Coconut Cupcakes With Chocolate Ganache Filling Topped With Caramel Buttercream Frosting And Toasted Coconut Food

CHOCOLATE CARAMEL COCONUT CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners. Line a second pan with 3-4 liners - this recipe makes about 15-16 cupcakes. Set aside.
• Whisk the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Set aside.
• Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the butter and solid coconut oil together on high speed until smooth and creamy - about 1 minute. Add the sugar and beat on high speed for 2 minutes until creamed together. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the egg whites, vanilla extract, and coconut extract. Beat on medium-high speed until combined, then beat in the sour cream. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl as needed. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients until just incorporated. With the mixer still running on low, slowly pour in the coconut milk and shredded coconut until combined. Do not overmix. You may need to whisk it all by hand to make sure there are no large lumps stuck at the bottom of the bowl. The batter will be slightly thick with a few lumps of shredded coconut.
• Pour/spoon the batter into the liners - fill only 2/3 full to avoid spilling over the sides. Bake for 19-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow cupcakes to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan to cool completely.
• Using a sharp knife, cut a circle/hole into the center of the cooled cupcake to create a little pocket about 1 inch deep. This piece you removed will be the shape of a cone. Set it aside. Place about 1 teaspoon of caramel inside the cupcake- or however much will fit. Slice off the pointy end of the "cone" piece of cupcake you removed so that it can fit on top of the filling. Repeat with all cupcakes.
• Prepare frosting and frost cooled cupcakes. I used the Wilton #12 round piping tip. Top with any leftover caramel and toasted coconut, if desired.

FULL HOUSE: COCONUT CUPCAKES, LEMON CURD FILLING, COCONUT-LEMON BUTTERCREAM FROSTING, TOASTED COCONUT

Steps:

• For the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with 15 regular-size cupcake liners.
• In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the cake flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk together thoroughly.
• In the bowl of an electric stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites until foamy. Gradually add 1/2 cup sugar and whisk until the eggs whites form a soft meringue. Remove the egg white mixture from the mixing bowl and set aside.
• Using the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and remaining 1 cup sugar. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the flour and coconut milk, alternating between the two, beginning and ending with the flour. Once all the flour has been added, mix until smooth. Scrape down the sides and beat in the egg white mixture until smooth.
• Fill the cupcake liners two-thirds full and bake until the tops are golden brown and the cupcakes are baked through, about 25 minutes. Rotate the cupcake pans halfway through the baking process.
• For the lemon curd: In a microwave-safe bowl, whisk together the sugar and eggs. Stir in the butter, lemon zest and lemon juice and mix until smooth. Microwave on high for 1 minute and stir. Repeat 5 times, or until thick.
• For the buttercream: In the bowl of an electric stand mixer using the paddle attachment, cream the butter until smooth. Gradually add the powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Beat in the extracts and lemon zest and beat until light and fluffy.
• For the coconut: While cupcakes are baking, spread the shredded coconut over a sheet pan and toast and until light brown, about 7 minutes.
• To assemble: Once the cupcakes are cool, core out the middle of each cupcake and generously fill with the lemon curd. Fill a pastry bag equipped with desired pastry tip with coconut-lemon buttercream. Pipe the buttercream over the top of each cupcake and sprinkle with toasted coconut.

VEGAN CHOCOLATE GANACHE CUPCAKES WITH SALTED CARAMEL AND DARK CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM

Steps:

• For the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line standard-size cupcake pans with 16 cupcake liners.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the soy milk, agave nectar, canola oil, cane sugar, vanilla extract and apple cider vinegar, and set aside. In a large bowl, sift the flour, cocoa powders, baking powder, baking soda and salt and whisk them together. Add your wet mixture to the dry and whisk until the mixture is evenly moist and only a few lumps remain. Set aside.
• For the ganache: Whisk together the chocolate chunks, soy milk and agave nectar in a microwave-safe bowl. Place the bowl into a microwave and heat for 1-minute increments, whisking in-between, until the mixture is thick and smooth.
• Take your cupcake batter and start to stream in about 1 cup of the chocolate ganache and gently fold it into the batter. Do not fully mix it into the batter, it should be swirled in.
• Fill the liners three-quarters full and bake until a toothpick comes out clean, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool the cupcakes completely.
• For the salted caramel sauce: In a nonstick saucepan, add the coconut milk fat. Add in the brown sugar, vanilla and salt, and whisk well. Bring the mixture to a boil on medium-high heat, whisking occasionally. Once the mixture starts to boil, reduce the heat to a low bowl and cook for 35 to 45 minutes, whisking every couple of minutes, until the sauce has reduced by half. The resulting mixture will be thick and golden. Allow the caramel to cool slightly and use immediately.
• For the buttercream: Whip the shortening and margarine together in a mixer bowl with the paddle attachment until fluffy. Scrape down the bowl and put back onto the mixer on low-speed and slowly add the powdered sugar and cocoa powder. Once the mixture is fully incorporated, stream in 1 cup of the chocolate ganache. Once the ganache is added, you may turn the mixer to medium-high and whip until the buttercream is very fluffy.
• To assemble: Poke a hole in the center of each cupcake using the end of a wooden spoon or small offset spatula. Fill the hole completely with salted caramel sauce. Using a round frosting tip, generously frost the top of each cupcake with the dark chocolate buttercream. Drizzle the top of each cupcake with more salted caramel sauce.

COCONUT CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease 12 muffin cups or line with paper liners.
• Mix sugar, applesauce, and butter together in a bowl.
• Beat egg whites in a glass or metal bowl until medium peaks form. Lift your beater or whisk straight up: the tip of the peak formed by the egg whites should curl over slightly.
• Stir egg yolks and vanilla extract into applesauce mixture; fold in egg whites. Stir in flour, baking powder, and salt until just combined. Beat coconut milk into batter until smooth, about 1 minute. Beat in shredded coconut for about 30 seconds. Pour batter into the prepared muffin cups.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean, about 20 minutes.