Violet Flower Cupcakes

By miss5elements

"I love that there's a secret inside," says Bacher of these darling treats containing a spoonful of violet jam buried in the center. The subtle sweet flavor plays perfectly against the dense pound cake, creamy frosting, and a top layer of fluffy shredded coconut - a textured, snowy surface to tuck in a sugared or candied flower.
InStyle Magazine, May 2013

Ingredients

• Cupcakes
• 3 c cake flour, sifted
• 1.25 t baking powder
• 1 t salt
• 1/2 c (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2.25 c sugar
• 1 t pure vanilla extract
• 4 egg whites
• 1 c coconut milk
• Frosting, Filling & Topping
• 4 sticks (2 cups) unsalted butter, softened
• 7 c confectioners' sugar
• 1 T vanilla extract
• 1/3 c heavy cream
• 1/3 c violet jam (try L'Epicurean confit of violet flowers, $8/4.4 oz.; frenchselections.com)
• 2 c unsweetened coconut flakes
• 24 sugared or candied flowers

Details

Servings 18
Preparation time 155mins
Cooking time 180mins
Adapted from instyle.com

Preparation

Step 1

Cupcakes
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line the wells of 18 muffin cups w/ cupcake liners.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, & salt.
3. In another large bowl, use a mixer to beat butter & sugar for 5 min until fluffy. Add vanilla; beat for 1 min.
4. Add egg whites to butter mixture one at a time, beating well after each addition & scraping down the sides of the bowl (beat for a total of 5 min).
5. Beat in flour mixture & coconut milk in alternating additions, starting & ending w/ flour mixture. Do not overmix.
6. Fill each muffin cup 3/4 of the way with batter.
7. Bake for 25 min or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool.

Frosting, Filling & Topping
1. Place buter in the bowl of a mixer & whisk on med speed until fluffy, about 3 min.
2. Add sugar, vanilla & cream to the butter. Beat until creamy, about 5 min.
3. After cupcakes have cooled, cut a cone-shaped piece of cake out the top of each cupcake & drop a dollop of violet jam into the well. Replace the cone pieces.
4. Place coconut flakes in a small bowl. Top each cupcake w/ a generous dollop of frosting & dip it in the coconut flakes. Decorate each one w/ sugared or candied flowers.