commentalmond cupcakes with dark chocolate frosting and toasted coconut
if you search for “almond joy” or “mounds” cupcakes, you’ll either find recipes that have chocolate cupcakes with coconut frosting and almonds on top, or cupcakes that you hollow out and fill with something else. while they may be delicious, i wanted to focus on an intensely almond cupcake with rich dark chocolate frosting and top it with crispy toasted coconut.
you might recall that i’m not a fan of wimpy cupcakes, and this one is no exception. these are decadent and indulgent. this recipe makes 24, so you might want to share them with someone you love or else you’ll find yourself indulging more than a few times a day.
the beauty of using almond extract is that you can tweak the flavor as you go. after i initially mixed the batter, a taste test told me that they needed more of a kick. quarter teaspoon by quarter teaspoon, i adjusted until i knew the cakes would have the rich taste i was after.
i don’t typically make chocolate frosting, but this one really blew me away. i think the difference was using higher quality chocolate than i’m used to. typically it’s simple nestle tollhouse morsels (which are excellent), but this time i went a different route - shaving down ghirardelli baking bars bit by bit. it was a labor of love that resulted in me getting chocolate all over my clothes and apartment, but it paid off in spades.
almond cupcakes with dark chocolate frosting and toasted coconut
makes 24 cupcakes. these are SO GOOD.
cupcakes
3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
3 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/4 cups milk
dark chocolate frosting
2 2/3 cups confectioner’s sugar
6 Tbsp butter
1 1/2 cups shaved ghirardelli baking chocolate (unsweetened 100% cacao)
1 cup cream
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup shredded coconut for toasting and topping
1. make the cupcakes: cream the butter and sugar until smooth. add the eggs, almond and vanilla extract and milk. in a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt, then mix into the wet ingredients.
2. fill cupcake liners 2/3 full with batter and bake for about 20 minutes at 375F. remove from the cupcake tray and let cool on a rack completely before frosting.
3. make the frosting: soften the butter in the microwave for about 40 seconds and mix in the confectioner’s sugar. add the vanilla and cream. shave the chocolate directly into the butter mixture, stirring to combine. you can test as you go and add more chocolate if you’d like.
4. move the frosting to a heatproof bowl and place over a saucepan with about 2 inches of water in it on medium heat. you want to really get the frosting smooth and creamy without direct heat from the flame, but it should not take long (maybe 5 minutes). you can continue tasting and adding chocolate or a bit more cream. let it cool at room temperature before frosting the cupcakes.
5. in a non-stick frying pan, heat up shredded coconut on low-medium heat, stirring constantly, until the coconut begins to brown. immediately take it off the heat and continue stirring. top the frosted cupcakes with the toasted coconut.
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14 comments so far ↓
Dad | Oct 3, 2008 at 3:27 pm
Pete, you are your Mother’s son…thank goodness. I’m glad you didn’t bake at home or I would be on my third bypass surgery. Your creations look yummy. I bet you have the best aromatic apartment on the street. Keep baking, Dad
sara angel | Oct 3, 2008 at 4:16 pm
these are great! i like how they are predominately almond :]
the girl | Oct 3, 2008 at 7:36 pm
Move over Hello Cupcake, Sticky Fingers, blah blah blah, here come’s petey!
the projectivist | Oct 3, 2008 at 9:26 pm
cheers pete
they look positively yummy!
did you eat them all yourself?!
Bunny | Oct 4, 2008 at 9:58 am
these look wonderful!
Mary | Oct 4, 2008 at 1:04 pm
I love almond in pretty much anything and your cupcakes look amazing.
Dicentra | Oct 6, 2008 at 12:57 am
Gorgeous! Absoulutely gorgeous!!
Kristina | Oct 6, 2008 at 6:05 am
I’ll definitely have to give these a try soon!
Kristina | Oct 6, 2008 at 6:05 am
I’ll definitely have to give these a try soon!
Bob Mitchell | Oct 6, 2008 at 1:57 pm
Pete,
Unlike your dad, I wish you had baked so your next door neighbors could have smelled what you were baking. Your dad always knows when I have the oven on because the smoke alarm always seems to go off when I’m baking (or just turn on the oven).
I agree with your dad’s post. I think you have the gift of baking from your Mom. I remember stopping by your parent’s house and smelling something wonderful baking…apple pie was the smell that greeted me most often at your parent’s kitchen door.
All the best to you and your new Web site.
Bob Mitchell (your next door neighbor).
Y | Oct 7, 2008 at 4:22 am
Those look like the perfect cupcakes! Nice photos too, by the way
Sarah | Oct 7, 2008 at 6:58 pm
Hi Pete,
I wanted to let you know that I made the almond cupcakes and they were really amazing! I am embarrassed to confess they did not make it to the frosting stage as I tested one (or five, but who’s counting) and decided they were so good they didn’t need it! I am checking out the other recipes on your blog now, I am excited to see what else you have created. Keep on doing what your doing! It’s delicious!
jo | Oct 8, 2008 at 11:18 am
These look delicious. Am definitely going to try these out.
Belinda | Dec 13, 2008 at 3:50 pm
Mde these but my frosting came out too thin. I added an extra 3/4 cup of powdered sugar but it’s still too thin…what do you think?
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