Yellow Cupcakes and a Classic Chocolate Butter Cream Frosting

The last two cupcakes...

Birthday Party! I made some yellow cupcakes and a chocolate butter cream frosting.

The cupcakes were dense, similar to a pound cake. I would use that for a short cake type of cupcake, but not for a frosted type cake... Because these cupcakes were so dense they did not rise a lot, so fill them 3/4 of the way.

However, since I made coffee cake with the sour cream, I think that I mixed the sour cream in too soon/over mixed the batter. The coffee cake was very light and fluffy, so I feel that the cupcakes should have been as well. Anyone want to be a taster for me for my next batch?

The chocolate butter cream was delish! However make sure the butter is softened and been at room temperature for at least an hour. Otherwise the butter pieces will stay chunky and the frosting won't be as smooth.

Perfect Yellow Cupcakes
(adapted from Can You Stay for Dinner )
makes 12 regular size cupcakes or 24 mini + 3 regular

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup sour cream
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 12 cup standard sized cupcake tin with paper liners.

Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in the bowl of a standing electric mixer. Add butter, sour cream, eggs, and vanilla. Beat at medium speed until smooth and satiny, about 30 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl and mix until smooth and no clumps of flour are visible.

Evenly divide the batter among the cups in your prepared pan. Bake until cupcake tops are pale gold and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 20 to 22 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the pan carefully and let them cool completely on a wire rack.

Chocolate Butter Cream Frosting

Adapted from Savory Sweet Life

Makes 3 cups

1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks or ½ pound), softened (but not melted!) 

3 - 3 1/2 cups confectioners (powdered) sugar
½ cup cocoa powder
½ teaspoon table salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract or 1 teaspoon almond extract
4 tablespoons milk or heavy cream

Cream butter for a few minutes in a mixer with the paddle attachment on medium speed. Turn off the mixer.

In separate bowl combine powdered sugar and cocoa into the mixing bowl. Turn your mixer on the lowest speed (so the dry ingredients do not blow everywhere) until the sugar and cocoa are absorbed by the butter.

Increase mixer speed to medium and add vanilla extract, salt, and milk/cream and beat for 3 minutes.

Note: If your frosting needs a more stiff consistency, add a little more sugar. If your frosting needs to be thinned out, add additional milk 1 tablespoon at a time.

Put the Lime in the Coco-nut...Cupcake

Put the lime in the coconut and drink it all uppp! Coconut cupcakes! I did lots of research prior to making these. Do you include lime, or not. Do you toast the coconut, or not. Do you use coconut milk, or not. Almond extract, or not. Extra large egg is how many large eggs... How much butter for the frosting?!

I took the regular cupcakes recipe from Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa, and looked at her cake recipe too. I looked at random recipes online and different techniques. I prefer making cupcakes so I can taste one before bringing them places. Folks would notice a slice of cake missing!

In the end, I used the basis for the cupcake recipe. I used toasted the coconut as that is supposed to enhance the coconut flavor. Reviews listed coconut milk to help with the coconut flavor. And since I was feeling creative I added some lime to half the recipe to try it out. I omitted the almond extract because I didn't have any. Some used coconut extract with the vanilla extract. Since I was halving the recipe (5 eggs originally) I used 3 large eggs.

First toast the coconut. Easy, just put your desired amount into the frying pan. I put it on medium heat and it took about 2-4 minutes. Stirring a bit. 

Next, combine sugar and room temperature butter until its creamy and combined.

 Add in eggs 1 at a time. The batter should be wet.

 

Alternate adding in the dry mixture with the wet. Fill in the cupcake tins 2/3 of the way. I had a little overflow so I made a few mini ones!

Aren't the mini ones so cute?! Keep an eye on them towards the end of the time to ensure they don't burn.

I let them cool completely before frosting them and dipping/sprinkling them into the toasted coconut.

 

I halved the recipe, but the recipe below is the full one. Half the recipe makes about 14 cupcakes.

These were not very coconut-y but they very moist and light cupcakes. Next time I would consider adding in an extra tsp or tsp and a half of coconut extract. I added about half of a lime's worth of juice to the frosting but I add as much as you want.

Other variations I'd like to try include omitting the coconut flakes in the cupcake and adding in orange or lemon extract with respective zest.


Coconut Cupcakes

Ingredients

• 3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 cups sugar
• 5 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 7 ounces sweetened shredded coconut, toasted
• Optional: zest of 2 limes, 2 tbsp of lime juice; add in when adding in extract

For the frosting:

• 1/2 - 1 pound cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 pound confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 6 ounces sweetened shredded coconut
• Optional: 1 tbsp lime juice, zest of 1 lime; add in when adding in extract

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 

In the mixer with paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium-high speed for 3 to 5 minutes, until fluffy. Add the eggs 1 at a time, scraping down the bowl after the additions. Add the vanilla extracts.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the dry ingredients and the milk to the batter in 3 parts, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Mix until just combined. Fold in the coconut with a rubber spatula.

Line a muffin tin with the paper lines. Fill the liners 2/3 way to the top with the batter. Bake 12-15 minutes for mini muffins and 23-26 for regular size. Keep an eye until the tops are starting to get brown and the toothpick comes out clean. Allow them to cool and then let the cool on a baking rack.

Frosting

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla extract on low speed. Add the confectioners' sugar and mix until just smooth.

Frost cupcakes and top with additional coconut.