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Ok, so the other day I talked about lemon curd – today I’m talking about coconut cupcakes with lemon curd. If your one of those people that’s a little weary of lemon in desserts, these cupcakes might just change your mind.
I think (and I could be completely off base) the culprit of a lot of people’s distaste towards lemon lies in the fact that they were once turned off by an overly aggressive lemon dessert like a tart or lemon bar. Too much of anything can be a turn-off, so I get it. And while these guys are called coconut cupcakes with lemon curd they aren’t overly coconut-y or overly lemon-y, making them the perfect option for lemon lovers and non-lovers alike.
Coconut milk and shredded sweetened coconut are laced into a batter made from sifted cake flour, butter, sugar, and egg yolk along with a hint of fresh vanilla bean. Beaten egg whites are then very gently folded into the batter, then scooped into pretty cupcake liners and baked.
I know it may sound strange to beat the egg whites before adding them into the batter – but word to the wise: do not skip the egg white step, it will aid in an airy cupcake yet still let the moisture from the butter shine through.
The cooked and cooled cakes are slathered with my homemade lemon curd and topped off with a lightly sweetened vanilla whipped cream. I finish them off with a little dusting of toasted un-sweetened coconut, making these my favorite cupcakes to date!
- Cupcakes:
- 2 cups cake flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 2 sticks softened butter
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- Seeds of 1 vanilla bean
- ¾ cup + ⅛ cup coconut milk
- 1 egg yolk
- 4 egg whites
- 1 cup shredded, sweetened coconut
- Assembly:
- 1 batch lemon curd or a scant ¾ cup lemon curd (for homemade see previous post)
- 1 cup cold heavy cream
- 2 tablespoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup unsweetened flaked coconut (if you only have sweetened that’s fine too)
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a regular muffin tin with liners.
- Sift flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Cream butter and sugar in the bottom of a stand mixer until creamy, about two minutes. Add vanilla bean. Mix until combined. Add egg yolk, mix until combined.
- With the mixer on low add in flour and coconut alternating each in three batches.
- In a separate dry bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the egg whites until medium stiff peaks form.
- Fold coconut until batter.
- Gently fold egg whites into batter, making sure to not deflate.
- Fill cupcake liners ¾ of the way full and bake for 24-25 minutes turning cupcakes halfway through. Depending on how your oven cooks it could be a minute or two less or more, the cupcakes are done when a wooden skewer comes out with a few crumbs attached.
- Let cool.
- In the bottom of the same stand mixer fitting with the whisk, add sugar and cream, whisk on a medium-high speed until whipped cream is formed, and be careful to not over mix. Whisk in vanilla. Set aside in fridge until ready to use.
- Toast coconut in a small sauté pan over a low heat on the stove. BE CAREFUL the oils in the coconut can cause it to burn quickly; the toasting process should only take about 30 seconds.
- When cupcakes are cool, spread about two teaspoons of lemon curd on the top. Pipe whipped cream on top of lemon curd and then sprinkle with toasted coconut.
- *If needed, all components can be made up to two days in advance, just store separately and assemble before serving
*Cupcake recipe adapted from Martha Stewart’s coconut cupcakes
Courtney says
Hey Nicole your cupcakes look absolutely stunning! I dare say better than Martha Stuarts ekkk. I have a question concerning the seeds of 1 vanilla bean I was wondering if I could substitute vanilla bean paste, and if possible how much?
Nicole says
Definitely!! I would use, maybe 1/4 teaspoon!
Bo says
Hi Nicole! Great ideas here! How long in advance can these be assembled? I want to assemble them the night before, but don’t want them to get soggy! Any thoughts on this?
Nicole says
I would think the day before would be fine! You could also just make the filling and the cupcakes separately and right before servings pipe the filling in and pipe the frosting!