Leave it to Rachel Ray to come up with a cupcake that is. . .”yummo”. . .but is frankly, a little complicated. None the less, I have decided that this one is so “yummo” I’m sharing it anyways. This is fun to do with your kids in the kitchen. After all who doesn’t love making something that has ‘fluff’ as an ingredient? I know. . .I know. . .I just said it was complicated and well, it is. (It doesn’t win any sneaky mama awards for being healthy either!) However, I promise that your budding pastry chefs will love stuffing the cupcakes and frosting them! Anything that is marked with an * is great for your kids to do!
You will need:
3 cups shredded sweetened coconut
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon of salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
13.5 ounce can of unsweetened coconut milk
3 sticks of unsalted butter (one stick melted, two sticks softened)
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar
7.5 ounce jar of marshmallow cream
*Grease and flour a 12 cup muffin pan and preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Spread the shredded coconut on a rimmed baking sheet (like a jelly roll pan) and toast in the oven until lightly brown. It should take about 10 minutes.
*Meanwhile, in a large bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Stir in the sugar and 1 cup of the toasted coconut.
*In a small bowl, stir together the coconut milk, melted butter, eggs and rum. Add to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared muffin pans, filling about three-quarters of each cup. Bake until lightly golden about 35 minutes. (Use the toothpick test to check for doneness.) Transfer the cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely.
*In a large bowl, beat the remaining butter until creamy. Beat in half the confectioners’ sugar until fluffy, then beat in the remainder. Add the marshmallow cream and beat until combined. If the mixture is too thick to pass through a squeeze-bottle nozzle, stir in a tablespoon of so of water.
*Fill a squeeze bottle or pastry bag with about 2/3 cup of the marshmallow frosting. Insert the tip of the bottle into the top of each cupcake and squeeze frosting into the center. Spread frosting on the top, sides and bottom and sprinkle cupcakes with toasted coconut.