Coconut Cupcakes with Lime Frosting

Woohoo! I just got one year older wiser! And what would a birthday be without a cupcake? I was told you're not supposed to bake your own birthday (cup)cake(s) but I really wanted to try something different and I wasn't going to find anything “from scratch” at the store or in a box. So I went looking online for ideas and ended up creating my own coconut/lime cupcake/frosting recipe. The coconut flavor is perfectly sweet without being overpowering and the lime frosting adds a nice tang.

This treat is the perfect summer cupcake: it tastes like a day at the beach!

Makes 12 cupcakes

For the cupcakes:

• 6 tablespoons butter, softened = 85 g de beurre, ramolli
• ¾ cup sugar = 150 g de sucre
• 1 egg + 2 egg whites = 1 oeuf entier + 2 blancs d'oeuf
• 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour = 150 g de farine
• 1 teaspoon baking powder = 1 cuillère à café de levure
• Pinch salt = une pincée de sel
• ¼ cup (packed) sweetened shredded coconut = 35 g de noix de coco râpée
• ½ cup light coconut milk = 120 ml de lait de coco (allégé)
• ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract = ½ cuillère à café d'extrait de vanille

For the frosting:

• 3 tablespoons butter, softened = 40 g de beurre, ramolli
• 1 lime = 1 citron vert
• 1 cup powdered sugar = 120 g de sucre glace

Preheat oven to 350 °F / 180° C.

 

Cream butter and sugar with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add egg and egg whites, beating well after each addition.

 

Whisk flour, baking powder, salt and shredded coconut (dry ingredients) in a medium bowl.

Mix coconut milk and vanilla extract (wet ingredients) in a separate bowl.

 

Add dry ingredients to sugar/butter mixture, alternating with wet ingredients. Mix until combined, scraping sides of the bowl a few times.

 

Line standard muffin tins with 12 cupcake paper liners. Pour batter, filling each about 2/3 full.

 

Bake cupcakes for 18 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on wire rack.

Meanwhile, make the frosting: zest the lime with a microplane grater, then cut in half and juice it. Combine butter, half the zest and 1 to 1 ½ tablespoons fresh juice in a medium bowl. Beat with mixer until well blended. Gradually add the powdered sugar, beating until smooth. Spread about 2-3 teaspoons of frosting onto each cupcake and sprinkle with remaining zest. Enjoy!

Note: this is enough frosting to spread a thin layer on each cupcake. Flavor-wise, you do not need more but if you wish to pipe the frosting with a 1M tip, you will need to double the recipe.