Lemon Coconut Cupcakes and a vist from the Fairy Hobmother!

Lemon and Coconut---2 very strong and controversial flavors.
Yes, I said controversial.  You either  love coconut or you hate it.
For instance:
My friend Shelly said I ruined perfectly good cupcakes and my friend Theresa said the thought (of coconut) makes her almost throw up.

I don't  understand this.  Coconut is so good!!

The Handyman and I were invited to an  'End of Summer' BBQ and movie night last Saturday.  I knew, as soon as I saw them, that I  had to make these cupcakes to take.
For the record?  Shelly and Theresa sat together and shunned my coconut cupcakes!  But just as many people loved them.
It's  one of those wonders of the world--why people don't like coconut.


Also, there was no subtle taste of lemon in these cupcakes....instead there is a POW-PUNCH of lemon.  I think if you didn't like the flavor of lemon, it would actually make you pucker.   It would make your cheeks hurt.  There is 1 cup of  lemonade concentrate and, like I said: WOW LEMON FLAVOR.

They would make a great lemon cupcake with a plain vanilla frosting, if you are one of the weirdos who doesn't like coconut. 

I saw these cupcakes in   "The Best of Summer with Sandra Lee."  A  quarterly cooking magazine that I pick up once in a while.  She has some pretty good recipes in here.
Altho....I didn't put the cream filling inside of these.  I ran out of time, so I just made the lemon cupcake and the coconut frosting.   Still---very good!   Next time I will add the filling, as I'm sure they will be even better with the filling  and I really can't wait to try it.

And  yes, this is "semi"  homemade, so you use boxed mixes,  but I bet you could make it work for your 'all the way' homemade cupcakes.
This was so easy tho.

Lemon Coconut Cupcakes

1 box white cake mix
1 cup frozen lemonade concentrate-thawed
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1/2 cup sour cream

Coconut filling:
1 3oz package cream cheese
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1  8oz container of Cool Whip
1/4 tsp coconut extract

in a medium bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add Cool Whip and beat till thick. Add extract and mix.

Frosting:
2 16oz cans fluffy white frosting
1 tsp coconut extract
sweetened flaked coconut
quartered lemon slices

1.  Preheat oven to 350.  Line 2 (12 cup) muffin pans with paper liners.

2. In a large bowl, combine cake mix, lemonade concentrate, oil and eggs.  Beat at medium speed for 2 minutes.  Increase mixer speed and beat until smooth.  Stir in sour cream. Spoon batter evenly into prepared muffin cups.
Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let cool in the pan for 2 minutes.  Remove from pans and cool completely on wire racks.

3.  Spoon coconut cream filling into a squeeze bottle with a long narrow tip. Insert tip into center of each cupcake and squeeze  about  1 tablespoon filling into each cupcake. 

4.  In a medium bowl, combine frosting and coconut extract. Spread frosting evenly over each cupcake.    Top each with coconut and a lemon slice.
Store in the fridge.

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Before I go on to show you a few pics of movie night I wanted to tell you that I was visited by the Fairy Hobmother!!
Yes, I was.
It came as quite a surprise to me, since it had been a few weeks since I had commented on Brenda's  blog (Brenda's Canadian Kitchen).
What is a Fairy Hobmother, you ask?  Well, otherwise known as Ian from Appliances online, the Fairy Hobmother visits blogs and leaves gifts.  As I said, I visited Brenda's blog a few weeks ago and left a comment.  Fast forward to  today when I got a message from my Fairy Hobmother and  was left with a  $20 Amazon voucher.  
 Brenda explained on her blog that anyone who left a comment could very well be visited by the Fairy Hobmother  aka Ian from Appliances Online, and might be left with a gift.
It's true!  It happened to me.  When I least expected it.

What a fun day this has turned out to be.
I love surprises.  Good ones, that is.  And this is definitely a good one.

Thanks Ian and Appliances Online!
And Brenda too!

If you want a chance to receive a visit from the Fairy Hobmother, just leave a comment on this post and you never know..... you could have your dreams come true. 
If you don't have a blog, be sure and leave an email address in the comment.

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Movie Night!

It was so much fun.  My friend April hosted--she and her husband cooked chicken and everyone else brought a dish to share.

They had a screen set up on their patio and we all brought lawn chairs, blankets and whatever  we wanted to drink.

They also had a fire-pit with marshmallows and graham crackers and chocolate bars for anyone to go help themselves.

It was such a nice evening.  Thanks April and Doug!

 

Of course early in the evening, everyone gathered by the food.

Some people began to set up their spots for the movie.

You wouldn't want anyone to get the good spot before you!!

As I did a panoramic view of her yard, you can see there are lots of chairs set up...but the people are still by the food.  We all gather round food, don't we?

That little table has the computer which holds the movie to be shown on the screen.

On the far end of the yard, they had set up some yard games:  ladder golf and washers, for anyone to play.

That is my little grandson in the hat, walking by.

As it got darker, right before  they started the 'cartoon'  (just like the olden days---first a cartoon and then the movie), the kids had fun standing in front of the screen dancing and doing shadow puppets.

and then.....

the coconut haters!

and the coconut lovers!