I know I promised you a savory recipe last week.
I accidentally lied.
I say “accidentally” because I really did intend to give you my great-grandmother’s pimento cheese recipe at the end of last week. But has anyone else noticed that life has the fun habit of not going quite according to plan most of the time? So you’ll have to wait for pimento cheese (it’s coming, I promise you) and take cupcakes for now.
Today I am joining 20 other awesome bloggers to bring you these cupcakes as part of the Cupcake Couture Blog Party. Dreamed up by Carrie from Bella Cupcake Couture and Betsy from Java Cupcake and Cupcakes Take the Cake, the idea behind the blog party is to show all of our readers not only how easy it is to make gorgeous cupcakes, but how simple and affordable it can be to create a lovely cupcake display for any party or event.
Each blogger who participated received a package of Bella Cupcake Couture cupcake wrappers and were challenged to create a cupcake that fit the theme of the wrapper, then style and display the cupcakes using items that we already had at home.
The wrappers I received were a simple red and white stripe – perfect for creating a summery cupcake and display! Using the batter from my coconut cake, I filled my cupcakes with mango preserves, frosted them with a simple buttercream, and garnished them with a sprinkle of toasted coconut and a couple of slices of dried mango. Really, they couldn’t have been simpler, but look how lovely they turned out! In order to keep these lovely cupcakes the star of the display, I arranged them on a platter and cake plate, and accented the display with antique glass bottles and jars that I already had around the house. And while the display I created does have a red, white, and blue theme going on, it really would be perfect for any sort of summer get-together, not just the 4th of July.
In order to encourage you to get creative with cupcakes at your next party or event, one lucky reader will have the chance to win the following awesome prizes:
Thanks to our amazing Prize Pack sponsors for their generous donations! Please, visit their websites to see more of their fabulous products!
To enter to WIN this Prize Pack, simply fill out the Rafflecopter entry form below.
Contest opens May 21, 2013 at 7 am PST and closes May 28, 2013 at 11:59 pm PST. One winner will be chosen and announced within 24 hours of the contest ending. Winner will be contacted via email to claim their prize.
This contest is open to residents of the USA and Europe only.
And make sure to visit the other great bloggers that are participating in the blog party and see what beautiful cupcakes and displays they came up with!
An American Cupcake in London
Coconut Mango Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 eggs
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- Scant 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
For the filling:
- 1 cup mango preserves
For the frosting:
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 1/2 tablespoons coconut milk
- Pinch of salt
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
- Toasted coconut and dried mango slices for garnish
Instructions
First, make the cake:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 21 cupcake tins with liners. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating to incorporate after each addition.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder, soda, and salt. Add to the butter and egg mixture in 4 parts, alternating with the coconut milk and vanilla, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.
- Divide the batter evenly among the prepared cupcake tins. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcakes comes out clean.
- Allow cakes to cool for 3-5 minutes in the pan, then remove and allow to finish cooling on a cake rack.
To fill:
- Using a paring knife, insert the knife about halfway between the edge of the cupcake and the center at a 45 degree angle, then cut a circle out of the center of the cupcake. You should end up with a cone of cake out of the center. Cut the top off of the cone, and reserve. Add about a teaspoon of the preserves to the well in the center of the cupcake, then replace the top of the cone over the opening in the cupcake. Repeat with the rest of the cupcakes, then frost.
Make the frosting:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the butter until smooth. Add in the powdered sugar and the salt, whisking on low speed until combined. Add the vanilla and the coconut milk, beating on high speed until light and fluffy and slightly increased in volume, about 2-3 minutes. Add more milk or powdered sugar as necessary to achieve your desired spreading consistency.
Assemble the cupcakes:
- Using a piping bag, pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes. Immediately place two small pieces of dried mango into the frosting (you may need to cut the mango into smaller pieces using kitchen shears) and sprinkle with the toasted coconut. Allow frosting to set, then display and enjoy!
These look SO delish! And since there’s fruit, these could be breakfast, right?
That comment just solidified that you’re my soul sister.
Wow, these are both pretty and delicious looking!
Oh my goodness…is 9am too early for cupcakes? These look so good…and those wrappers are adorable!
Oh, man. These are the coolest cupcake liners I’ve ever seen. I especially like the floral ones (although the holiday ones are precious). I wish I had a cupcake right now.
HOW CUTE! I have such a crush on those cupcake liners… and what I wouldn’t give to have a whole batch of those cupcakes in front of me right now. It wouldn’t be a pretty sight (but it would be DELICIOUS).
And that’s what’s really important. 😉
Ahhh such fun!! I love your cupcake wrappers, they’re adooorable and these cupcakes sound tastyy!
LOOOOOOVE them! They turned out so amazing! Thanks for being a part of the Blog Party!
<3 Betsy
Thanks for organizing!!
I love these tropical flavors!
Those cupcake liners are so awesome- you could really go so many directions with them. I love the bright mango on top!
Awesome giveaway! I love the pink camo cupcake liners they offer. So fun!
Mmm! Coconut and mango. LOVE these cupcakes!
Love the giveaway! I also love these colorful flavorful cupcakes AND the photo styling. Look at you, so fancy!!!!
I specifically put on my fancy pants for that shoot.
Hannah pink/yellow is very pretty.
Gorgeous cupcakes!! and so perfect for summer 🙂
those wrappers are so versatile – very pretty 🙂
Great summer flavor combo!
I love it when you accidentally lie, especially when it brings coconut mango cupcakes to my computer screen for viewing pleasure 😉 Love the idea of this project – you certainly all made some tasty and beautiful cupcakes! Now if I could only get a couple dozen to magically appear in my kitchen…I’d have to borrow some serious weigh watchers points, but it’d be worth it! 🙂
I’ll accidentally lie to you more often, then. 😉
so fun! i love how the wrappers dress up the cupcakes! coconut is one of my fav flavors too!
The pink zebra is my favorite.
These cupcakes are beautiful! I love coconut cake and cupcakes with filling.
Yum! What a great flavor combo..
Oooo I love coconut and I love mango. These cupcakes look delicious! 🙂
You had me at mango!!! Love me some mango and coconut. Beautiful display! Thank you for participating in the Cupcake Couture Blog Party. The cupcake wrappers were displayed beautifully on your tasty looking cupcake. So happy you could participate!
PS I’ll be back for that Pimento Cheese Dip! I had one in North Caroline one time at the Kings Kitchen that was amazing but lost the recipe.
What a great combination of flavors!
Everything about these cupcakes is perfect and magical. I need to make these.
Hi
Where did you get your mango preserves.
Whole Foods, I believe!