I took these to a potluck dinner at my kid’s school once time, and everyone grabbed one without even questioning what they were, even the kids. I think it may be the bright red cherry on top that draws in the crowd. Once you have their attention though, they are hooked and not looking back. I actually made a triple recipe for that event, and I still walked out with an empty container. I probably would have went quadruple with this one!
Check out what they are saying about this recipe over at Spiced One Dash At A Time:
“Awesome cupcakes!! Before reading even i thought it is an Italian cup cake
I love the use of toasted coconut in the frosting!! just yummy!!”
You aren’t going to be disappointed with these babies… just wait and see for yourself.
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes
8 Tbsp (4 oz.) Land O’ Lakes unsalted butter, room temperature
¾ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup Domino brown sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
½ cup buttermilk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1¾ cups pecans, toasted + chopped (divided)
1 cup coconut flakes
For the Cream Cheese Frosting
¾ cup coconut flakes
12 oz. Philadelphia cream cheese, room temperature
12 Tbsp (6 oz.) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
3–3 ½ cups powdered sugar
{optional garnish} maraschino cherries
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line standard muffin pan with paper liners; set aside.
Using a countertop mixer, cream together butter and both sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy (~2-3 minutes on medium speed).
Add egg and egg yolk; mix until just combined.
In a separate bowl, sift together dry ingredients (flour, baking soda and salt). In another bowl, whisk together the liquid ingredients (buttermilk and vanilla).
Add ½ of the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl; mix on low speed until fully combined. Add ½ of the liquid ingredients; mix on low until fully combined. Repeat with remaining dry and liquid ingredients.
Once all ingredients have been added, scrape the sides of the bowl down with a spatula and mix on medium speed until batter is smooth.
Fold in coconut flakes and 1 cup of the toasted, chopped pecans. (Note: The remaining pecans will be used to garnish tops of cupcakes.)
Divide the batter evenly among cupcake liners. Bake at 350°F for 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out mostly clean.
Let cupcakes cool in pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Spread the coconut flakes out on a baking sheet; bake at 350°F for 6-8 minutes, or until lightly golden brown. (Tip: Watch coconut closely as it can burn quickly!) Set toasted coconut flakes aside.
Using a countertop mixer, cream together the cream cheese and butter until fully combined.
Add vanilla extract and powdered sugar (½ cup at a time) until frosting reaches desired consistency.
Beat on medium-high speed for 2-3 minutes, or until fluffy.
Once cupcakes are completely cool, fill piping bag with frosting and decorate as desired. (Note: I used a Wilton 1M large star tip.)
Garnish tops of cupcakes with toasted coconut and reserved chopped pecans.
{Optional} Garnish cupcakes with maraschino cherry before serving.
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Quick Tip: You can cheat and use store-bought frosting if you don’t have time to make your own, but it won’t be quite as tasty!
Thanks again to Spiced One Dash At A Time for this amazingly good recipe.
