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.”

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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.

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Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes

15th June, 2009 - Posted by Emily - Comments

Consider yourself warned – the next few posts just might be recipes all about strawberries! I am currently obsessed with strawberries and I’m dying for them to be ready at our local apple orchard where you can pick your own. For now I have to settle for the ones from the grocery store. Last Friday, John and I went over to my cousin Roxanne and her husband Dan’s house and I volunteered to bring dessert. Dan loves dessert. I thought these cupcakes would be the perfect thing to bring. They turned out really well! We thought the frosting tasted a lot like strawberry ice cream.

I added some chopped strawberries to the frosting, which changed the texture of the frosting. If you do add chopped strawberries, make sure you dry them well and you will probably need to add extra powdered sugar to stiffen up the frosting. As you will see, my frosting looks more runny than the picture with the original recipe. It still tasted great though.

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Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes
From Food & Wine Magazine

Cupcakes
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoons salt
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 tablespoons melted butter
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup milk

Frosting
6 tablespoons butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
2 tablespoons milk or cream
Strawberry jam (I used Smuckers Strawberry Spreadable Fruit)

Directions
Make the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin pan with paper or foil muffin cups. Mix together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt and set aside. In another bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, and vanilla with an electric beater until thick and smooth (about 3 minutes). Add the butter and oil and mix well. Slowly add the milk and dry ingredients. Fill the muffin cups about 2/3 full with the batter.

Bake for 20-23 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool slightly then transfer to rack to cool completely.

Make the frosting: Beat softened butter with electric mixer until smooth. Slowly add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt. Beat until smooth then add the milk or cream and beat until fluffy. Mix in the strawberry jam (I used about 3 tablespoons but add as much or little as you like). Optional: finely chop a few strawberries and mix in! Or you could slice and add on top!