Challenge No 4 - Creamy Coconut Cupcakes with Peach Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Month 4 - April
Blog 4 - Haniela's http://hanielas.blogspot.com.au/
Recipe 4 - Creamy Coconut Cupcakes 
http://hanielas.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/creamy-coconut-cupcakes.html#disqus_thread

I have had this recipe on Haniela's Blog open on my desktop for over a month starring at me, begging me to bake it. So today when Miss Two said "can we bake cupcakes Mummy pleeeeeeease"! I know I could hold out no longer.  Little did I anticipate what a hectic afternoon I would have and it momentarily slipped my mind  that Miss Two makes any baking process quadruple in time.

So with my ingredients in hand....

And a helper at the ready....

I set off to make some seriously delicious cupcakes!

Creamy Coconut Cupcakes with Peach Swiss Meringue Buttercream

(be mindful I can't stick to a recipe if you paid me so you will notice a few differences to Haniela's)

5 Tbsp Butter - room temp
3/4 cup Castor Sugar
2 Med (or 3 sml) Egg Yolks
1.5 tsp Coconut Extract (I used Lor Ann's)
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 1/4 cup Cake Flour (see method - you will need corn flour)
1 1/4 tsp Baking Powder
Pinch Salt
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup Unsweetened Coconut Carnation Milk
3 Egg Whites

Preheat oven at 180 degrees (or 160 fan forced).

First step is to separate and place the egg whites into an electric mixer and whip them on high until they are soft snow white peaks.  At this stage take a 1/4 cup of the castor sugar (leaving 1/2 cup remaining) and add gradually into the egg whites, a tablespoon at a time, beat well between each addition. Once the egg whites are ready put them into a separate bowl and set aside.

In the same bowl the egg whites were whipped in, place your butter and castor sugar (remaining 1/2 cup) in the bowl and cream them until light and fluffy.  Next add in the egg yolks, vanilla and coconut extracts, and mix them in well.

Sift the dry ingredients into another separate bowl. To make Cake Flour, measure out the cup of Plain Flour, remove 2 tablespoons of the Plain Flour and place them back in the container, replace them with 2 tablespoons of Corn Flour. Whisk the dry ingredients together lightly so the raising agent is distributed throughout.

Combine the milk and coconut milk together, pour a 1/3 of milks into the butter mixture, alternating with adding a 1/3 of the dry ingredients. Mix well.  Add remaining milk and then dry ingredients and continue to mix well.  When ingredients combined thoroughly, turn off the electric mixer, take the whipped egg whites ad fold gently into the rest of the mixture. Once mixed through, spoon the mixture into the cupcake wrappers 2 thirds of the way up them. Tap them on counter top to level them.

Place tray into the oven and bake for 20 minutes.

Makes : 12 medium to large cupcakes

Peach Swiss Meringue Buttercream

2-3 Egg Whites
1 cup Castor Sugar
250g Butter - room temp
Flavouring - 5 drops Lor Ann Oil

Place a saucepan of water and bring to a simmer. With egg whites and sugar in a heatproof bowl, place the bowl onto the saucepan, and commence whisking vigorously (preferably with a barmix or like).  Once the egg white mixture is too hot to touch, remove from the heat, tip into the electric mixer bowl, and whip for 3 minutes on high until it forms soft white peaks. cube the butter and add in one cube at a time. Ignore if it curdles, keep whipping, it will come back.  Add flavour and and colour tint finally and your ready to pipe it onto your cooled cupcakes.

Quantity should cover 12 comfortably.