Next up on my girl scout cookie series is samoas! I’ll be honest, I’m not the biggest fan of coconut, so this cupcake was 100% for K. He’s a big fan of coconut, and was very excited when I came home from Whole Foods and told him there was shredded coconut in the pantry and coconut milk in the fridge. Unfortunately for him, those ingredients are rarely found in our house!
If you are not familiar with samoas (or caramel deLites, as they’re called in some areas), they are vanilla cookies topped with caramel, toasted coconut, and chocolate. In cookie form, all the flavors come together beautifully, so I knew this would taste just as nice in cupcake form. These cupcakes have a vanilla cake, coconut frosting, a toasted coconut topping, plus a drizzling of caramel and chocolate sauce. The coconut frosting was a huge hit – I literally had to fight K for the bowl of frosting when I was trying to fill my piping bag with it!
Coconut Cupcakes with Caramel & Chocolate Drizzle
(Makes 12 cupcakes)
For the vanilla cupcakes:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup milk
For the coconut frosting:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 cups confectioners sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp coconut extract
1 tsp vanilla coconut milk
1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
For the toppings:
1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
1/4 cup (1.5 oz) milk chocolate chips, melted
1/4 cup caramel sauce
Preheat oven to 350F. Line your cupcake pan with liners.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and stir until uniform.
In another large bowl, combine the flour and baking powder. Add half of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix. Add all the milk and mix. Finally, add the remaining dry ingredients and mix. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix, ensuring everything is incorporated.
Fill each cupcake liner about 2/3 full and bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Cool completely and reduce oven temp to 325F (you will need the oven to toast the coconut).
While the cupcakes are in the oven, prepare the frosting; in the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the butter until smooth and creamy. Add 1 cup of confectioners sugar and mix until incorporated. Add the vanilla extract, coconut extract, and coconut milk, and mix. Add the remaining 1-2 cups of confectioners sugar until your desired consistency is reached. If too thin, add more confectioners sugar. If too thick, add coconut milk 1 tsp at a time. With a spatula, fold in the shredded coconut. Frost the cupcakes however you’d like.
With the remaining 1/2 cup shredded coconut, spread the coconut on a lined baking sheet. Bake for 5 minutes, or until the coconut is a golden brown. Dip each frosted cupcake in the toasted coconut, and drizzle with the melted chocolate and caramel.
cupcake on,
Sharon
foodyventures 