Ode to Almond Joy

There is no denying the fact that I love sweets. I'm a sucker for the candy display in the grocery store checkout lines. Of all the different candy selections, my most likely go-to is an Almond Joy. As I previously mentioned, my husband doesn't like coconut, so this is pretty much the only candy bar that I am not obligated to give him a bite of. The worst part about an Almond Joy is the fact that it isn't very big, and before I know it, it's gone.

I've had my eye on this recipe for a while, but finally was able to make it. Can you believe that I had to talk my husband into actually eating one? I don't think he actually ate one until the day after they had been prepared. Weirdo.

The chocolate cupcake is my go-to chocolate cupcake recipe. The filling is an attempt to recreate the filling of the actual Almond Joy candy bar - a combination of cream of coconut and actual shaved coconut. The frosting recipe I actually found on another blog, and it was A-maaaazing! It wasn't too coconutty, nor was it too rich. It was light, and smooth, with just enough coconut flavor to bring the cupcake together.

Almond Joy Cupcake

Chocolate Cupcake:
Recipe available here on my blog

For the filling: 
Inspired from A Cup of Sugar A Pinch of Salt
1 c shredded coconut, sweetened
3/4 c creme of coconut

For the frosting:
Inspired from A Cup of Sugar A Pinch of Salt
1/2 c unsalted butter, softened
1/2 c shortening
3 c confectioners' sugar
1 can coconut milk, reduced to about 1/2 c
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

For the garnish:
Chocolate ganache (My recipe listed here)
Whole almonds

Prepare cupcake recipe according to my blog entry:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line your muffin pan with cupcake liners. In a medium bowl combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Whisk together, then set aside. In a large measuring cup combine milk and water, and set aside.

In your mixer bowl cream together butter and sugar, for about 2 minutes. Once it's nice and fluffy add your eggs, one at a time, and continue to beat for another minute until mixture is smooth and creamy. Add vanilla and mix until combined. Reduce mixer speed to low, then slowly add 1/3 of your flour mixture, followed by 1/2 of your milk mixture. Repeat this, then finish by adding last bit of flour mixture. Mix only until just combined. Remove mixer bowl, and stir a few times through with spatula, to ensure everything is incorporated well.

Grab your scooper and scoop batter into cupcake liners, filling about 2/3 full. Bake for 15-17 minutes, or until tops bounce back when touched. Cool in pans for about 5 min, then remove to cooling racks.
While cupcakes cool, prepare your filling and frosting.

Start by reducing your coconut milk. Pour can of coconut milk in 2 qt saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce temperature to medium-low. Keep on low boil/simmer, stirring often, until it's reduced down to about 1/2 a cup. This took me about 35-40 minutes. Pour about 1/3 c into measuring cup, and allow to cool completely. While this cools, prepare your coconut filling.

Combine cream of coconut (found in liquor stores, or in alcoholic beverage area of grocery store) and shaved coconut. Stir together until nice and thick. Add more coconut, if needed. Core out cooled cupcakes and use a pastry bag (with no tip) to fill insides with cream. Set these aside, and finish preparing your frosting.

Cream together butter, shortening, vanilla, and 1/3 c coconut milk. Once smooth, add confectioners' sugar, until completely combined. If frosting is too stiff, go ahead and add a bit more of the cooled milk, until desired consistency is reached. Pipe or spread frosting over cupcakes, and drizzle with ganache, if desired...then top with an almond!

Enjoy!!

From Germany with Love

I. Love. German. Chocolate.Cake. It's as simple as that. My mom didn't bake much when I was young, and when she did the cakes usually started from a cake mix. Nothing compared to when she baked a Devil's Food cake and topped it with that Pecan-Coconut frosting from the plastic tub. Mmmmmm......so good! That was always one of my favorite cakes she made and probably still is. I bake all my cupcakes from scratch, but there's nothing wrong with the occasional cake mix, right? Especially when you top said cake with that frosting. 

Anyway, I've known that I've wanted to make a German Choc cupcake for a while, but I didn't because my husband doesn't like coconut. (I KNOW! How bizzare!) I've actually put off making quite a few different coconutty cupcakes because of that. Well NO MORE! Don't be surprised if you see some cupcakes popping up soon that consist of coconut. He may take the amazing pics that you get to see on this site, but I'm the baker, right? Right. These chocolate cupcakes were my go-to chocolate cupcake, which consist of Valrhona cocoa. I then topped them with a delish pecan-coconut frosting I found here. Of course, we needed a nice fudge frosting to hold in the coconutty goodness, which was also found here.

German Chocolate Cupcakes

Chocolate Cupcakes
1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1/2 c baking cocoa (Valrhona)
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 c granulated sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c whole milk
1/2 c water

Pecan-Coconut Frosting:
Inspired by Barefoot and Baking
1 can evaporated milk (12 oz)
1 c granulated sugar
3 egg yolks
1 stick unsalted butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/3 c shredded, sweetened coconut
3/4 c chopped pecans

Fudge Buttercream Frosting:
Inspired by Barefoot and Baking
4 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted then cooled
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
3 c confectioners' sugar
2 Tbsp cocoa powder (Valrhona)
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp water
3 1/2 Tbsp milk

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line your muffin pan with cupcake liners. In a medium bowl combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Whisk together, then set aside. In a large measuring cup combine milk and water, and set aside.

In your mixer bowl cream together butter and sugar, for about 2 minutes. Once it's nice and fluffy add your eggs, one at a time, and continue to beat for another minute until mixture is smooth and creamy. Add vanilla and mix until combined. Reduce mixer speed to low, then slowly add 1/3 of your flour mixture, followed by 1/2 of your milk mixture. Repeat this, then finish by adding last bit of flour mixture. Mix only until just combined. Remove mixer bowl, and stir a few times through with spatula, to ensure everything is incorporated well.

Grab your scooper and scoop batter into cupcake liners, filling about 2/3 full. Bake for 15-17 minutes, or until tops bounce back when touched. Cool in pans for about 5 min, then remove to cooling racks.
While cupcakes cool, prepare your pecan-coconut mixture.

Combine evaporated milk, sugar, yolks, butter, and vanilla in a 2 qt saucepan. Stir constantly until everything is melted together, and is thick. Make sure that this does not boil. You'll know it's ready when it coats the back of a wooden spoon. This took me about 30 minutes. Once thick enough, stir in coconut and pecans. Set aside to cool.

While this is cooling, prepare your frosting. Place chocolate chips in microwave safe dish and melt for 30 seconds. Remove, stir, and repeat until chips are melted. Allow to cool. Pour melted chips into mixer bowl, along with butter, sugar, cocoa, and vanilla. Add about 2 Tbsp milk and whip together, add more milk/water until desired consistency is reached. (My exact measurements are above)

Pipe boarder around top of each cupcake which will act as your barrier for your pecan-coconut topping. Once you've done this, use a spoon to scoop pecan-coconut frosting within barrier.

Ta-DA! German Chocolate cupcake -- delish!

Things that make you go "Hummm...."

A while back I was chatting with my uncle, who mentioned having prepared a delicious Hummingbird cake for a dinner party. I was unfamiliar with the cake, so I asked for the recipe. One glance and I knew that I had to make a cupcake version of it. How could I go wrong with the main ingredients being bananas, pineapple, pecans, and cinnamon?

The outcome was delicious. I pretty much made the recipe as it was given to me, for one batch, then added some coconut to the second batch. They were YUM! These would definitely be a great dessert for a dinner party, as they are a more "adult" cupcake, if that makes sense?!? The frosting is a cream cheese frosting, which you know will make every bite a bit more delicious. Give 'em a whirl...see what you think. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised!


Hummingbird Cupcakes
Inspired by a recipe from the kitchen of Uncle Mario

For the cupcake:
3 c all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp kosher salt
1 1/4 c vegetable oil
2 c sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 c pureed ripe bananas
1 8oz can of crushed pineapple, juice removed
1/2 c finely chopped pecans
1/3 c sweetened coconut (optional - but HIGHLY recommended)

For the frosting:
2 8oz pkg cream cheese, softened & cut into small pieces
1/2 c unsalted butter, softened & cut into small pieces
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
5 c confectioners' sugar


For the garnish (optional):
Toasted coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prep your cupcake pans with liners.
In a large bowl, sift together flour, cinnamon, soda, and salt. Set aside. In your mixer bowl, combine oil and sugar. Beat at medium speed for about 3 minutes until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, until light in color, which will be about 2 minutes. Add vanilla. Reduce speed to low and add bananas and pineapple. Leaving mixer at low speed, add dry ingredients, about 1/3 at a time. Beat only until just combined, then remove from mixer. Stir in your pecans and coconut, if using.
Scoop your batter into your prepared baking cups and bake for 17-19 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few crumbs when inserted. Let cool on rack for about 7 minutes, then remove from pans and cool all the way through.

While cupcakes cool, prepare your frosting. In your mixer bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add vanilla, then slowly add confectioners' sugar, about 1/2 c at a time. Beat until smooth, then spread or pipe over cupcakes. Garnish with toasted coconut, if desired.

Coconuty goodness....

Throughout this cupcake adventure, I have been sharing cupcakes with friends, family, and coworkers. In going through potential cupcake ideas with a couple of coworkers, I mentioned that I needed to hurry up and do a coconut cupcake. She asked me why, and I said, "It's Easter time...that's when you have coconut cake." She seemed confused by this. I think she even asked me why. I didn't have an answer....I just knew that if I was going to do something that heavily relied on coconut flavor, I would need to do it soon. Well, today is Easter - which means this was the week that the coconut was going down.

This cupcake was inspired by the same cookbook that inspired the carrot cake cupcakes from last week. It was a gift from my uncle, who I can never thank enough for buying for me. The cookbook itself does not focus on any specific aspect of baking, it is merely a plethora of recipes that I will need to experience. The recipe I made this week was actually for a coconut cake, but since this is a CUPCAKE challenge, we had to make them little. 

Just a heads up - this recipe is probably the most challenging, thus far. It was kinda time consuming, and there were a few trial and error's that had to be experienced, before it was good enough. If you decide to try it, have fun. The outcome definitely makes up for the time it takes to bake them. Happy Easter!

Coconut Cupcakes

Inspired by Sono Baking Company cookbook

For the batter:

1 1/2 c all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

3 large eggs, separated & at room temperature

2 tbsp granulated sugar

1/2 c unsalted butter, room temperature

2 c confectioners' sugar

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 c coconut milk

2 tbsp cream of coconut (we will talk more about this in a few...)

1 teaspoon coconut extract

For Pastry cream

4 large egg yolks

1/2 c sugar

1/4 c cornstarch

2 c milk

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

3 tbsp unsalted butter, cold

1 c shredded, sweetened coconut

For the coconut buttercream frosting:

2 tbsp heavy cream
1 tsp coconut extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
16 tbsp ulsalted butter, cut into chunks & softened
1/4 c cream of coconut
3 c confectioners' sugar
2 c sweetened shredded coconut (toasted, if you'd like)

Prep your oven by setting temperature to 350 degrees. Prep your muffin tins with your favorite Eastery cupcake liners, and set aside.

You will begin by making the cake. Combine the flour and baking powder in a small bowl, then set aside. In the bowl of your stand mixer, whisk the egg whites until they are frothy. Slowly add the granulated sugar and continue to whisk, until stiff peaks form. Scrape the meringue into a clean bowl, then set that aside. 

Wash out your bowl and swap your whisk attachment for a paddle attachment. Cream your butter, confectioners sugar, and salt together until light and fluffy. This will be kinda thick, so scrape down your bowl after about a minute of mixing. Once your butter mixture is fluffy, add your egg yolks, one at a time, making sure they are well combined after each addition. Beat in your coconut milk, cream of coconut, and your coconut extract. 

So, have you asked yourself what cream of coconut is, yet? I didn't think much of it, until I failed to find it in any of the FIVE grocery stores I looked in. I Googled it and saw a few different brands, so didn't figure it would be tough to find. Well, I should have researched it a little bit more, to find that is is commonly use to make pina coladas. What does this mean to us? You should go to the liquor section of your grocery store, or better yet - go to a liquor store. After traveling to all those stores (not even remotely close to my home) on a whim I went to the liquor store 2 blocks away from my house & asked if they had cream of coconut. To my delight, and frustration, the sales clerk said "We sure do!" and he grabbed a can for me. Geez louise......Well, at least I found it.

Anyway, the can will most likely need to sit in a bowl of warm water to loosen up, so make sure you do that. The end result will be a liquid that resembles the consistency of sweetened condensed milk, just a bit more translucent.

After you have beat in your coconut milk, cream, and extract, start adding your dry ingredients to the wets. Once all of your flour is combined, remove it from your mixer. Ever so gently, scrape your meringue into your batter. Don't mix, don't stir, don't whisk -- FOLD. Be patient, this may take a while. The end batter is still very thick, but it will result in a wonderful cake.

Once the meringue is incorporated, grab your ice cream scoop and fill your cupcake liners 2/3 full. For the first time, I had to smooth out the tops of the cupcakes, to make sure that they baked even. You'll see what I mean when you see how thick the batter is. Just give it a quick swipe with a spatula and you'll be all set.
Bake these puppies for 17 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool them for 10 in the pan, then remove them to the cooling racks.

While these cool, start your pastry cream. Whisk the egg yolks, 1/4 c of sugar, cornstarch, and 1/2 a cup of milk. Set aside. In a medium saucepan combine the rest of the sugar and milk, and the salt. Bring to a simmer, making sure you whisk constantly. Once it's warm to the touch, temper your egg yolk mixture by slowly pouring a small amount in, while whisking QUICKLY. (Key word is quickly. You don't want to scramble your egg yolks) Once you've done this, pour in the remaining warm milk mixture and whisk thoroughly. Using a mesh strainer, strain your custard mixture back into the saucepan and bring to a boil. Whatever you do, do NOT stop whisking, or you will be sorry. Once your mixture begins to boil around the edges, watch the center. The first signs of a bubble popping up in the middle, start counting your alligators. (One alligator, two alligator, three, alligators, etc) Count 10 seconds (or 10 alligators) then remove from heat.

Transfer the cream to your stand mixer, and using the paddle attachment, mix at medium speed for 2-3 minutes, in order to slightly cool your mixture. Beat in vanilla extract. With mixture still running, cut your butter in, a little at a time, until it is completely incorporated. Add your coconut and continue to mix. Transfer the pastry cream mixture to a separate bowl then press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto cream, to avoid a crust from forming on top. Chill for 1-2 hours.

For the buttercream, combine cream, extracts, and salt in a small bowl. In your mixer bowl, beat butter and cream of coconut at medium-high speed, until smooth. Reduce your mixer speed, then slowly add your confectioners' sugar. Beat until smooth, approx 4 or 5 minutes. Add your cream mixture, and increase your mixer speed to medium-high. Beat until light and fluffy, which for me was about 7 minutes.

After pastry cream has chilled, remove from refrigerator, and give it a few stirs. Since this recipe was originally for a cake, I had to get the pastry cream inside the cupcake. Two years ago I got a cupcake corer from Sur La Table and I had never used it. What better time than now? All you have to do is push it into the cupcake, then give it a twist. Like magic, a little plug of cupcake pops out. Needless to say, I ate most of these cupcake plugs (hee hee) Fill a pastry bag with your cream, and squirt into the cupcake, until it begins to overflow. Do this for all of the cakes, then pipe your frosting over the hole. Garnish your cupcake with coconut, toasted or not toasted. I opted to toast, to add a darker, nuttier flavor - and a splash of color to contrast the white. To toast, dump coconut onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and bake at 350, stirring often. It took me about 10 minutes to get my coconut well toasted.

Sprinkle over top of cupcake, then enjoy!!