Mocha Coconut Frappuccino Cupcakes

Mocha Coconut Frappuccino Cupcakes.

August 12, 2011

[Don't forget - you have until midnight tonight to enter the cookbook giveaway!]

You people are smart little buggers.

After I shared those homemade mocha coconut iced coffees, a few of you suggested on Facebook that I follow it up with a cupcake. As in… immediately.

Thank you my wise, wise friends. I love you and your smart brains! This was the very first thing I did after I arrived home from vacation… I’ve got my priorities straight. [This was the how I frost my cupcakes tutorial too!]

Know how much I love these cupcakes? THIS MUCH! I wish I could find 42 new ways to eat cupcakes. I want to juggle them and encase them in stone and stuff. I want to eat a cupcake salad and make a cupcake pizza with just these cupcakes alone. And I’m going to go overdose on mocha coconut coffees as soon as I’m done writing this for you.

And I don’t even care about this mocha drizzle that’s hanging out all over my blue placemat. OCD what?

Um, wait. I have to tell you something: I am actually not OCD at all. Even if I wanted to be, I couldn’t. Possibly because I live with the CRAZIEST MAN EVER. I actually fear what would happen if we were both insanely weird about stuff.

Our current issue is that all of the light switches in the house must be flicked in the same direction.

All of them.

All.Of.Them.

The best part is that I intentionally flip the light switches in opposite directions just to screw with Mr. How Sweet. It’s pretty freaking funny if I do say so myself. Sometimes I purposely go up to bed after he does just so I can turn the light switches in a million different directions.

I found this extremely hilarious until yesterday morning… when someone refused to flip on the light switch at the top of the stairs at 5AM because it would mean that one switch would be flicked up while the rest are flicked down… and thus ended up flying down the stairs in a giant heap.*

You know sometimes when someone falls… and it’s really funny… but it shouldn’t be funny at all… and you can’t stop laughing hysterically even though the person is laying on the ground? Yeah. That might have been me. Actually… it’s me right now. Because I can’t stop laughing thinking about my husband lying in the middle of the staircase at the crack of dawn. I’m a horrific wife.

Maybe I should tell you that he tripped on a bag of toiletries that just happened to be hanging out on the stairs? You know… deodorant, cream rinse, 3 bottles of Essie, sunscreen spray, perfume… all left over from vacation… that I got back from last week. It was just soooooo annoying to have to carry that stuff up the stairs. And uhh… I had more important things to do. Like bake these cupcakes. Plus, he wouldn’t have even tripped had he TURNED ON THE LIGHT.

This sort of reminds me of the time when I left a cast iron skillet at the bottom of the stairs a week after we got married. Very similar: 5AM, lots of screaming, no light turned on. I’m actually amazed there is still a ring on my finger.

Moral of the story: turn on the dang light and make these cupcakes.

Mocha Cupcakes

makes 12 cupcakes

1 1/8 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup dark cocoa powder

3 tablespoons instant coffee powder

1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup white sugar

1 egg

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3/4 cup coconut milk

1/2 cup butter, melted

2 tablespoons sour cream

1/2 cup chocolate or cappuccino chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a bowl, whisk egg and sugar until smooth and no lumps remain. Add milk, butter and vanilla, and mix until combined. Sift dry ingredients together and add to wet mixture. Mix until batter is smooth, then stir in sour cream. Fold in chocolate chips and mix. Line a muffin tin with liners and using a 1/4 cup measure, add batter to each cup. Bake for 15-18 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting.

Coconut Frosting

2 sticks of butter, softened (1 cup)

3 2/3 cups powdered sugar + more if needed

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon of coconut extract (if you don’t have this, no big deal)

1-2 tablespoons of lite coconut milk

1/2 cup shredded, sweetened coconut

1/2 cup shredded coconut, toasted

Cream butter in the bowl of an electric mixture until completely smooth and creamy. With the mixer on low speed, add in powdered sugar slowly. Gradually increase mixer speed and add vanilla and coconut extracts, then beat for 2-3 minutes, scraping down sides and bottom of the bowl. Continue to whip for another 4-5 minutes, continuously scrapping. If frosting is too thick, add coconut milk 1 teaspoon at a time until desired consistency is reached If it’s too thin, add powdered sugar gradually until it thickens. Fold in shredded coconut and mix until just combined. Frost cupcakes, then sprinkle toasted coconut on top.

Mocha Coconut Drizzle

2/3 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon instant coffee powder

2 teaspoons dark cocoa powder

1-2 teaspoons coconut milk

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl, then add in one teaspoon of coconut milk. Really mix to combine, as you want it to be glaze-like and easy to drizzle. If too thick, add a drop of coconut milk and stir again. If it accidentally gets too thin, just add a bit more powdered sugar and mix.