My Tidy Kitchen

Coconut Cupcakes

1st February, 2010 - Posted by Emily - Comments

Today is my dad’s birthday (Happy Birthday, Dad, if you’re reading this!!) so here’s a perfect birthday dessert recipe I think he would like. Here’s a picture of my dad and me at our family birthday celebration. He’d probably eat one of these cupcakes for breakfast the next day, justifying it with his favorite catch phrase, “It’s kinda like a roll.”

According to her book, this was one of the most famous menu items at Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa store. To impress your friends, pipe the frosting on in a circular motion using a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip. Note: I did cut this recipe in half to make 10 cupcakes, but I’ve included the original recipe below.

Coconut Cupcakes
from the Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, makes about 20 cupcakes

3/4 lb butter at room temperature
2 cups sugar
5 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
14 oz sweetened, shredded coconut
Cream Cheese icing (see below)

Heat oven to 325. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy (about 5 minutes) then add the eggs one at a time. Scrape the bowl frequently. Add the almond and vanilla extract. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking soda and powder, and salt. In 3 additions, alternately add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the batter. Mix until just combined (you don’t want to overbeat cake batter!). Fold in the coconut.

Line a muffin pan with liners and fill each cup with the batter (an ice cream scoop works will for this). Bake 25-35 minutes until light golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Cool completely on a baking rack. Make the icing.

Cream Cheese Icing
1 pound cream cheese (room temperature)
3/4 pound butter (room temperature)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/2 pounds powdered sugar (sifted)

Beat the first 4 ingredients together, then beat in the sugar and mix until smooth. Frost the cupcakes and top with additional coconut.