Coconut Cupcakes with Coconut 7-Minute Frosting

By [e-mail]

Ingredients

• Coconut Cupcakes
• 4 egg whites
• 1/3 c. low-fat buttermilk
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 tsp. coconut flavor
• 1 stick (8 T.) butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 c. + 2 T. unsweetened coconut milk (I used light canned coconut milk)
• 2 1/3 c. cake flour*
• 1 3/4 c. granulated sugar
• 3 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• Seven -Minute Frosting
• 2 egg whites
• 3/4 c. granulated sugar
• 1/3 c. light corn syrup
• 2 T. water
• 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. coconut extract
• 1/2 tsp. almond extract
• Topping
• 1-2 c. sweetened shredded coconut

Details

Servings 18
Adapted from ihearteating.com

Preparation

Step 1

1.To make the cake, preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease or line 18 spots in a muffin tin.
2.In a small bowl, whisk the egg whites, buttermilk, vanilla extract, and coconut flavor together until well blended.
3.With an electric mixer (either hand or stand), beat together butter and coconut milk until combined.
4.Add the egg white mixture.
5.Increase the speed to medium, and beat until for 2-3 minutes, scraping the bowl as needed.
6.In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
7.Pour the batter into the prepared tins (about 1/4 cup of batter per tin).
8.Bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
9.Cool the cupcakes in the tins for about 5-10 minutes, then turn remove cupcakes to wire rack, and let cool completely.
10.To make frosting - Combine egg whites, sugar, corn syrup, water, cream of tartar, and salt in the top of a double boiler.
11.Cook over rapidly boiling water beating with a rotary beater until mixture stands in peaks.
12.Remove from heat and stir in the coconut and almond extracts.
13.To assemble, place one cake layer right side up. Top with about 1 cup of frosting. Sprinkle ½ cup of coconut over the frosting. Place the second layer upside down so that the flat side is up. Frost top and sides with remaining frosting. Sprinkle remaining coconut over the top and sides, gently pressing the coconut into the sides of the cake.


*To make the cake flour, sift together 2 cups + 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour with ¼ cup +2 teaspoons corn starch. Repeat sifting three times to make sure the flour and cornstarch are well-combined.