Coconut Cupcakes with Ginger Lime Curd Filling

Wow, that's quite a post title.  And I didn't even mention the coconut cream cheese frosting.  Anyway, here's how the cupcakes turned out.  Again, please excuse the photo quality.




I took them to work for a co-worker's birthday and they were a big hit.  In fact, one gentleman proclaimed that they were "the bomb diggity times infinity".  High praise indeed.

These are probably on my top three list of favorite cake/cupcake flavors.  I absolutely love them.  They take a little time to make because you should refrigerate the lime curd overnight prior to use.  Of course, after making the curd I never wanted to see another lime again... 


...because I had to zest about thirteen of the suckers.  Then juice them.  I really need to get a microplane zester.  I used my handy box grater, and it was awkward to say the least.  But it all turned out for the best.  The finished lime curd:


Doesn't look like much, does it?  Trust me, it's divine. 

The cupcakes, just before baking:



The cupcakes, prior to filling:



I used a paring knife to cut cones out of the centers, then filled the void with the curd and put the top of the cone back on.  Here's the inside of one:



Sorry for the photo.  The light in my house is very bad.  Plus it's overcast today, which doesn't help.

Here is the link to the sugared lime slice topper.  Word to the wise: Don't make the lime slices too thick or they'll be too heavy and the icing won't hold them on the cupcakes.

Once again, the finished cupcakes:


And here's the recipe I used:


Coconut Cupcakes with Ginger Lime Curd

Cupcakes:

2 3/4 cups cake flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup canned sweetened cream of coconut
4 large eggs, separated
1 tsp vanilla extract plus 1 tsp coconut extract
1 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 375.  Put approx 30 cupcake liners into muffin tins.  Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl to blend.  Using electric/stand mixer beat sugar, butter and cream of coconut until fluffy.  Beat in egg yolks and extracts.  On low speed, beat in dry ingredients, then buttermilk, alternately, until just blended. 
Using clean, dry beaters, whip egg whites in another bowl until stiff but not dry.  Fold egg whites into batter. 
Divide batter into prepared tins.  Fill cups to just above half full (see photo above).  Do not overfill or you will have a mess on your hands.  Or on your oven.  Whichever.  Bake for 17-19 minutes.  Cool on wire racks.

Ginger Lime Curd:

3 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup lime zest
1 Tbs grated peeled fresh ginger
6 Tbs unsalted butter, cut into cubes, room temp.

Whisk eggs, yolks, sugar, lime juice, zest and ginger in a metal bowl to blend.  Place bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, being sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water.  Or use a double boiler.  Whisk constantly until curd thickens, about 8 minutes.  Remove bowl from over water and whisk in butter.  Strain through a fine strainer set over a bowl (this is not necessary if you don't mind the lime zest in the curd.  I do.).  Press plastic wrap onto surface of curd and refrigerate overnight.  Keep in fridge.

Recipe above adapted from this recipe on Cake Central:  http://cakecentral.com/recipe/coconut-cake-with-ginger-lime-curd

Coconut Icing:

8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup butter, softened
8 cups powdered sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp coconut extract
2 oz sweetened cream of coconut
heavy whipping cream

In a large bowl in a stand mixer, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth.  Add extracts and salt.  Beat until incorporated.  Dump in all of the sugar at once.  Mix until well-incorporated.  Add the cream of coconut and mix well.  Add heavy cream until you get the consistency you want*.   Beat on medium/high for a few minutes until light and fluffy.

*I like my cupcake icing to be soft, just thick enough to hold a swirl, so I add more for cupcakes than I would for icing a cake. 

This is a variation of the standard American Buttercream that I use for just about everything.  It's a great recipe and very versatile.  I'll post the original another time.

I hope you can try these sometime!  After all, they ARE the bomb diggity times infinity.  :-)

Enjoy.




Comments

  1. These sound delicious! Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  2. How did you do the lime slices for decoration??

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi! The tutorial for the like slices is on my previous post. Thanks for visiting!

      Delete
    2. Oops...lime slices...not like slices.

      Delete
  3. I didn't realize the lime slices weren't REAL slices when I clicked on the link! These sound so delicious!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOL! Thanks...I may not be able to draw (huge disappointment), but I can make things out of clay! And fondant is really just yummy clay, no?

      Delete

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