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–+ servings
coconut and lime cupcakes on a cooling rack
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Coconut and Lime Cupcakes

Our Coconut & Lime Cupcake recipe uses the popular ‘tropical’ flavour combination to great effect.  They’re easy to make, and perfect as a little family treat, shared with friends and work colleagues, or included in a charity bake sale.
Prep Time45 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time1 hour 5 minutes
Course: Cake
Cuisine: International
Keyword: cupcakes
Servings: 8 cupcakes
Author: Angela – Only Crumbs Remain

Ingredients

  • 120 g butter softened
  • 60 g caster sugar
  • 60 g golden caster sugar
  • 2 large eggs lightly beaten
  • 1 lime finely grated zest
  • 60 g desiccated coconut
  • 2 tablespoon milk
  • 120 g self-raising flour

for the cupcake filling

for the coconut buttercream & decoration

  • 180 g butter softened
  • 230 g coconut icing sugar we used Cake Decor’s flavour-ice naturally flavoured icing sugar
  • 130 g icing sugar
  • 1 – 2 teaspoon milk
  • 60 g coconut flakes

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 190℃ (170℃ fan)/375°F/gas mark 5. Place the muffin sized cases into the muffin tray.
  • Make the sponge. Place the soft
butter and sugars into a good sized bowl and beat together with a wooden
spoon or electric beaters until very pale and fluffy. Gradually add the beaten eggs a little at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the lime zest, desiccated coconut and milk, and beat to combine.  Sieve the flour into the mixture. Use a
spatula or large metal spoon to fold this in gently.  You’re aiming for a
nice dropping consistency.  Add a little more milk if
necessary.
  • Fill the muffin cases. Using a
teaspoon, fill the cases with the batter mixture. You’re aiming for them
to be half to two-thirds full. You may decide to weigh each muffin to
ensure equal sizes. Each will weigh about 60g – 63g.
  • Bake. Place the muffin tray in the
centre of the oven and bake for about 20 – 23 minutes. You may need to
rotate the tray after 15 minutes of baking. Once baked, remove from the
oven and place on a cooling tray.
  • Make the buttercream.  Place the
softened butter into a good sized bowl.  Beat to ensure it is soft and
creamy.  Sieve half of the coconut icing sugar into the butter.  Use a wooden
spoon to combine the two ingredients.  Sieve in the remaining coconut icing
sugar and mix to combine.  Sieve the unflavoured icing sugar into the buttercream and beat again.  Beat well to create a creamy frosting.  Add a little milk if necessary, and
beat in well.
  • Toast the coconut flakes.  Place the coconut flakes into a dry frying pan / skillet.  Set on the hob over a low to medium heat. Allow the coconut flakes to gently pick up a soft brown colour whilst frequently moving them around the pan to avoid them catching and spoiling.  Be aware that the coconut flakes can toast quite quickly.   Tip the coconut into a bowl and set aside to cool.
  • Hollow out the cupcakes.  Use a
paring knife or the wide end of a large piping nozzle to create a hollow
in the top of the cupcake.  Use the tines of a fork to gently remove a little more of the cupcake sponge if required.   Add a teaspoon of the lime curd.  Avoid over filling.
Cut off a little of the sponge that was removed and place the ‘crust’ piece back onto the
cupcake to act as  a ‘plug’.
  • Decorate. Place 2 – 3 teaspoon of coconut icing onto the cupcake.  Use the back of the spoon to smooth it out. (If you prefer you could pipe it on).  Finish with a generous scattering of toasted coconut flakes.

Notes

Equipment:
  • 8 muffin sized cupcake cases
  • muffin tin
Store:
Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Undecorated cupcakes can be frozen in an airtight container. Allow to completely defrost before filling with lime curd & topping with coconut icing & coconut flakes.
Cook's Tip:
a) Aim to ensure your ingredients are at room temperature before baking. Consider very gently warming the lightly beaten eggs over a double boiler if the eggs are chilly, especially in the colder months. Heat them until they are tepid (neither warm nor cold to the touch).  This should help prevent the batter from curdling and produce a better cupcake sponge.
b) When making the cupcake batter, consider weighing the cracked eggs first to ensure the batter has equal weight of butter, sugar(s), eggs and flour. Simply weigh the butter, and combined sugar to the same weight as the eggs. Of course the value may be slightly different to the 120g listed in the ingredients above.
c) We preferred to use a mixture of coconut icing sugar and regular icing sugar to make our buttercream. Using just coconut icing sugar can make the flavour a little too overpowering, though increase the quantity if you prefer (keeping the ratio to 1 part butter: 2 parts icing sugar).