Chocolate Caramel Coconut Cupcake

This may be the best cupcake ever!!!  If you like chocolate, caramel and coconut all combined into a delightful taste of baked goodness this is the one for you.  The flavor combination comes from one of my favorite Girl Scout cookies - The Samoa or Caramel deLight. The cupcake has a chocolate cake bottom filled with creamy caramel.  It is frosted with a coconut buttercream and then topped with toasted coconut and a caramel drizzle. I make cupcakes quite often, but this one stands out - It is currently in the lead for favorite among my tasters.

While making these I  developed a love for toasted coconut.  Who new it tasted that good?

Toasting it makes it all crispy and crunchy and gives it a soft brown color.  This crunchy texture helps balance out the creamy frosting.   I like it so much, I am currently thinking of all the other things I can add toasted coconut to.

To make toasted coconut:  

     Preheat oven to 325ºF. Spread coconut shavings on a rimmed baking sheet and bake, stirring once or twice, until golden, about 5 to 10 minutes. If toasting sweetened coconut, check and stir more frequently because the sugar can cause irregular browning.

Don't be scared by the addition of coffee in the chocolate cupcake recipe.  The coffee enhances the chocolate flavor, but does not leave a taste of coffee in the cupcakes.  It is the secret ingredient in this recipe.   I grew up on these cupcakes and was shocked when I made them myself for the first time, because my mother had tricked me all those years by putting coffee to this recipe and I never knew it. 


I tasted so many of these cupcakes (for research purposes of course) that I couldn't even take one more bite for the inside view photo (below).  My husband Andy did this job for me. This is proof that he loves me, because he had eaten his fill of cupcakes too!

Girl Scout cookies are only available once a year, but now you can enjoy these flavors any time you want with one of these treats!

Chocolate Cupcakes  -Makes 24 
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
3/4 cup cocoa
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup brewed coffee


In one bowl, sift dry ingredients together.  In separate mixing bowl, add oil, eggs, milk, vanilla and coffee.  Stir to combine.
Add dry ingredients to wet mixture and beat until well mixed.  Batter will be thin.  Scoop into cupcake pans and bake at 350 degrees for 15-17 minutes.  Do not over-bake.  Cupcakes are done when an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely before filling and frosting.


Caramel Filling Makes enough to fill  and drizzle 24 cupcakes 
52 caramels
1 cup half & half


Unwrap caramels and place in microwave safe bowl with half & half.  Cook on high for 2-3 minutes or until caramels melt.  


Fill cupcakes by using a small pairing knife to cut a cone of cake (1-inch across by 1-inch deep) out of the top. Trim off the pointy end of the cone, leaving a flat circle of cake. Set aside and repeat this process for all the cupcakes.
Fill each cupcake with about 1 tablespoon of caramel mixture.  Top off with a flat circle of cake to plug the hole and keep the filling in place.


Coconut Buttercream Frosting -Makes 2 1/2 cups 
8 Tbs (1 stick) butter at room temperature
3 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
3-4 Tbs milk
1 tsp coconut flavor


Beat butter with electric mixer until light and fluffy (about 30 seconds).  Add confectioners' sugar and 3 Tbs of milk and vanilla.  Mix on low speed until combined. Increase speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy.  Add another tablespoon of milk if frosting is too stiff. 


After frosting cupcakes, sprinkle with toasted coconut and drizzle with caramel.