Recipe of the Week - Coconut Cupcakes

Week 13

If you are a coconut lover you are going to love this recipe! The secret ingredient is ground coconut powder made by pulsing flaked coconut in a food processor. Thank you to Martha Stewart for sharing this coconut secret in her new cupcake book Martha Stewart's Cupcakes: 175 Inspired Ideas for Everyone's Favorite Treat (2009).

Martha Stewart's Coconut Cupcakes

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking powder

3/4 cups (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter - soft

1 1/3 cups sugar

1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut (packed)

2 eggs plus 2 egg whites (room temperature)

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

3/4 cup UNsweetened coconut milk - use buttermilk if unable to find coconut milk

flaked or shaved coconut for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare cupcake pan with liners. Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Pulse flaked coconut in food processor until finely ground and add this to the flour mixture.

Cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Beat in whole eggs, then whites and add vanilla. Add flour mixture alternating with coconut milk - begin and end with flour. Beat until combined.

Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full. Bake for about 20 minutes - rotate pan halfway through. Cool completely.

Frost with your favorite buttercream or seven minute frosting recipe and garnish with toasted or plain flaked coconut or shave fresh coconut for a more dramatic presentation. Press coconut gently to adhere to frosting.

Recipe of the Week - Italian Cream Cupcakes

Week 9

My brother's wedding cake was an Italian Cream Cake, a southern tradition that is usually served on holidays or special occasions. Why must this be? Make the recipe into cupcakes and you can enjoy them any time of the year!


Italian Cream Cupcakes





1 stick butter
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/3 cups flaked coconut
5 egg whites, stiffly beaten
1/2 cup shortening
5 egg yolks
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans


Cream butter and shortening then add sugar. Add egg yolks and beat well. Combine soda and flour - add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk. Stir in vanilla. Add coconut and nuts. Fold in egg whites. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes.


Cream Cheese Icing

1 package softened cream cheese (8 oz)
4 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 stick softened butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

Beat cream cheese until smooth and stir in sugar. Add vanilla and beat until smooth.

Cupcakes Pulling Away From Liners

Don't you hate it when a cupcake pulls away from the liner? No matter how beautifully it is decorated the cupcake look shabby when the liner pulls away from the cake. And to further frustrate you...it only happens to a few out of the batch!

Why does this happen? After several days of research, I have compiled a list of the most common reasons this happens:

• the cake is too moist


• underbaking - increase baking temperature slightly (375 degrees)


• too much oil or butter in the recipe (oil-based recipes tend to do this less than butter) - can also use sour cream or plain yogurt


• liner issues - waxy or foil?


• overfilling liners & the batter gets stuck on the muffin pan


• cooling in the pan - take them out right away


• too much moisture in the storage container - cool cupcakes thoroughly

Recipe of the Week - Decorator's Buttercream

Week 4

This week's recipe is one that I use every time I make a batch of cupcakes. It tastes great and because it does not contain any dairy products, it does not require refrigeration and withstands very warm temperatures well. It forms a light "crust" so you can also use it to pipe decorations.



Decorator's Buttercream

2 cups Crisco shortening
8 cups confectioner's sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla (use clear vanilla for pure white icing)
1/2 cup water
1 tsp. salt
1 envelope Dream Whip

Cream the shortening in a heavy-duty mixer until it is smooth. Add the vanilla. Whisk the water, salt & Dream Whip. Add the sugar and liquid mixture - alternate until combined. Beat on high speed for about 5 minutes.

Cream cheese buttercream: delete dream whip & water and add two 8-oz. blocks of cream cheese (due to the addition of cream cheese you will need to refrigerate this icing)

White chocolate buttercream: Add one 12-oz. bag of white chocolate chips - melt chips in the microwave and mix thoroughly.

Chocolate buttercream: Add 1/2 cup cocoa and mix thoroughly.

Seven-Minute Icing

Every southern recipe box contains a seven-minute icing recipe. Mine is on a 4 x 6 recipe card. It is bent with torn edges...and has egg white stains all over it. I should copy it onto a new recipe card, but there is something comforting about the stains and torn edges.

Seven-minute icing is like spreadable divinity candy with a marshmallow consistency. I remember it being used most often for coconut cakes, devil's food cupcakes, and as an alternative to cream cheese icing for red velvet cakes. This icing is only stable for about 24 hours or so and would not be a good choice if you need an icing to last for several days; it will start to separate and the egg whites will deflate. For best results, use it the same day it is made. Your cake or cupcakes must also be completely cooled. If not, the egg whites will deflate and the icing will "melt" on the warm cake.

Humidity alert - southern cooks will already know this. This icing is not a good choice to make on humid days. The increased humidity prevents the egg whites from getting firm and you may end up with a bowl of white soup.

Seven-Minute Icing

2 cups white sugar
3 egg whites
3 tablespoons light corn syrup
3 tablespoons cold water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a large bowl on top of a double boiler, combine the sugar, egg whites, corn syrup, water and vanilla. Place over boiling water and beat with an electric mixer on high speed for 7 minutes, or until frosting is completely cool and forms peaks when beaters are raised. Remove from heat. Use immediately to frost cooled cupcakes.

Recipe of the Week - High Altitude Yellow Cake

Week 3

This week's recipe is a follow-up to the high altitude post from two days ago. It is a basic recipe for 5000 feet with adjustments for up to 10,000 feet.

High Altitude Yellow Cake
(above 10,000 ft. decrease baking powder to 1 1/8 tsp.)

3 c. sifted cake flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. sugar
4 eggs - refrigerator temperature
1 c. shortening - room temperature
1 1/4 c. plus 2 Tbsp. milk - refrigerator temperature
2 tsp. vanilla

Sift flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Add shortening, milk, vanilla & eggs. Beat for 30 seconds on low speed - scraping bowl
frequently. Beat 7 1/2 minutes on high speed.
Fill cupcake liners 1/2 full.

Bake 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Cool completely.
Makes 36 cupcakes.

Recipe of the Week - Buttermilk White Cupcakes

Week 2

I didn't grow up in a family that embraced change. It was the South, after all. Our cupcakes were chocolate, yellow, and maybe strawberry or red velvet (on special occasions).

Exotic cupcake flavors do entice the tastebuds, but sometimes plain old white cupcakes satisfy best. I have tried numerous white cake recipes and most of them are dry and not very tasty. However, the featured recipe this week does not disappoint.

Buttermilk White CupCakes

4 egg whites
2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 cups sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup shortening
2 tsp vanilla

Let egg whites stand at room temperature 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare cupcake tins with liners.

In large mixing bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Add buttermilk, shortening, and vanilla; beat on low until combined. Beat on medium 2 minutes more, scraping bowl. Add egg whites; beat 2 more minutes.

Spread in pans. Bake 25-30 minutes or until tops spring back when lightly touched and wooden pick inserted near centers comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely.