Mary Anne’s Crazy About Coconut Cupcakes - KTUL.com - Tulsa, Oklahoma - News, Weather & Sports

Mary Anne’s Crazy About Coconut Cupcakes

These cupcakes are light, easy-to-make and will melt in your mouth. If you want the taste of Hawaii, just take a bite out of one of these super delish cupcakes! Instead of cupcakes, this recipe can be made into a cake.

2 1/2 cups cake flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

2 cups granulated sugar

5 large eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon coconut extract

13.5 ounce can coconut milk, simmered for 13-18 minutes, then cooled before using*

1 1/2 cups shredded sweetened coconut flakes

Toasted Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting, recipe below

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 standard 12-cup muffin tins with paper liners. Into a medium bowl mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
• Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy which should take about 4 minutes. Add eggs one at a time until just combined. Add vanilla and coconut extract. Add cooled coconut milk and dry ingredients, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Be careful not to over-mix. Add the shredded coconut and stir again.
• Using a medium-size cookie scoop, fill cupcake liners 2/3 full with batter. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until golden brown and toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool on wire racks before frosting. Makes 2 to 2 1/2 dozen cupcakes depending on size of pan.

*Note: Be sure to watch the coconut milk as it simmers because it could boil over at any given time. Your coconut milk will reduce to about half. Let it cool first before you add it to the recipe. You can also substitute 2/3 cup buttermilk for the coconut milk if you want.

Note: If your family doesn't like stringy coconut inside the cupcake itself, you can put about 3/4 cup of coconut in the food processor first and pulse it about 8-10 pulses. Then add it to the batter. This will make for a richer and denser cupcake.

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Toasted Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting:

2 (8-ounce packages) cream cheese, softened

2 sticks butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon coconut extract

3-4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

1 1/2 cups coconut, toasted, more if desired

• Beat cream cheese and butter together until light and smooth. Add extracts and slowly add the confectioners' sugar slowly (about one 1 cup at a time) until thoroughly mixed. You can frost the cupcakes with 1/2 toasted and 1/2 plain coconut; also some without any coconut.

To Toast Shredded Coconut:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Pour coconut flakes evenly onto a cookie or baking sheet. Place in oven for 2 to 3 minutes allowing coconut flakes to cook and turn a golden brown color. Make sure you do not burn the coconut. Cool. Frost cupcakes with frosting and garnish with toasted coconut flakes.