Coconut Milk Cupcakes
Coconut Milk Cupcakes
It’s finally springtime here at the edge of the Colorado Rockies. And with that comes time to shift gears to something with a lighter taste. Coconut fills the bill here – especially the naturally unsweetened flakes that I find at my local Sprouts store. These Coconut Milk Cupcakes are all-natural and substitute coconut milk for some of the fat you would normally add with butter.
I have another recipe for Coconut Milk Cake that I’ve posted here. It’s great and I’ve made it several times, but sometimes I prefer to make cupcakes so that I can share them with friends and neighbors.
Living at high-altitude, I often have to adjust recipes to make them work above 5,000 feet. I don’t find that to be a problem with cupcakes. Because the heat penetrates to the center of the batter so much faster, the cake can build the structure it needs to rise and stay risen without adding flour and heat to the recipe. So I’m using the regular altitude recipe here. (For the high-altitude Coconut Milk Cake recipe – go here.)
Coconut Milk Cupcakes
- 3 cups flour (1/2 all-purpose, 1/2 cake flour)
- 2 1/4 cups organic sugar
- 4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 5 lg egg whites
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 TBL natural coconut flavor (if you can’t find this in your local store, you can order it at the link below.)
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened but not melted
- 1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line muffin tins with paper cupcake liners (recipe makes 3 dozen). Whisk the egg whites, milk and coconut flavoring until just frothy. Set aside.
In a mixer bowl, add the flours, sugar, baking powder and salt. Mix with a whisk. Add the butter and coconut milk and mix on low with a paddle attachment just until moistened, then beat on medium for two minutes.
Add the egg white mixture in a few additions, mixing just until incorporated.
Using an ice-cream scoop, fill the cupcake liners about 3/4 full. The cakes won’t rise as much as a box mix, so don’t be afraid to be generous.
Bake the cupcakes for 19-23 minutes. They are a white-cake cupcake, so don’t let the color fool you, test with a toothpick or your finger for springiness, Don’t overbake.
Remove from the oven and let cool in the tins for about 10 minutes, then remove and cool completely on a rack.
While the cakes are cooling, use the warm oven to toast your coconut. Simply sprinkle the coconut on a cookie sheet in a thin layer and set it in the oven at 350 F for about two minutes. Stir the flakes and watch them for another two minutes or so. When they’ve toasted to golden, remove and cool.
Coconut Icing
- 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp natural coconut flavor
Cream together the cream cheese and butter. Add the coconut flavor. Then add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time. I cover my mixer with a very light tea towel to avoid sugar powder spreading all over the kitchen! Once it’s smooth, add a tablespoon of the leftover coconut milk or regular milk to achieve a spreadable consistency
I use a piping bag to frost my cupcakes – it’s so much easier than messing with spatulas or spoons. After frosting, sprinkle the toasted coconut on top of the cakes.
Recipe makes 3 dozen.
Looking for all-natural coconut flavor? Check out these options below:
Flavorgani Extract, Pure Coconut, 2 Ounce
