Put the Time in the Coconut (Cupcakes)

 I was excited to make Martha's Coconut Cupcakes as many of my friends and family have outwardly expressed their love for all things coconut. However, I'm having trouble coming up with anything blog-worthy to write about this week's challenge. I have to be honest, I baked them half-heartedly. Multi-tasking to concoct a mexican fiesta for dinner, trying to decide what outfit to wear out that night, and entertaining my boyfriend who was visiting for the weekend. Lucky for me, the recipe wasn't too difficult: the standard cupcake ingredients with the exception of coconut milk for buttermilk, and coconut flakes added in the batter (similar to the carrot cupcakes). So, the baking went without a hitch.

I also have to confess that I cheated on the frosting. I don't know if it's really cheating... it's not like I used the can frosting. I didn't. Well you can decide for yourself. The recipe suggests that I make Martha's "7-minute frosting". Ok, so you're probably thinking...7 minutes, Mindy's all about doing things quickly why did she cheat!? Glancing at the recipe, Martha wants me to get out my candy thermometer, and go buy coconut extract for $12 a drop. Blah blah blah I stopped reading. I didn't feel that this 7 minute miracle frosting could be done while multi-tasking. So, I chose to substitute it for the standard fluffy white whatever frosting, the one I've made before (see Yellow Buttermilk week). I feel it evens out because instead of just topping with plain coconut flakes, I did  the toasting effect to the flaked coconut. After eating half of the warm, crunchy flakes out of the pan, I dunked the frosted little guys in it. My extra critical oldest brother (no offense, Mike) suggested that I be more like the fancy cupcake shops and really load on the frosting on my cupcakes. This I did.

I hope that Martha isn't upset with me for my lack-luster effort this week. I mean, I still completed the recipe successfully, they were delicious. And, though I didn't put everything on hold to make them, I managed keep my cupcake eaters smiling and asking for more.  I'd like to think Martha would be happy to know that I gave up valuable time out of my busy social life to attempt one of  her recipes.

Cupcake Stats:
Martha said this recipe would make 20: It did!
W.W. Points- still working on this one...
Brother's approval on frosting amount: YES