Jamie and I have been friends for a long time, and as far as I’m concerned, she’s an artist. The cupcake may be her canvas of choice, frosting her paint, but she knocks it out of the park with every creation. I’m so grateful to her for offering to cover B&B while I’m away. She’s one in a million. -Amber
Hey, Bluebonnets & Brownies readers, I’m going to fill in for Amber today while she is spending time with her family.
If you read My Baking Addiction, you may already know that I am a bit of a cupcake maniac. In my opinion, they are pretty much dessert perfection. Not only are the flavor combinations infinite, but they’re also kind of grab and go, which is always a plus when you’re entertaining a crowd. And that mound of frosting – oh yeah, I love me some frosting.
After purchasing a ginormous bag of limes from Costco and having no where to store them, I had a bit of buyer’s remorse. While normal people regret buying shoes, watches and fancy bed linens, I regret buying limes. Maybe I shouldn’t admit that out loud – kind of pathetic, right?
After trying to shove the limes in several places without success, I decided to toss them on the counter in a basket and claim they were summer counter decor. They looked quite lovely for about a day and then started to look a little homely, so I decided to go on a little lime baking binge and these Lime-Coconut Cupcakes were one the creations.
The cake recipe is adapted from Ina Garten and ranks as one of my top five favorite cupcake recipes ever. It’s light, flavorful and perfectly coconut-y. Slather on some lime infused cream cheese frosting and a sprinkling toasted coconut and you’ll pretty much have the perfect summer dessert.
Lime-Coconut Cupcakes
yield | 24 cupcakes
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
2 cups sugar
zest of 3 limes
3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
6 eggs at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk
7 ounces sweetened, shredded coconut
For the frosting:
2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
zest of two limes
1 1/2 pounds confectioners’ sugar, sifted
For the Garnish:
7 ounces sweetened, shredded coconut; lightly toasted
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a cupcake tin with paper liners.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the sugar and lime zest and mix together with your fingertips until the sugar is moistened and fragrant.
3. In the bowl of an stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs, 1 at a time, taking care to scrape the bowl. Add the vanilla and mix until well combined.
3. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In 3 alternately add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the batter, beginning and ending with the dry. Mix until just combined. Fold in 7 ounces (half) of the shredded coconut.
4. Fill each prepared cupcake liner to the top with batter. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, until the tops are brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Remove to a baking rack and cool completely.
5. While the cupcakes are cooling, prepare the frosting.
6. In the bowl of an stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with an electric mixer on low speed, cream together the cream cheese, butter, vanilla and lime zest until well combined. Slowly add the confectioners’ sugar and mix until smooth. If frosting is too thin, gradually add in a little more confectioners’ sugar until you reach the desired texture.
7. Frost the cupcakes and finish with a sprinkling of lightly toasted coconut.
Notes
-This recipe is adapted from Ina Garten via Food Network.
-Lemon zest can easily be swapped for the lime zest.
-This recipe makes a lot of frosting, so if you aren’t fond of a lot of frosting on your cupcakes, you may want to start with half a batch.
-Store cupcakes in refrigerator. Remove to room temperature one hour before serving.
[author-box-2][wpurp-searchable-recipe]Guest Post: Lime-Coconut Cupcakes – – – [/wpurp-searchable-recipe]
Heathur
Saturday 26th of May 2012
Would it be possible to swap out the buttermilk for coconut milk?
Lisa
Tuesday 22nd of May 2012
These were the best cupcakes I have ever made! Delicious!! Thank you for posting this!
betty
Thursday 4th of August 2011
very cute!
sweetsugarbelle
Tuesday 26th of July 2011
Id love to make cookies this flavor!
Heather
Thursday 21st of July 2011
When I first started baking, Ina's coconut cupcakes were the first "from scratch" cupcake I made and I absolutely loved them, so I can't wait to try them with the hint of lime.
These look absolutely beautiful (better than Ina's!)