Last year my dear friend Sabeena and I would spend hours making fairy cakes of various flavors and colors and shapes out of sand at the park. For her 3rd birthday I decided to make as close as I could to edible fairy cakes- these are what I came up with. Although they are lacking the iridescent sparkles, the periwinkle filling and the rose petal glitter of true fairy cakes, she (and I think everyone else) loved them.
If you wanted to, I'm sure you could experiment with using partially whole-grain flour and less sugar- but once in a while I think it's better to just go for the whole sugar bomb and throw the rest out the window! These cupcakes are made with refined sugar and white flour, and I'm a firm believer that food feeds us on various levels and sometimes our soul needs a little white flour and coconut cream to be healthy!
A friend of mine who is an Ayurvedic doctor once said something that has stuck with me ever since:"Anything can be medicine and anything can be poison- you just have to know what you need in any specific moment". So while I usually write about food that is healthy in the traditional sense, I couldn't resist sharing this wonderful recipe with you.
I used a recipe from the April 2009 issue of Bon Appetit. I rarely follow recipes exactly, but this one I did, and I was so happy with the results, I recommend doing the same. The cupcakes get their creaminess and intense coconut flavor from coconut milk which you reduce down and mix into the cake batter and the frosting.
INGREDIENTS:
2 13-14 oz cans of organic, unsweetened coconut milk
2 cups flour
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
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
Frosting:
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup reduced coconut milk (made with canned coconut milk above)
seeds from one split vanilla bean or 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sweetened, flaked coconut, lightly toasted (be careful not to burn!)
First reduce the coconut milk. (This will be used in both the frosting and the cupcakes themselves.) Bring the coconut milk to a boil in a large, deep saucepan over medium-high heat. The milk will boil up high in the pan. Reduce the heat to medium-low and boil until reduced to 1 1/2 cups, stirring occasionally, 25-30 minutes. Remove from the heat; cool completely. (This can be done up to 2 days ahead and stored in the fridge.)
Center rack in oven; preheat to 350 degrees. Line 18 1/3 cup muffin tins with paper liners.
Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl. Using an electric mixer (or egg beater or whisk- I hardly ever use electric mixers) beat butter in a large bowl until smooth. Add the sugar; beat on medium-high speed until well blended, about 2 minutes. Add 2 eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl.
Beat in the vanilla seeds or extract and remaining egg. Add half of the flour mixture; mix on low speed just until blended. Add 1 cup reduced, cooled coconut milk, mix just until blended. Add remaining flour mixture; mix on low speed just until blended. Divide batter among muffin cups.
Bake until tops spring back when gently touched- about 20 minutes. Transfer pans to a rack and cool 10 minutes, and then remove cupcakes from the pans and cool completely on rack.
For the frosting:
Using a mixer or egg beater, beat butter in large bowl until smooth. Add sugar, 1/3 cup reduced coconut milk, seeds from the vanilla bean and salt. Beat on medium-low speed until blended, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy.
Top cooled cupcakes with 2 tablespoons of frosting using a small spatula and leaving a slight border on the sides of the cupcake. Sprinkle with the toasted coconut.
