coconut cupcakes

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• This was Rachel's request for her birthday dessert.  They turned out delicious! For the icing I just made a basic buttercream frosting using coconut milk for the liquid and then topped the cupcakes with toasted shredded coconut.  (this makes about 21 cupcakes)
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• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup packed sweetened shredded coconut
• 6 ounces (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/3 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs, plus 2 large egg whites
• 3/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/3 cups shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk dry ingredients (including coconut) in a large bowl. Cream butter and sugar with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each addition.

Reduce speed to low. Mix remaining wet ingredients in a bowl. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture in 3 additions, alternating with wet ingredients and ending with dry. Scrape sides of bowl. Divide batter among muffin cups, filling each full.

Bake cupcakes until testers inserted into centers come out clean, about 20 minutes. Let cool in tins on wire racks.

Pumpkin spice cupcakes

I made these for Sunday dinner yesterday - delicious!

thanks to Chow

I decreased the spices slightly because I was making these for my grandchildren

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

INGREDIENTS

• 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 2 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil, plus more as needed
• 4 large eggs
• 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin purée (not pie filling; about 1 3/4 cups)
• 1 recipe Pumpkin–Cream Cheese Frosting (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat the oven to 350°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Line 2 (12-well) muffin pans with paper liners. Alternatively, coat the wells with vegetable oil; set aside.
2. Place the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl and whisk to aerate and break up any lumps; set aside.
3. Place the sugar and measured oil in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed until the sugar is incorporated, about 1 minute. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle with a rubber spatula.
4. Return the mixer to medium speed and add the eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, about 1 1/2 minutes total mixing time. Reduce the speed to medium low, add the pumpkin, and beat until just combined, about 30 seconds. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle with a rubber spatula.
5. Turn the mixer to low speed, slowly add the flour mixture, and beat until almost completely incorporated, about 1 minute. Remove the bowl from the mixer and fold in any unincorporated flour at the edges with a rubber spatula, making sure to scrape to the bottom of the bowl.
6. Fill the muffin wells three-quarters of the way (about a heaping 1/4 cup per well). Place the muffin pans side by side in the oven and bake for 12 minutes. Rotate the pans front to back and side to side and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcakes comes out clean, about 10 minutes more.
7. Place the pans on wire racks and let them cool for 5 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the pans and cool completely on the racks. Frost withPumpkin–Cream Cheese Frosting, if using.

Here's Chow's frosting recipe - I actually used chocolate frosting because I was making my Easy Chocolate Cake for Sunday dinner too (big family) - so I'm not sure how this tastes but the reviews are good.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Frosting

INGREDIENTS

• 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
• 12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), at room temperature
• 1/3 cup pumpkin purée (not pie filling)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Place the sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a medium bowl and whisk to combine; set aside.
2. Place the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat on medium speed until fully combined and smooth, about 1 minute.
3. Reduce the speed to low, slowly add the powdered sugar mixture, and beat until fully incorporated and smooth, about 3 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape down the paddle and sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
4. Turn the mixer to medium speed, add the pumpkin, and mix until fully incorporated and smooth, about 1 minute. Use immediately.

Lemon Cupcakes w/ Lemon Curd Filling and Lemon Icing

I made these last night for a tennis match and they were a hit.  Someone even asked me if I bake for a living :) 

Lemon curd is not difficult to make.  There are many recipes online.  To make things simple last night I just used jarred lemon curd from the grocery store.  I put it into a pastry bag and used that to pipe it into the cupcakes.

Makes 2 1/2 dozen cupcakes

FOR THE CUPCAKES
3 1/2 cups (445 grams) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks or 226 grams) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups (400 grams) sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla
1 - 1 lb. package (about 2 cups) sour cream
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (180 C). Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
In a large bowl, or the bowl of a standing mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping the bowl between additions. Stir in the zest and vanilla until thoroughly combined. Add one-third of the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Stir in half of the sour cream until just mixed in. Repeat this process with the remaining flour and sour cream until all of the ingredients are combined. Scrape the bowl, then stir the batter for another 20 to 30 seconds to make sure everything is mixed in.
Fill the prepared muffin pans with 3 tablespoons of batter in each cup. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the tops are just turning golden brown. Transfer to a wire cooling rack and allow to cool completely before frosting.


FOR THE FROSTING
1/2 cup (1 stick or 113 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup (2 ounces) lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons (30 to 45 ml) heavy cream (start with 1 tablespoon, adding more, as needed)
In a large bowl, or the bowl of a standing mixer, beat the butter for 3 minutes. Beat in half of the sugar, and all of the lemon juice and the zest, until combined. Add the remaining sugar, the vanilla, and the cream (as needed), and whisk on high for 4 minutes, until light and fluffy. If the frosting is too thick, add more cream, 1/2 teaspoon at a time, until desired consistency is reached.

TO ASSEMBLE
Core a small amount out of the center of each cupcake and pipe in lemon curd filling.  Replace the top of the core and then top with the frosting.

Love these bright cupcakes

They are from Cakeadoodledo in far away Devon, England :(

But we can use them for inspiration