Coconut Lime Cupcakes

I have a love/hate relationship with coconut.

I just love the flavor...delicious!!
But I hate the texture of shredded coconut.

Which is exactly why I am swooning over these cupcakes.

They are full of yummy coconut flavor, without that texture.
I used canned coconut milk and coconut extract for this recipe.

Plus, they have a splash of lime for even more tropical goodness!

 Coconut Lime Cupcakes

by Bird On A Cake

Yield: 16-18 cupcakes

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Coconut Lime Cupcakes

• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup oil
• 3 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 teaspoon coconut extract
• 3/4 cup coconut milk
• 2 teaspoons lime zest

Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting

• 8 ounces cream cheese (softened)
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (softened)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons coconut extract
• 3 cups powdered sugar

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a muffin pan with paper liners. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs. Add sugar, oil, lime juice and coconut extract; mix well. Add half of flour mixture, beat. Add half of coconut milk, beat. Add remainder of flour, then remainder of coconut milk, beating after each addition. Mix in lime zest. Pour batter into cupcake liners, filling each 2/3 full. Bake for 16-18 minutes. Allow cupcakes to cool on a rack.

In a large bowl, cream butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add coconut extract and mix well. Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time, and beat until fluffy.

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I love this combination of flavors,
and the coconut cream cheese frosting is SO good!

TIP: Garnish each cupcake with a lime slice,
and squeeze the lime over the cupcake before you eat it.
You will thank me for this!

 I am including this next photo just for fun...
While I was taking photos outside, I had a little visitor.

She liked my cupcakes. :0)

These cupcakes would be great for a tropical theme or beach party.
Enjoy!

Looking for more recipes with lime? Check out my Key Lime Cake!

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4th of July Fireworks Cake

 It's almost here...

that summer night when we sit on a blanket in the grass with our family,

gazing upwards in awe as fireworks shoot across the dark sky

and explode above our heads in a blaze of light and color!

Don't you just love pyrotechnics??

Here is a fun Fireworks Cake you can make for the 4th of July!

Make a white cake mix.

Divide the batter into 3 bowls.

Leave one bowl white, dye one red and one blue.

Line the bottoms of 2 eight inch cake pans with wax paper and grease the sides.

Layer the batter in your pans, dropping by spoonfuls.

For marble effect: Drag a knife through the batter, making lines in a side to side motion;

then repeat this motion going up and down.

Be careful not to mix the colors together.

 Bake your cake as directed, and cool completely.

Frost your cake with white frosting, making the top as smooth as possible.

Put the cake in the freezer for at least 45 minutes to harden the frosting.

Read a good book while you wait...

Take your cake out of the freezer.

With gel food coloring, make a line of dots from the middle of the cake to the outside edge.

Starting at the outside dot, brush over the dots toward the center with a paint brush.

Clean your brush, and repeat all the way around your cake.

Work with one color at a time, and do not overlap them.

I also pressed star shaped sprinkles into the frosting on the bottom.

Serve up some cake before the fireworks start...

Enjoy!

If you are looking for more 4th of July treats,

check out my Patriotic Mini Star Cakes!

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And these holiday link parties...

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Salted Caramel Buttercream with a Mustache

Mustaches will always make me think of my dad.

He sported a mustache from the time I was a baby,

until the year my first child was born.

When I was a child, I would beg him to shave it off! I didn't like scratchy kisses.

But when he finally did get rid of the mustache, I was actually a bit traumatized.

My dad looked like a stranger! 

But it's OK, I recovered without therapy.

In honor of my dad,
I created these yummy cupcakes for Father's Day.

First, I made chocolate mustache lollipops with candy melts and this mold.

Then I perched the lollipops on top of chocolate cupcakes, that I had topped with delicious salted caramel buttercream and drizzled with caramel sauce.

You can find my favorite chocolate cake recipe here.
Just change the baking time to approx. 18 minutes for cupcakes.

Salted Caramel Buttercream

adapted from allrecipes.com

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Caramel

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup salted butter
• 2 teaspoons light corn syrup
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup heavy cream (may use less)

Buttercream

• 3/4 cup salted butter (softened)
• 4 cups confectioners' sugar

To make caramel: Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Mix in the brown sugar, corn syrup and vanilla; bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until thickened (3 to 4 minutes), remove from heat and allow to cool. While it is still warm, add the cream a little at a time, until the caramel has the consistency of honey. Stir until smooth. Allow to cool to room temperature.

Beat the softened butter until fluffy, with an electric mixer on medium speed. Gradually add the confectioners' sugar and mix well. Slowly add the caramel, beating until the frosting is smooth.

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OH. MY!!!
This combination of salty and sweet is absolutely incredible!
You really should make some of these for your dad...
even if he doesn't have a mustache.

Enjoy!

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Watermelon Flavored Cake

My oldest daughter gave me the inspiration for this cake.

That girl seriously loves watermelon!
 

When I told her that I was decorating a cake to look like a watermelon,

she excitedly asked, "Will it taste like watermelon too?"

Umm...

could I make a cake that tastes like watermelon?
After some brainstorming and research, the answer is "Yes!".

Watermelon puree and Jell-O give this cake it's flavor, and it is fantastic!
And the frosting is SO good...I just want to eat it with a spoon!

Watermelon Cake 

adapted from Chaos in the Kitchen

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Ingredients

Watermelon Cake

• 1 box white cake mix
• 1 (3 oz.) box of watermelon Jell-O powder (reserve 2 teaspoons for frosting)
• 1/2 cup watermelon puree
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup oil
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)
• red food coloring

Watermelon Cream Cheese Frosting

• 8 oz. cream cheese (softened)
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (softened)
• 5 cups confectioners' sugar
• 2 teaspoons watermelon puree
• 2 teaspoons watermelon Jell-O powder
• red and green food coloring

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottom of 2 eight inch round pans with wax paper, and spray the sides with cooking oil.

In a large bowl, combine cake mix and Jell-O. Add water and oil; mix on medium speed. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well. Add watermelon puree and beat until blended. Add red food coloring a little at a time, until you reach desired color. Place chocolate chips and a teaspoon of flour in a ziploc bag; shake to coat. Fold the chocolate chips into the batter. Pour into pans and bake for 30-35 minutes.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and butter together. Beat in watermelon puree. Gradually add sugar and Jell-O, beating until smooth. Color 1/3 of the frosting green, color the remaining 2/3 the same color as the cake.

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Things to Note:

• To make puree: Cut chunks from the center of a watermelon and remove any seeds. Put them in a blender and hit the puree button!
• The chocolate chips in my batter sunk to the bottom while baking, and didn't quite achieve the "seeds" look I was going for. After I posted this recipe, several astute readers gave me the solution to that problem: Coating the chocolate chips with a small amount of flour keeps them from sinking! But I think I will leave out the chocolate chips in the future.
• Trim the brown edges off the cake before frosting.
• Use pink frosting between the layers and on the top of the cake. Spread green frosting on the sides and outer edge of the top. Press mini chocolate chips on top for seeds.

 

Enjoy!

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Patriotic Mini Star Cakes

"Oh, say can you see..."

These red, white and blue Mini Star Cakes make me feel all patriotic.
I made them with vanilla cake, whipped cream,
fresh berries and strawberry sauce.

They would be a fun treat for your Memorial Day BBQ
or Fourth of July celebration!

Making Mini Star Cakes

Prepare your favorite vanilla cake batter. Divide the batter equally into 3 bowls. Use food coloring to make one bowl of batter red and one blue. Bake as directed and cool. (I baked mine in 8 inch square pans.) While the cake is baking, make your whipped cream and strawberry sauce.

Whipped Cream

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon clear vanilla
• 4 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

In a large bowl, whip cream until soft peaks form. Beat in vanilla and sugar until stiff peaks form. (Do not over-beat, cream will become lumpy and butter-like.)  Store in the refrigerator.

Strawberry Sauce

• 2 cups pureed strawberries (fresh or frozen)
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon lemon or lime juice

Level your cake tops if needed.

Use a star cookie cutter to make star shapes from each cake layer.

 

Remove the cake scraps around the outside of the stars.

(I'll show you what to make with these later!)

Use a spatula to transfer a red star to a plate.

 Put your whipped cream in a decorating bag, and snip off the tip.

Cover the star with whipped cream: Make an outline, then fill it in.

 Arrange sliced strawberries on top. 

 Layer with a white cake star. Cover with whipped cream and blueberries.

 

Layer with a blue cake star. Cover with whipped cream and strawberry sauce
(let it drip down the sides). Garnish with strawberries and blueberries.

Now let's make something with those cake scraps...

Mini Trifles!

Cut the cake scraps into cubes.

Layer all ingredients in a glass or mason jar, in the same order as above.

 

If you aren't a fan of whipped cream and fruit on your cake, you could put frosting between the cake layers instead and sprinkles on the top.

 

 Enjoy!

I link up at these fun weekly parties.

And these holiday link parties...

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