Coconut cupcakes

 

Coconut cupcakes with cream cheese frosting (Ina Garten)

Cuspcake rating: 3

Made these in a hurry to take on board on a day of boating with colleagues (to celebrate my birthday). Been wanting to try the recipe because of all the rave reviews it got on Chowhound. Have to admit that coconut is not my favourite flavour, and strangely enough, although it is an Asian flavour, lots of the people I know don't really like coconut. I think it's just too dense and rich and heavy in our weather. Ironic, I know, but I really prefer coconuts when they're young, and their flesh is translucent, jellylike and refreshing, rather than flaked and sweetened in a packet.

As it turned out, the boating outing was catered, so noone got around to eating these at all. I did have one warm out of the oven, and I have to say it is a really good coconut cupcake recipe. Fragrant, chewy, just a little sticky. The cream cheese is a nice contrast (recipe had too much butter in it though), and I think the coconut topping is overkill.

I'd do these again for a coconut fan (Dad'd love this I think), but bake them till the tops are more golden, possibly use fresh coconut if I can get some (which would cut the sweetness, but possibly the stickiness too...maybe I'll do half-half), serve them warm with just frosting and no coconut topping. The 3 rating in this case is purely personal (they all are, of course, but you know what I mean), because I think a coconut fan might go as high as a 4.5 on these.