Wednesday 24 April 2013

Birthday Mini Coconut Cupcakes 2 ways – Chocolate and Coconut & Lime Butterflies

On Saturday A invited me round to his house for a film night with some of his friends. Everyone was bringing something to share and I decided to bake some mini cupcakes. It’s my birthday today, so I think my brain was already thinking about cake! I love how mini cupcakes are cute and individually sized, the perfect thing to share around when you want just a little something sweet.

I decided to make coconut cupcakes and then decorate them two different ways with two different flavours in the hope there would be something to suit everyone. Plus, I always think a mix of colours and flavours look more appealing than having everything the same.
 

Half of the mini cupcakes were topped with chocolate frosting and some lightly toasted coconut, while the other half I turned into mini butterfly cakes, filled with some of my leftover zingy lime curd. I was happy with how they both turned out but I loved the lime curd butterflies. I’ve not made butterfly cakes for years. They always used to make an appearance at birthday parties, lightly dusted with icing sugar. I felt quite nostalgic making them.
 

I thought most people would go for the chocolate topped ones, but the lime butterflies actually disappeared first. I still love its zesty vibrant flavour. Both varieties had disappeared by the end of the night though. Of course I had to taste one of each beforehand, for photography and quality control purposes you understand.
 

A is taking my out for dinner tonight to celebrate my birthday, and then my family are coming to visit during the May bank holiday, so I’m going to have a special couple of weeks!

Mini Coconut Cupcakes
Ingredients
60g gluten free flour (I used 40g brown rice flour, 15g buckwheat flour, 5g tapioca starch)
50g butter
35g creamed coconut (from a block, not the liquid)
60g caster sugar
1 egg
¼ tsp xanthan gum
¼ tsp coconut extract
¾ tsp GF baking powder

Butterfly Curd Filling
2 tbsp lime or lemon curd

Chocolate Icing (makes enough for 24 mini cupcakes)
70g butter
25g dark chocolate
10g cocoa powder
140g icing sugar
1 tbsp milk

Decoration
2 tbsp desiccated coconut

Mini Cupcakes
Preheat the oven to 170C. Line a mini cupcake tin with 24 paper cases.
Soften the block of coconut cream in the microwave until softened. Make sure the butter is very soft too. Weigh out all the ingredients into a bowl and beat together until smooth, light and fluffy.
Divide the batter between the paper cases using a teaspoon.
Bake for 12-14 minutes until risen. They will remain quite pale.
Allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Chocolate Icing
Make sure the butter is soft and beat until soft and fluffy. Melt the chocolate, pour over the butter and mix until combined.
Sift over the icing sugar and cocoa powder and mix together carefully using a spatula, until most of the sugar has combined.
Add the milk and beat with an electric hand mixer until light and fluffy. Add a little more milk if necessary.
Transfer the icing to a piping bag fitted with a large star nozzle. Pipe on top of the cooled mini cupcakes.

Decoration
Heat a dry frying pan over a low heat. Add the coconut and mix slowly with a spoon, until lightly toasted and golden. Do not walk away as it can go from white to burnt in seconds.
When toasted, transfer to a plate and leave to cool.

Lime Butterflies
Run a sharp knife in a circle, cone formation around the top of the cooled cupcakes, about 3mm in from the edge. Remove the middle cone of sponge.
Fill the cone void with half a teaspoon of lime curd, or filling of your choice.
Cut the removed sponge cone in half to create two 3D triangle shapes.
Place these at a slight angle back on top of the filled cupcake, to look like the wings of a butterfly.
Dust the top lightly with icing sugar.

Makes 24 mini cupcakes

6 comments:

Cupcake Crazy Gem said...

Happy Birthday Katie! I love the sound of both those cupcakes...especially because of the coconut! Such a fun idea to make two varieties, I'm pretty sure I would have devoured the lot! Mini's are dangerous for popping one in your mouth and then another and then another...or at least they are for me! Hope you enjoy your birthday meal and seeing your family!

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Johanna GGG said...

happy birthday katie - those cupcakes look gorgeous and I think having different flavours is a definite benefit of these little cupcakes.

(have I missed your blog anniversary - mine is in a few days and I thought yours is always just before mine but maybe I got it wrong!)

Katie said...

Hi Johanna,

My blog anniversary is Feb 16th!

Thanks,
Katie

Johanna GGG said...

oh it is far earlier than mine that I thought - I think I remember actually - no wonder I didn't see it recently - thanks

Caroline said...

They're absolutely beautiful! What a lovely way to celebrate a birthday.