Do you ever get so excited about a recipe that you find yourself making it over and over again, despite your husband's hatred for coconut? My latest obsession are these coconut cupcakes, made from Ina Garten's recipe (aka the Barefoot Contessa). I am a fan of most things Ina makes, simply because they usually turn out exactly as I expected (and sometimes even better than I dared hope!).
When I was an art director at Martha Stewart Living, Ina had a monthly entertaining column. She would plan a menu or a little party and share her recipes and tips. You may not know that Ina was a very successful caterer for years, running her shop and catering business The Barefoot Contessa in East Hampton. I had the chance to art direct a few of those entertaining columns, and though it was sometimes crazy getting up at 5 AM to make it out to East Hampton at a decent hour, I always enjoyed being in Ina's home. She had a lovely garden just out the back door where you could cut some lettuce for a recipe or grab some fresh herbs. And spending any day in the Hamptons was always a treat.
But back to the cupcakes. These are the best cupcakes I have ever made. The cake itself is super moist and chewier than a standard cupcake because it has coconut in the batter (as well as coconut on top). The cream cheese frosting has a bit of almond extract that makes me crazy. And they're just so pretty.
I'm thinking if you toasted the coconut in the oven for a bit and then added a few candy eggs on top, this might be the perfect Easter cupcake.