Double Chocolate Coconut Cupcakes

Cupcakes can turn a bad day into a good day. They provide some sunshine when the skies are grey. They are provocative and moreish. I should know, they are a staple in my diet.

A while ago a friend of mine was celebrating his birthday. This particular friend had been requesting baked goods for a while, so of course I had to whip up something mighty fine. That’s where coconut and chocolate comes in.

These cupcakes are wonderfully moist, and the coconut adds a welcome and interesting texture. All of this wonderfulness is topped off with rich, chocolately buttercream frosting. What more could you want?

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes:

• 115g unsalted butter, room temperature
• 115g golden caster sugar
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons of milk
• 85g self-raising flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 20g cocoa powder
• 85g desiccated coconut
• ½ teaspoon salt

For the chocolate frosting:

• 250g icing sugar
• 125g unsalted butter, room temperature
• 50g cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or extract)
• 2-4 tablespoons milk

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180°c and prepare a cupcake/muffin tray with 12 cases.

Beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then stir in the milk and add the beaten eggs gradually. Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa into the mixture and fold in with the desiccated coconut.

Spoon the mixture into the cases, filling them to about ¾ full. Bake in the preheated oven for around 22-25 minutes. They should be well risen, and a toothpick should come out clean when pricked into the centre.

Leave to cool on a wire rack.

Meanwhile to make the icing, sift together the icing sugar and cocoa powder. Add the butter and the vanilla paste and beat into a smooth buttercream. Add the milk to loosen the icing a little, until you’re happy with the consistency.

Once the cupcakes are completely cool, place the buttercream into a piping bag and pipe the icing on top of each cupcake – the more the better I say. Sprinkle with desiccated coconut to decorate.

Makes 12 yummy, moist, chocolately-coconutty cupcakes.