Almond Joy Cupcakes

Photo: BigFatBaker

Ingredients

Cupcake Ingredients:

3/4 cup butter at room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

3 teaspoons almond extract

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups milk

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 cups flour

Frosting Ingredients:

6 tablespoons unsalted butter at room tempature

2 tablespoons shortening

4 cups powdered sugar*

3/4 cup cocoa powder*

1 teaspoon coconut extract

6 tablespoons milk*

1 cup shredded coconut to toast for decoration

Preparation

Line the cupcake pans, and preheat the oven to 375ºF.

Cream together the butter and sugar until smooth.

Mix in the eggs, extracts, and milk.

In a separate bowl mix together the remaining ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mix, and stir until combined. Hold off on tasting the batter, the almond extract is a little strong and not a good representation of what the final product tastes like.

Fill each cupcake 2/3 full, and bake for 12-30 minutes. The time will vary with the amount of batter in your liners. My flower cupcake wrappers were HUGE and took almost a full 30 minutes, while the minis only took about 12 minutes to bake.

Remove from the oven when an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

To Make the Frosting:

Beat the butter and shortening together until smooth.

Mix in the coconut and powdered sugar.

Add the milk until you reach your desired consistency.

Toast the coconut at 350ºF for 7-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Once the cupcakes have cooled, frost them and sprinkle with the toasted coconut.