Coconut Snowball Cupcake Recipe

I've never been much of a fan of coconut, so when my nephew suggested it as a cupcake flavor I wasn't all that excited. The toasted coconut changed my mind. Don't skip that step. It's important.

The extra coconut on top will almost make up for the mild winter we're having. If I can't have snow outside, might as well have some pretend snow inside.

Recipe:

Coconut Snowball Cupcakes
Yields about 2 dozen cupcakes

Cupcakes-
Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup toasted coconut*
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temp
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp coconut extract
1 cup buttermilk
2 cups shredded coconut for decoration

*To toast coconut- preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Spread the coconut in a thin layer on a baking sheet. Bake on the middle rack in the oven for 5-10 minutes until lightly brown.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin pan with baking liners and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, toasted coconut, & salt. Set aside.

In a larger bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Mix in the eggs one a time. Stir in the extracts.

Alternate adding the dry ingredients and buttermilk, starting and ending with the dry ingredients.

Bake for 12-15 minutes until cupcakes are lightly brown. Allow them to cool while you work on the filling & frosting.

Filling-
Ingredients:
1/2 cup milk
3 tbsp flour
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp coconut extract

Directions:
Whisk together the milk and flour in a small sauce pan on the stove over medium heat. Stir until the mixture thickens but do not let it boil. After it thickens, remove from heat & cover with Saran wrap to prevent a skin from forming. Allow to cool completely.

After the flour-milk mixture cools, cream together the butter and sugar. Add in the flour-milk mixture and mix until combined. Stir in the extract and set aside.

Frosting-
Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temp
3-4 cups powdered sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract

Directions:
Beat the butter until smooth. Mix in the powdered sugar one cup at a time until incorporated. Stir in the vanilla extract. Add the milk one tablespoonful at a time while mixing until it reaches the desired consistency. Set aside.

Cut a small hole into the cupcake with a paring knife or a cupcake corer. Fill them by spooning in a small amount of the filling.

Spread frosting on the cupcakes and dip each one into the extra coconut.

Enjoy!

Cupcakes adapted from this recipe. Filling slightly adapted from Our Best Bites