Mother Lovett was famous for her coconut cream pie. I was famous for eating it.
Since I have barely mastered her pie crust recipe, I have yet to make a coconut cream pie.
In that case, I made the next best thing – coconut cream cupcakes!
I love coconut. I will happily eat it in anything.
My husband on the other hand, hates coconut. I’ve attempted to sneak it into dishes and desserts, but he always finds it. The only reason I attempt sneaking it in is because that strategy works with other foods he does not like, such as ricotta cheese. He thinks he hates it, but he has eaten it many times. Same goes for figs. And almonds.
Last night, he told me that he didn’t like ‘broiled’ chicken. I then went through a list of dishes that he had eaten in the past month with chicken that had been broiled – wraps, quesadillas, the tuscan lemon chicken that almost burnt our house down …
Yes, I shot down that one.
Alas, I still don’t think he will ever go for my beloved coconut. Perhaps if I smother it with 6 different cuts of meat, he might?
I adapted my own recipe for vanilla bean cupcakes, using some coconut milk and heavy cream in the batter.
The cake came out creamy and rich, even before I added the frosting.
The toasted coconut garnish topped it off. I love coconut, but love it toasted even more.
Coconut Cream Cupcakes
makes about 16 cupcakes
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup shredded coconut
Preheat oven to 350.
Cream butter, sugar, and eggs together until fluffy. Add vanilla and mix.
Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Add half of the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined. Add the coconut milk and heavy cream. Once mixed, add remaining dry ingredients. Fold in shredded coconut.
Pour into cupcake tins and bake for 20-25 mins at 350. Let cool, then frost.
Coconut Cream Frosting
1 stick butter, softened
2-8 oz blocks of cream cheese, softened
1.5 – 2 lbs powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 oz package Jello instead coconut cream pudding
toasted coconut for garnish
Cream butter and cream cheese. Add powdered sugar gradually and mix. Add in instant pudding mix. Mix until desired consistency. Frost cupcake and top with toasted coconut.
As I was writing this, I just remembered that my husband has eaten coconut. Sam’s Club makes a coconut shrimp that is battered and fried and artery-clogging delicious.
This just proves my theory that he has eaten everything that he says he hates.
I am always right.
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