As you know, I love coconut.
I can not think of a reason as to why someone wouldn’t like coconut. You can have it at anytime of the day! Besides the flesh, you can find coconut milk, oil, water, cream, pastries, and candy.
One of the better known coconut candies is the almond joy. An almond joy consists of a sticky sweet coconut mixture, with an almond placed on top, and then the whole thing is covered in chocolate.
I love both almond joys, and mounds. Something about the coconut and chocolate together is irresistible.
I thought about how to recreate this delectable candy… I wanted to make a cupcake that was like an almond joy, but not as sweet. And I didn’t want this to be a wimpy cupcake, I wanted something big and full of flavor. I decided to go with an almond cupcake.
Side note: I’ve been on a bit of an almond kick ever since I made the frosting for the pink velvet cheesecake.
And for the frosting, chocolate of course! But, I added a little coconut extract to boost the almond joy factor.
Since Valentine’s Day is coming up, I decided to use some pretty flower cupcake wrappers that I picked up at The Wal. My boyfriend, said they make the cupcakes taste better. I also made some mini cupcakes, and I used the same cupcake wrappers as the ones in the BFB Giveaway! They are so adorable!!
Almond Joy Cupcakes
Recipe Inspired By: peterandrewryan.com
Cupcake Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup butter at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 2 eggs
- 3 tsp almond extract
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups milk
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 1/2 cups flour
Frosting Ingredients:
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter at room tempature
- 2 tbsp shortening
- 3-4 cups powdered sugar*
- 1/2 – 3/4 cup cocoa powder*
- 1 tsp coconut extract
- 4 – 6 tbsp milk*
- 1 cup shredded coconut to toast for decoration
*You can test the flavor of the frosting and adjust according to what you like. I tend to improvise a little when I’m making frostings, so my recipes are always changing.
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Directions:
- 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 of the way 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.
Be careful of what tip you use if you pipe on your frosting. I used a round tip for some, and the boyfriend couldn’t stop calling them poopcakes… While it was slightly infuriating, it made me giggle.
The cupcake’s end result: amazing.
The cupcakes were moist, and somewhat dense with out being heavy. And the chocolate frosting was the perfect addition.
What’s your favorite Valentine’s Day candy?
About bigfatbaker
Yummy! I love coconut in any dish..and you cupcakes are to die for! Yummy!
Oh this is goooood! I love me some almond joy! And you put it in a cupcake?! Oh my word… genius!
chk the giveaway date sweety…is it March?
Yeah I am having it go through March!
Just drooling by looking at these cup cakes. If you like coconut, I have a few easy coconut steam cake recipes to share too. Just pop over. Happy V day to you and family.
i’ve been on an almond kick lately too, but have yet to make almond cupcakes… i actually just tried one last nite for the first time from the cupcakestop truck in nyc – very almond-y but overkill with the almond frosting as well. i think pairing it with chocolate frosting like you did would be perfect!
btw, have you checked out my giveaway? i thought you’d be interested since you’re into organic ingredients… http://j.mp/esO54W
I adore Mounds and my hubby, Almond Joy and we both LOVE coconut! I am definitely making these for us!! Thank you for this!~
These look great! I love the toasted coconut on top…yum!
You have done it once again. I love almond joys and would definitely make these if only I had a good mixer. You have such a variety of cupcakes that you could prob open a little shop that just sells cupcakes. You may have to also do cheese cakes since you seem to be the expert on those.
Wow these cupcakes look amazing! I love coconut and Almond Joy’s! Def need to try this recipe!
my first time ever almond joys from you…thank you for sharing. happy V!!
I never seem to make a same frosting twice either! It’s really hard for me to write a frosting recipe down. I just keep adding things until it tastes the way I want it to and it’s the consistency I want it that day.
Your cupcakes look great!!
Ive recently discovered my love of coconut. I never liked it as a child but lately I seem to be all about it. These cupcakes sound awesome!