Suddie's Fantabulous Coconut Cupcakes

They're Fantabulous

We're expecting guests to arrive.   They say they will arrive at 9:30 PM.  Just in time to tuck them into bed.  We suspect it's far more likely they will roll in around midnight!  They're coming from San Francisco via Boulder and driving.  It's very difficult to stick to a schedule on such a long haul.

We have Suddie's Fantabulous Coconut Cupcakes in the oven in case they arrive famished (in addition to very, very late).

I think we first got hooked on cupcakes when we experienced them in all their glory at Society Bakery in Dallas.   They are so good.  Later we found their coconut cupcake recipe in People magazine, of all places.  We tried it out and this recipe WAS NOT their coconut cupcake recipe at all.  We were more than sure of that.  And the accompanying 7-minute frosting recipe produced something just dreadful.

So I emailed Roshi, the owner of Society Bakery.

Hi Roshi,
Whenever I was in Dallas, my dad would walk us over to Society Bakery so he could have your amazing cupcakes.
We don't get to Dallas as often as we would like and I know my dad pines for your cupcakes.  He misses them so much that I tried to make some for him using the Society Bakery coconut cupcake recipe that was published in People magazine.  I have to say they didn't taste nearly as good as your cupcakes and the frosting recipe didn't come anywhere close.   It didn't seem to be the right recipe.  Was this recipe correct or do you use a different one? Would you be willing to share?
Thanks so much for baking such great cupcakes.
Suddie

Roshi replied:

Hi Suddie
We can always ship you some whoopie pies!  The frosting recipe we gave to People was a seven minute frosting recipe that we only do for custom orders.  We do not give out our traditional cream cheese icing recipe.  Another thing we do differently with our coconut cupcakes now is hollow them out and fill them with pastry cream.   We have experimented with several versions of our Flavors - so another thing you might want to try is making a traditional white cake and add coconut to the batter.  I hope this helps.  Let us know if you would like us to ship you anything.
Take care,
Roshi Muns

So, I had to take matters into my own paws and create a superior coconut cupcake recipe.  My dad says they are the best coconut cupcakes in all the land, far and wide.  And we have no problem sharing the recipe!

Suddie's Fantabulous Coconut Cupcake Recipe

Cake Ingredients:
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
scant 1 tsp salt
1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1 1/2 sticks butter, room temperature
1 1/3 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 large egg whites
1/4 cup 0% Greek yougurt
3 tsp vanilla extract
1 /2 tsp coconut extract (we got ours from Amazon)
3/4 cup milk

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine flour with next 3 ingredients; set aside.
2.  Beat sugar and butter at medium speed until fluffy, about 5 mins.  Add eggs, egg whites, vanilla and coconut extracts and Greek yogurt, beating until blended.
3. Add coconut mixture to the butter mixture alternating with milk, beginning and ending with coconut mixture.  Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition.
4.  Scoop (we used a small ice cream scoop)into lined muffin pans, filling 2/3 full.  Bake from 22 -25 minutes.  But start checking them at 20 minutes.  When finished baking a wooden pick inserted into the center will come out clean.  Cool completely before frosting.

Frosting Ingredients:
2 8 oz cream cheese, cold
4 tbsp butter, room temperature
1 tbsp 0% Greek yogurt
4 tsp meringue powder (or dried egg whites)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Beat the cream cheese and butter until creamy.  Be careful not to over beat.  Beat in the Greek yogurt and meringue powder (if using, you don't have to but we think it helps the frosting keep it's shape).  Add the vanilla.  Add the powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time.  Mix until combined and fluffy.  Fold in coconut.  Sprinkle with remaining coconut.