Cocoa-nutty hi-hats

These awesome cupcake cases were a prezzie from my sister, they came from a cool little shop in Brighton. She has started going to Iron Cupcake Leeds the past two months, you can check her blog to see what it's like!

Every time an Iron Cupcake comes around I think up an idea, do a test run, and then a few days before change the idea completely and make something different. So this time my peachy test runs evolved over a few days into then becoming peach and coconut, then I thought about doing my Martha Stewart pineapple and coconut...which eventually led on to the idea of chocolate and coconut!

I used Martha's recipe for coconut cupcakes which incorporates both dessicated coconut and coconut milk. Once they were baked, I cut out a circle from the top and piped in some chocolate and coconut filling. I am currently coveting this snazzy little kit from the states which would make this step alot easier!

They were then frosted with a white chocolate and coconut buttercream. After being refrigerated for 30 minutes to harden the frosting they were dipped in a bowl of melted chocolate. It was my first time attempting hi-hats and I think they were fairly successful, and not too tricky to dip! I had planned to cover them in shredded coconut but it is impossible to find here in the uk and the website I eventually found it from did not deliver in time so I had to roll them in desiccated coconut instead:

Here, by popular demand, is the recipe:

Martha Stewart's Coconut Cupcakes:

(Makes about 20)

1 3/4 cups plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup packed sweetened shredded coconut (I used desiccated)

3/4 cup unsalted butter at room temp

1 1/3 cups caster sugar

2 large whole eggs, plus 2 egg whites at room temp

1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

3/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk

• 1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees c.
• 2. Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Pulse shredded coconut in a food processor until finely ground, and whisk into flour mixture.
• 2. With an electric mixer on medium high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Gradually beat in whole eggs, whites and vanilla, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of coconut milk, and beating until combined after each.
• 3. Divide batter evenly among cases, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, for about 20 minutes.

Chocolate & Coconut Filling:

4 oz. dark chocolate (I used 70% cocoa solids and it turned out a little too dark for my liking so I then added in about 1 ounce white chocolate)

1/4 cup coconut milk

4 oz. cream cheese, at room temp

• Put chocolate and milk in a glass bowl over a pan of boiling water. Bring to a simmer and cook until chocolate is melted. Stir to combine. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.
• In a bowl, combine cream cheese and chocolate, and beat until smooth
• Put into a pastry bag fitted with a star tip and pipe a squirt of filling into each cupcake hole

Coconut & White Chocolate Frosting:

1 cup/6 oz. white chocolate

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 brick/8 oz. cream cheese, at room temp

1/2 tsp coconut extract (now this is where I went wrong! I didn't have any coconut extract so I used about 3 tbsp coconut milk to give it a nice coconutty flavour. However it was then not stiff enough to pipe due to the excess liquid so I had to save it by adding lots more icing sugar and butter!)

2 1/2 cups icing sugar

1 cup desiccated coconut

• Melt white chocolate in a glass bowl over a pan of boiling water
• Beat butter, cream cheese and coconut extract in large bowl with electric mixer until creamed and blended
• Beat in white chocolate until blended
• On low speed, gradually beat in icing sugar and then add desiccated coconut

Chocolate coating:

2 cups/12 oz. Milk chocolate

3 tbsp vegetable oil

125g desiccated coconut

• Melt chocolate and oil in a glass bowl over a pan of boiling water
• Stir until melted and smooth
• Take off heat to cool for 15 minutes
• Holding each cupcake by its bottom, dip cupcake in the chocolate to coat the frosting, allowing excess to drip off
• Transfer to a wire rack and spoon more chocolate coating around the edge of the cupcake and any exposed frosting; none of the frosting should show
• Roll coating in a dish of desiccated coconut
• Let cupcakes stand for 30 minutes so the chocolate hardens (I left mine overnight to harden in my cupcake courier, so am not sure how long it takes exactly until they are set)

Here's my little helper licking the bowl I melted the chocolate in!