RECIPE | Coconut & Raspberry Cupcakes

 A simple, but gorgeous flavour combination that tickles any taste buds. I was first asked to make Coconut & Raspberry cupcakes for a baby shower on the weekend - and in my opinion, it is the perfect flavour combination to welcome a baby girl into the world!

Raspberry and coconut allow you to include the perfect colours for a girls baby shower. It gave me the perfect excuse to decorate them a littler differently too - taking inspiration from @milkandwaterbakingco for the multi-coloured beauties.

I even added a raspberry coulis and coconut centre for the extra hit of flavour - and it's easy to do. Simply cut out the centre of the cake with an apple corer or knife (or you can buy a cupcake corer from Lakeland) and then fill it up!

Raspberry Cupcakes with Coconut Buttercream

Servings: 12 cupcakes

Ingredients

For the Raspberry cake:

• 150g Stork butter (room temperature)
• 150g Caster sugar
• 3 Eggs
• 150g Self-raising flour
• 1tsp Vanilla extract
• 36 Fresh raspberries

For the coconut buttercream:

• 250g Butter (softened)
• 500g Icing sugar
• 1tbsp Coconut extract/flavouring
• 1 - 2tsp Tonic water/Sparkling water
• Pink food colouring (optional)
• Desiccated coconut (for decoration)

For the secret cupcake centre:

• 100ml Raspberry coulis
• 150g Desiccated coconut

Method

1. Pre-heat your oven to 180ºC and line a cupcake tin with 12 cupcake cases.

2. Measure the Stork butter and caster sugar into your mixer and place on a medium-high speed for 3-4 minutes until you have a light and fluffy mixture.

3. Keep your mixer on a medium speed and add your eggs one at a time, ensuring each egg is fully incorporated before adding the next one. Add the vanilla extract.

4. Add the self-raising flour and mix on a low-medium speed until incorporated and then increase the speed of your mixture to high for 3-4 minutes which will leave you with a creamy batter (a lot of bakers may read this and think - WHAT ARE YOU DOING? But I prefer this method as opposed to folding in the flour. It leaves you with an extra creamy batter and makes a better tasting cake in my opinion!).

5. Place one fresh raspberry in the centre of each cupcake case - then fill the cases 1/2 - 3/4 full with the batter. Then spike two further raspberries into each cupcake - this will give you lovely bursts of raspberry flavour as you bite into the cupcake - yum!

6. Place your cupcakes in the oven for 15 minutes. This will vary depending on your oven so start checking after 12 - either poke a skewer into your cakes until they come out clean or lightly push on the top of the cupcake - if it bounces back then they're ready! Remember they will also continue to cake when you take them out of the oven - you don't want to over bake them.

7. Whilst your cupcakes are cooling, you can start to make your icing. Place the butter in your mixer along with the coconut extract and mix on a high speed until light and fluffy. Usually 3-4 minutes.

8. Put all of the icing sugar in the mixer and mix on a low speed until incorporated. Add 1tsp of Tonic water/Sparking water (something with a little fizz makes the icing extra creamy and fluffy - something I discovered when I first started making G&T cupcakes). Be careful not to add too much and it will depend on your mixture as to whether you add the second teaspoon.

9. Turn the mixer up to high and continue to mix until you have a light and fluffy consistency. The longer you mix the whiter it will get - which will mean pretty cupcakes. Rather than a yellow tinge from the butter. I normally mix my buttercream for at least 5 minutes on a high speed for a fluffy consistency (and better flavour - not too heavy). At this point - add your food colouring (optional).

10. Place a floral tip onto a disposable piping bag and be creative!