It may seem like I’m on some coconut cupcake rampage since I just made Vanilla Bean-Coconut Cupcakes with Coconut Frosting two weeks ago, but it’s really not the case. A friend’s birthday came up and he loves coconut – what better way to celebrate a birthday than with cupcakes?

Today’s recipe comes from Ina Garten. I don’t particularly like watching Barefoot Contessa or any of Ina’s other shows on the Food Network channel (she reminds me too much of Martha Stewart – and no, that is not a good thing). But I have had good success with her recipes, including this delicious homemade Mac and Cheese recipe, so I had faith in Ina’s Coconut Cupcakes recipe as well.

I often try to halve recipes or change things around, which gets pretty dangerous (like the time I doubled a cookie recipe in college and forgot to double… the sugar…)  So after reading the recipe reviews, I decided that halving the recipe would make plenty of cupcakes. Then I mistakenly added too much butter to the mixer… so two-thirds-ing the recipe it was.

I made a few substitutions (noted below) and the cupcakes still turned out great. The cake was light and moist thanks to the buttermilk, and the cream cheese frosting was… well, cream cheese frosting is always awesome.

Coconut Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Adapted from Ina Garten

Yield: 30 cupcakes (The original recipe says 18-20, but 30 seems more accurate for a standard muffin pan)

Cupcakes:

3 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

2 cups sugar

5 extra-large eggs at room temperature

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1-1/2 teaspoons coconut extract

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup buttermilk

7 ounces sweetened, shredded coconut

Cream Cheese Frosting:

8 oz cream cheese at room temperature

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon coconut extract

3 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

7 ounces sweetened, shredded coconut

For Cupcakes:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs, 1 at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Add the vanilla and coconut extracts and mix well.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In 3 parts, alternately add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the batter, beginning and ending with the dry. Mix until just combined. Fold in 7 ounces of shredded coconut.

Line a muffin pan with paper liners. Fill each liner with batter, leaving some room for the batter to rise. Bake for 25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Remove to a baking rack and cool completely.

For Frosting:

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, on low speed, cream together the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla and coconut extracts. Add the confectioners’ sugar and mix until smooth.

Frost the cupcakes and sprinkle with the remaining coconut.

Notes:

1) Don’t have buttermilk? It’s easy to make your own! Combine 1 cup of milk (I used 1% milk) with 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice. Let the mixture sit until it clabbers, about 10 minutes.

2) I only keep large eggs around, so I used 6 large eggs instead of 5 extra-large eggs.

3) I never have baking powder around. I just use the following substitute: 1 teaspoon baking powder = 1/4 teaspoon baking soda + 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar.

4) I didn’t have enough unsalted butter on hand (yes, I was a bit disorganized today…) For the cupcakes, I substituted 1 stick of unsalted butter with 1 stick of salted butter and skipped adding the 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

5) Ina’s recipe calls for almond extract but I don’t really like the taste, so I used coconut extract instead to punch up the coconut flavor.

6) I used light cream cheese and the frosting still tasted yummy.

7) You can also toast the coconut before sprinkling it on the frosting, if desired.

Technorati Tags: barefoot contessa, coconut, cream cheese frosting, cupcakes, food network, ina garten, recipe

For the past few weeks, I’ve been eyeing this Vanilla Bean-Coconut Cupcakes with Coconut Frosting recipe on my favorite food site, Epicurious.com. Vanilla and coconut, what could be more Polynesian than that?

I failed to tackle this recipe over Labor Day weekend (made 2.5 pounds of lobster salad instead), and failed again last weekend (went to the Bronx Zoo to practice wildlife photography). Finally this weekend, I mustered up the time and energy to bake.

It’s been a long time since I’ve made cupcakes, but all in all these ones turned out quite well.

The cake part is delicious, moist and slightly sweet. The frosting is tasty too, but together with the cake the sweetness can get pretty cloying. The toasted coconut flakes add the perfect final touch, both in appearance and by adding some nice texture to each bite. Take it from me – I normally shun coconut flakes and even I was sprinkling extra onto my cupcake.

Would I make these again? Sure, but I’d have to have a really big sweet tooth to do it. With a 4 fork rating for this recipe from Epicurious.com, it’s clear a lot of people like their sweets!

Vanilla Bean-Coconut Cupcakes with Coconut Frosting

Adapted from Bon Appétit, April 2009

Yield: 18 cupcakes

Reduced coconut milk:
2 13-to 14-ounce cans unsweetened coconut milk

Cupcakes:
2 cups all purpose flour
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/3 cups sugar
3 large eggs
Seeds scraped from 1 split vanilla bean or 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup reduced coconut milk (see above), room temperature

Frosting:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup reduced coconut milk (see above), room temperature
Seeds scraped from 1 split vanilla bean or 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut, lightly toasted (for garnish)

For reduced coconut milk:
Bring coconut milk to boil in large deep saucepan over medium-high heat (coconut milk will boil up high in pan). Reduce heat to mediumlow; boil until reduced to 1 1/2 cups, stirring occasionally, 45 to 60 minutes. Remove from heat; cool completely. Transfer to small bowl. Cover; chill (coconut milk will settle slightly as it cools). DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled.

For cupcakes:
Position rack in center of oven; preheat to 350°F. Line eighteen 1/3-cup muffin cups with paper liners. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until smooth. Add sugar; beat on medium-high speed until well blended, about 2 minutes. Add 2 eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition and occasionally scraping down sides of bowl. Beat in seeds from vanilla bean and remaining egg. Add half of flour mixture; mix on low speed just until blended. Add 1 cup reduced coconut milk; mix just until blended. Add remaining flour mixture; mix on low speed just until blended. Divide batter among muffin cups. Bake cupcakes until tops spring back when gently touched and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer cupcakes in pans to rack; cool 10 minutes. Carefully remove cupcakes from pans and cool completely on rack.

For frosting:
Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until smooth. Add sugar, 1/3 cup reduced coconut milk, seeds from vanilla bean, and salt. Beat on medium-low speed until blended, scraping down sides of bowl. Increase to mediumhigh and beat until light and fluffy.

Using pastry bag fitted with large star tip, pipe frosting onto cooled cupcakes. (Alternatively, top each cupcake with 2 tablespoons frosting. Using small offset spatula, swirl frosting over top of cupcakes, leaving 1/2-inch plain border.) Sprinkle with coconut. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Store in airtight containers; chill. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Tip #1: I’ve never mastered the art of frosting using pastry bags and star tips. Today was not the day to learn new techniques, so I frosted my cupcakes using a simple ziploc bag with one corner clipped off (thanks Alton Brown) and a steady hand.

Tip #2: If you’ve never toasted coconut before, here’s how to do it. Set your oven to 300 degrees. Place the coconut in 1 layer and bake for about 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Take it from me – keep a close eye on your coconut or it will burn!

Technorati Tags: coconut, cupcake, epicurious, recipe, vanilla bean

If someone asks for a classic Tahitian dish, the answer is easy – Poisson Cru, of course! Made from raw tuna marinated in citrus juices and coconut milk, Poisson Cru represents everything I love about French Polynesian food – fresh seafood, tasty coconut flavor and just plain delicious.

When you’re in French Polynesia, you’ll be hard pressed to miss this dish – it’s served EVERYWHERE. Of course, once you’ve left the islands, your only chance of finding Poisson Cru is in your kitchen.

I’ve had Poisson Cru many times in French Polynesia and each restaurant prepared it slightly differently. Some elements remained a constant though – tuna, citrus, coconut milk, cucumber, tomato and onion.

Poisson Cru is very easy to make. The most important element is to make sure you get high quality, sushi-grade tuna. Then, it’s just a matter of chopping up some vegetables and mixing everything together. Luckily, there’s a local Japanese grocery store I visit that sells small packages of sushi-grade fish. I was hoping they would have toro tuna, but today they only had maguro. Just another excuse to make Poisson Cru again.

Prep and assembly time from start to finish took 10-15 minutes. Once everything was mixed together, I made some small adjustments to taste by adding a little more lemon and lime juice. I found the dish tasted better after letting it sit for 10-15 minutes to let the flavors combine. The overall result was delicious and transported me straight back to French Polynesia.

Tahitian Poisson Cru

Yields: 4 large appetizer portions

1/2 pound high quality tuna, diced into 1/2 inch cubes
1/3 cup equal parts lemon and lime juices
1/2 cucumber – peeled, seeded, and cut into thin slices
1 medium tomato – seeded and diced
1/2 cup red onion, thinly sliced
1/3 cup coconut milk
Salt and pepper to taste
Scallions (optional)

Combine the tuna and lemon/lime juices in a medium bowl. Allow to sit for 5 minutes.

Add in the remaining ingredients and mix well. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Let everything marinate for 10-15 minutes to let the flavors combine.

Garnish with scallions, if desired. Serve immediately.

Technorati Tags: french polynesia, poisson cru, poisson cru recipe, tahiti, tahitian poisson cru recipe, tahitian recipe