Coconut and Lime Cupcakes
June 8, 2013

My sister’s birthday is coming up. And now that my family has realized that I can actually bake desserts, they have commissioned me to make a cake, even though I don’t bake cakes. So I took a recipe for the cupcakes I normally made and poured it into a cake pan. I would say that it was a success.

For this recipe, I adapted a normal vanilla cake and the mojito cupcake recipe to create what I thought would be something light and tasty. The cake was fluffy and had a sweet coconut flavor and a kick of lime. To make it even better, I might replace the buttermilk with coconut milk. Since this was also to be a cake for my sister’s birthday, I doubled the amount I normally make. There was enough batter to make 8 cupcakes and a 9 inch cake.

Between making the batter, baking, cooling, and decorating, these cakes and cupcakes took up the entire afternoon. But it was totally worth it. The cake was delicious and makes for a nice summery treat.

Finally, HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAMMY!

Xo,
JJC

Recipe
Cake, yield 1 9-inch cake+8 cupcakes

2 sticks unsalted butter
2 cup of granulated sugar
4 eggs, room temperature
1 ½ cup shredded baker’s coconut
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 cup buttermilk
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons lime zest

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and lime zest.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the buttermilk, lime juice, and vanilla extract.
3. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
4. Add the eggs to the mixture one at a time.
5. Add the flour mixture and the liquids alternately, beating well after each addition.
6. Fill 8 cupcake liners about 2/3 full and pour the rest of the batter into a cake pan.
7. Bake at 325 until each is golden brown. The cupcakes took about 20 minutes, while the cake took about 45 minutes.

Frosting
– 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
– 4 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved 3 tablespoons of warm milk
– 1 teaspoon vanilla
– 3 tablespoons lime juice
~ 4 cups of confectioner’s sugar

Whip the butter until it is light and fluffy. Then add the liquids and the confectioner’s sugar until it is at a desired consistency.