Rejoining the Blogosphere: Samoa Cupcakes

New Camera = Food Pictures!

These two cutie pies are the best darn taste testers I could ever ask for! And the one on the right's Mama "maturing" another year was a great excuse to try a new cupcake recipe - her request: Anything chocolate or Samoa.

Samoa cupcakes it is! The Birthday Girl is quite the cake baker herself and has just about perfected the Samoa cupcake. I, on the other hand, had never attempted it. I decided to make this recipe from Sweet Little Details, with a few very minor variations. The cake is the perfect consistency for a cupcake. It's sturdy without being dense or dry. I found the frosting to be a tad too sweet for my liking, so I ended up with about two cups of leftover frosting. I hate to waste, so I popped them in empty jelly jars to store them in the freezer. I think we may have to veer from tradition this Christmas morning because this frosting would be amazing on cinnamon rolls! Heck, tomorrow is Saturday... that's a good enough reason to make cinnamon rolls, right?

Samoa Cupcakes

2 C. AP flour

3/4 C. cocoa powder

1 1/2 sticks butter, room temperature

1 3/4 C. sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp coconut extract

4 large eggs, at room temperature

1 1/2 C. whole milk, at room temperature

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line muffin tin with paper liners.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and cocoa powder. Cream together the butter, sugar, salt, and baking soda until fluffy and light. Combine milk and extracts in a measuring cup. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. With mixer on low speed add in the dry ingredients in three batches, alternating with the milk beating just until combined.
3. Fill cupcake liners 1/2 full, making sure that the batter is divided evenly. (I find that an ice-cream scoop works perfectly for this! Not a new trick, I know, but still…) Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean, 20-22 minutes. Allow the cupcakes to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Caramel Buttercream Frosting

2 sticks unsalted butter

½ tsp salt

¾ C packed brown sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 C. prepared caramel

3 Tbsp milk

5 C. powdered sugar

1 C. sweetened shredded coconut

¼ C. semi-sweet chocolate chips

¼ C. prepared caramel

Shortening or coconut oil

1. Using a mixer, cream butter and brown sugar together. Add vanilla, salt, caramel syrup, milk until combined. Begin adding in the sugar slowly and mixing thoroughly after each addition.
2. To toast the coconut, spread the coconut onto a rimmed sheet pan. Toast in a 350°F oven, stirring frequently, until the coconut is an even brown color, about 10 minutes.
3. Frost your cooled cupcakes in whatever way you prefer. For mine I used a small cookie scoop to portion out two scoops and then used the back of it to “swirl” it around.
4. Heat chocolate chips in microwave for about 30 seconds or until drizzle-able. You may need to thin your chocolate with a small amount of shortening or coconut oil to accomplish the desired consistency. Drizzle the frosted cupcakes with slightly cooled melted chocolate and caramel in opposite directions. Top with a generous pinch of cooled toasted coconut.