios
3/4lb unsalted butter at room temperature
2c sugar
5 extra large eggs at room temperature
1 ½tsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/2tsp pure almond extract
3c all purpose flour
1tsp baking powder
1/2tsp baking soda
1/2tsp salt
1c buttermilk
14oz sweetened, shredded coconut

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy about 5 minutes. With the mixer running on low, add the ggs one at a time. Scraping down the bowl after each addition. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and mix well.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In three parts, alternately add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the batter, beginning and ending with the dry. Mix until just combined. Fold in 7 oz of coconut. Line a muffin pan with paper liners. Fill each cup to the top with batter. Bake for 25-35 minutes until the tops are brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Remove to a baking rack and cool completely. Frost with the cream cheese icing and sprinkle with the remaining coconut.

Cream Cheese Icing
Ingredios
1lb cream cheese at room temperature
3/4lb unsalted butter at room temperature
1tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2tsp pure almond extract
1 1/2lb confectioners sugar sifted

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, blend together the cream cheese, butter and vanilla and almond extracts. Add the confectioners’ sugar and mix until smooth.

Voila!