Hawaiian Cupcakes

I made these for a Hawaiian luau at work and I wanted them to be coconut flavored and have a flower on top that sort of resembled a Hawaiian flower. I was originally going to make frangipani flowers but I didn't have the right fondant cutters to do it so I just used what I had.

They tasted pretty good but I thought they were a little dry, my co-workers disagreed saying that they were "heavy" but not dry. I opted not to do coconut in the frosting because I wanted the frosting to look smooth.



Coconut Cupcakes
(from Simply Recipes)

• 3/4 cup of unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 1/4 cup of sugar
• 3 eggs, room temperature
• 1 cup of canned coconut milk
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups of flour
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1/2 cup of sweetened desiccated coconut

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Cream the butter until light and fluffy. Add sugar and cream till light and fluffy again, scraping down the sides halfway through to ensure even mixing.

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating for 30 seconds each to ensure mixing. Be sure to scrape down the sides after each egg to ensure even mixing.

Combine the flour, salt, and baking powder in one bowl. In another add 1 cup of a well shaken can of coconut milk and a teaspoon of vanilla. Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients and mix, then add 1/2 of the wet ingredients. Continue alternating with the wet and dry mixtures, ending with the dry. Stop mixing once just as the ingredients become incorporated; do not overbeat.

Fold in the coconut. Scoop into cupcake papers about one half to three-quarters of the way full. Bake for 18-22 minutes, rotating the pan after the first 15 to ensure even baking. Be sure to check with a toothpick to see if the cupcakes are done. If the toothpick comes out of the cupcake clean, then they're ready. Allow the cupcakes to cool for a minute or two in the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

I think these were definitely the prettiest cupcakes that I have ever made but they were very time consuming.

Until next time...

-amanda