Apple Cupcakes with Cream Cheese and Coconut Frosting

By Tamipri

Ingredients

• Cream Cheese and Coconut Frosting:
• 6 tablespoons softened unsalted butter
• 1 c. brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 c. applesauce
• 6 ounces softened cream cheese
• 1 1/2 to 2 c. confectioners' sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 tsp. grated lemon rind
• 1 1/4 c. flaked coconut

Details

Servings 12

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 375�F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with papers and spray the insides, or lightly grease the muffin tin. Beat the butter and sugar together until light and creamy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition and stopping to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the butter/egg mixture. Stir in applesauce until well blended. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pan. Bake for approximately 25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into a cupcake comes out clean. Remove the cupcakes from the oven, and cool in the pan on a rack for five minutes. After 5 minutes, remove the cupcakes from the pan and return to the rack to finish cooling completely before frosting. Yield: 12 cupcakes.


Mix the cream cheese, sugar, extract and oil together, beating until smooth. The frosting will be a little thinner than you may be accustomed to, but it needs to be to catch and hold the coconut. Use to frost the tops of the cupcakes. Put the coconut in a bowl. Hold each cupcake upside down and press gently into coconut.

Nutrition information per serving (1 cupcake)=345 cal.