Say Goodbye to Summer Cupcakes!
Since returning from St. John, I’ve had the flavor combination of lime and coconut haunting me. I’ve made cakes, pancakes and drinks with the pair a number of times in the past few months. And since there seems to be a cupcake craze going on right now I wanted to try some cupcakes too.
So since we can soon say goodbye to summer, and the need to don a bathing suit for a while, why not key lime cupcakes, with coconut buttercream frosting, topped with toasted coconut? I call ‘em “Say Goodbye to Summer Cupcakes.”
(I promise the next post in yum-yum will be something healthy. I promise. Salad anyone?)
The baker, I’m not. When cooking, I usually don’t measure, unless trying something brand new and even then sometimes I wing it, unless it involves baking. Baking is different. It’s like science and you must measure. So I don’t know what I was thinking when after searching for a cupcake recipe, and not finding one to my liking, I decided I would create my own.
And I don’t know what I was thinking when I decided to try making these for the first time 2 hours before a dinner party, to take for that same dinner party. (Good thing I had some of this cookie dough ready for a backup.)
Many of the key lime cake recipes I found called for starting with a box of lemon cake mix but I wanted to make something from scratch with fresh limes. I found four different cake recipes that looked good and combined bits and pieces from each.
Surprisingly enough, the cupcakes turned out pretty good for a first attempt. Most of the time when I make cupcakes with a box recipe they’re pretty good, and I could eat about 2 or 3, but these cupcakes are more filling and carry a lot of flavor. These look very homemade and a little sad but again, I was in a hurry so with a little extra time they could be fancied up quite nicely I’m sure.
The ingredients are pretty norm for baking with the addition of lime zest, lime juice, and cream of coconut (Coco Lopez).
(I just had to put these little guys on here. Don’t they look pitiful. Kinda like they have the mange or something. I always feel like a rotten scoundrel after zesting but they suffered for a good cause. Oh, while we’re talking about the limes, be sure to zest before you juice. Not that I would have any reason to mention that… I’ve never juiced before I zested, no, not me…)
If any of you bakers out there see something that could be tweaked for even better results, please let me know and I’ll be all over that. Really. For real. No joke. Bring it on.
Say Goodbye to Summer Cupcakes
(Key Lime Cupcakes with Coconut Buttercream Frosting Topped with Toasted Coconut Recipe)
makes 24 cupcakes
Cake Ingredients:
2 sticks (1 cup) butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons lime zest
3 eggs
1/4 cup lime juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
2 cups sweetened coconut flakes (for topping)
– Preheat oven to 350°F and line cupcake tin(s) with liners.
– When preheated, spread the coconut flakes on baking sheet and bake for 5-7 minutes or until lightly browned, stir/toss a couple of times. Remove from oven and let cool.
– In a large bowl beat butter until smooth.
– Add sugar and lime zest, beat well.
– Beat in eggs one at a time.
– Add lime juice and vanilla extract and beat until combined.
– In another bowl combine flour, baking soda and salt; sift.
– Alternate adding all dry ingredients and buttermilk to butter/sugar mixture. (Be careful not to over mix – you don’t want it gooey.)
– Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full.
– Bake for 18-20 minutes or until wooden pick comes out clean.
Buttercream Icing & Topping Ingredients:
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup cream of coconut (Coco Lopez)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
– In a large bowl beat butter until smooth.
– Add all other ingredients (powdered sugar, salt, cream of coconut, vanilla extract) and mix until smooth. (Add more cream of coconut as needed for smoother frosting.)
– Ice cupcakes and don’t forget the coconut flakes for that final touch.
– Pour a tall glass of cold milk and enjoy!
.
Oh my gosh! It’s ganache!
Chocolate Ganache Cupcakes
If you like chocolate, I mean REALLY like chocolate you’ve gotta try these.
After seeing Ina Garten, otherwise known as the Barefoot Contessa make these, I knew I had to try ‘em. I’m not a baker but I’ll have to admit, these were pretty easy. And worth the effort, fer sure. Ganache sounds awfully fancy but this ganache is just cream, chocolate chips and instant coffee (optional). That’s it.
Easy-breezy-lemon-squeezy. Right?
This here’s the big chocolate culprit.
A whole can of it. No joke… but I’m not complaining.
This is everything you’ll need for the batter and ganache icing. (full recipe below)
Begin by preheating the oven to 325° and line muffin pan with paper liners.
(I hope combining the photos isn’t too confusing – they read left, right, left, right, O, K?)
Cream butter and sugar together.
Add eggs, one at a time.
Here’s the good stuff… mix in the chocolate syrup.
Add the vanilla, coffee and flour until just combined – don’t overbeat!
Fill cupcake liners halfway and bake for 30 minutes.
***An important note: You must let the cupcakes cool thoroughly IN the muffin pan! So make sure you have enough pans ready for the second batch, unless you can wait – if you try to remove cupcakes before they’re cool they will collapse. Of course, I’m only guessing that will happen, I wouldn’t know for sure… uh, hmmm.
For the ganache, combine the heavy cream, chocolate chips, and instant coffee in the top of a double boiler over simmering water until smooth and warm, stirring occasionally.
These are yum, yum, yummy heated in the microwave later for about 10 seconds. Be sure to have plenty of milk on hand.
Also, my husband said he’d prefer it without the coffee. You could certainly try it without the coffee – can’t imagine that it wouldn’t still be tasty. I think the coffee adds some needed bitterness to balance the sugar as well as a richness that I can’t explain but you be the judge.
Note: The original recipe from foodnetwork.com says this makes 12 cupcakes, but I found that it makes between 20-24 when the cupcake liners are filled halfway. Don’t fill more or you’ll have a big ‘ol mess on your hands. They do rise.
Chocolate Ganache Cupcakes Recipe (makes 20-24 cupcakes)
from the Barefoot Contessa
- 1/4 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 (16-ounce) can Hershey’s chocolate syrup
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules
For the ganache:
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 8 ounces good semisweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 teaspoon instant coffee granules
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease muffin pan or use paper liners.
In a large bowl cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time. Stir in the chocolate syrup and vanilla. Mix in the flour and coffee granules until just combined. Be careful not to overbeat, just barely mix all ingredient together.
Fill muffin cups with batter halfway. Bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Don’t overbake! Let cool thoroughly in the muffin pan. Again, let cool thoroughly in the muffin pan. I repeat, let cool thoroughly in the muffin pan. Get it? Got it? Good.
For the ganache: In a double boiler (with simmering water in the bottom) heat the heavy cream, chocolate chips, and instant coffee until warm and smooth, stirring occasionally.
If you’d like you can dip the tops of the cupcakes into the ganache. (I didn’t dip these. I topped the cupcakes with a spoonful of ganache but if you like dipping, have at it. It may look mo’ bettah dipped.) Do not refrigerate.
