Vanilla Coconut Nest Cupcakes

Ingredients

12 tablespoons (about 1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

6 large egg whites (3/4 cup)

3/4 cup milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups flaked coconut

2 Jumbo sized cupcake pans with liners

Directions

preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar for about 5 minutes, until light and fluffy. Stir together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. Combine egg whites, milk and vanilla extract. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to butter mixture then add half the milk mixture. Continue to alternate beginning and ending with flour mixture. add coconut  Scrape bowl and beater often. Pour batter into prepared pans and smooth top with a metal spatula [I use a bent back spoon though for cupakes]. Bake cupcakes about 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center emerges clean. Cool in pan on a rack for 5 minutes, then turn pop cupcakes out and cool completely. 

Icing:

2 sticks butter, room temperature

8 cups confectioners’ sugar

1/2 cup milk

2 teaspoons vanilla or coconut extract

DIRECTIONS:

In the bowl of a standing mixer, cream softened butter and add 4 cups sugar, milk and vanilla. Beat with paddle attachment until smooth gradually add the rest of sugar to reach frosting consistency.

Instructions for the top decorations on the iced cupcakes. [This is optional]

1 cup of flaked coconut

5 drops of GREEN food coloring

1 small container of malted robin eggs or jelly beans

*Place the coconut into a large bowl, drop 5 drops of coloring over the top of the coconut. Stir until  all the drops have been absorbed. At this point you should have green "grass". Pinch a small amount of the colored coconut over the top of each iced cupcake. Now you can move on to the "eggs".. For mine I have used malted Robin's Eggs. Place about 3 on each one. 

Coconut Cream Cupcakes

INGREDIENTS

Cake:

1pkg. yellow cake mix

2-2/3cups  BAKER'S ANGEL FLAKE Coconut (7 oz. pkg.), divided

Filling:

1pkg.  (3.4 oz.) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding

1can  (11 oz.) coconut milk

DIRECTIONS:

HEAT oven to 350°F.

PREPARE cake batter as directed on package; stir in 2/3 cup coconut. Spoon into paper-lined muffin cups.

BAKE 20 to 25 min. or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool cupcakes in pans 10 min.; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.

MEANWHILE, beat pudding mix and coconut milk in large bowl with whisk 2 min. (Pudding will be thick.) Refrigerate until ready to assemble cupcakes.

*You can use an apple corer or a cupcake corer to do this*

Press the corer into the center of the cupcake. Twist gently and pull out the center piece of cake.

Fill a piping bag with your mixture, cut off the tip so you have about a 1cm opening.

(or you can use a piping bag and tip)

Pipe the mixture into the cupcake just until it reaches the top.

Icing:

2 sticks butter, room temperature

8 cups confectioners’ sugar

1/2 cup milk

2 teaspoons vanilla or coconut extract

DIRECTIONS:

In the bowl of a standing mixer, cream softened butter and add 4 cups sugar, milk and vanilla. Beat with paddle attachment until smooth gradually add the rest of sugar to reach frosting consistency.

Finally, We have piped the icing on our cupcakes here but you can spread it on if you feel more comfortable doing so.

Glazed Carrots

Ingredients:

6 cups sliced carrots (about 10 medium)

1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1/2 cup cola-flavored carbonated beverage

In a heavy saucepan, cook carrots, in enough water to cover, over medium-high heat, 8 to 10 minutes, or until tender; drain and set aside.

Combine sugar, cornstarch, and salt in saucepan. Stir in butter and cola. Bring to a boil over medium heat; boil 1 minute. Reduce heat, and add carrots, cooking until heated through.

-makes 6 servings*