Toasted Coconut Cupcakes with Lemon Glaze

By AzWench

When I was under pressure to create a perfect cupcake on MasterChef my mind immediately went back to my inspiration. My 95-year old great grandmother and her wonderful homemade cake with a lemon glaze. This cupcake recipe infuses a moist yellow cake with coconut flavor and is topped with a light, tangy lemon glaze and crunchy toasted coconut.

Ingredients

• Cupcakes:
• 1 1/4 cups cake flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 large egg plus 2 large egg yolks, lightly beaten, at room temperature
• 1/3 cup whole milk
• 1 teaspoon canned coconut water
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Topping:
• 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
• Lemon Glaze:
• 3/8 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup powdered sugar

Details

Servings 16

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line the cups of one 12-cup muffin tin and 4 cups of a second 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.

To make the cupcakes: Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl.

Place the butter in a large bowl and stir until it reaches a creamy consistency. Slowly stir the sugar into the butter. Slowly stir in the egg mixture. Add one-third of the flour mixture. Add one-half of the milk. Continue adding them alternately, ending with the flour mixture. Stir the batter after each addition. Stir in the coconut water and vanilla.

Fill the paper liners half full of batter. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean, about 14 minutes. Leave the oven on. Transfer the cupcakes to a rack to cool, about 20 minutes.

To make the topping: Spread the coconut on a baking sheet and bake lightly browned and fragrant, 7 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a shallow bowl and let cool.

To make the lemon glaze: Mix together the lemon zest, lemon juice, 2 tablespoons water, and powdered sugar in a small shallow bowl.

To assemble, dip the top of a cooled cupcake in the glaze, immediately dip the glazed to in the coconut. Allow the glaze to set before serving or storing the cupcakes.