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!

Pat Conroy's Coconut Cake and Weekend Cooking

This coconut cake was "heavenly" as noted by this stained glass window.

Seriously, the cake was great, but the stained glass? It was a window from the First and Summerfield United Methodist Church in New Haven, CT, where my daughter-in-law interned this past semester. It was a beautiful window and I thought I'd share it.

Before leaving for Connecticut, I read The Pat Conroy Cookbook. If the name is not familiar to the food bloggers, I know it will be to the book bloggers. Conroy wrote "The Prince of Tides," "Beach Music," and "The Great Santini," among many others. I love his writing. Beach Music is among my favorite books of all time. You can tell he enjoys good food and cooking, as he always included those aspects in his books.


The subtitle of his cookbook is "Recipes and Stories of My Life," and it is very true, he has as many, if not more short essays and memoirs of his life throughout the book, than he does recipes.


That could be a slight exaggeration, but his stories are plentiful throughout the entire cookbook and I loved reading about his life.


He is married to author, Cassandra King, and it just so happens that I have two of her books in my TBR pile, "The Sunday Wife," and "Those Same Sweet Girls." Both have been moved to the top of the pile. (I feel like she's an old friend, now, after reading so much about her in Conroy's cookbook.)
 

Coconut Cake is one of my favorite types of cake.  And this one had Malibu rum in it too. How can you go wrong with that?!

The cake was heavy and dense, which was just like it's supposed to be. (it was saturated with the rum sauce)

Does anybody remember those Duncan Hines commercials from about 25 years ago, where they made a big deal that their cake mixes made Light and Airy cakes, not heavy and dense? Like that was so special?

I like a heavy (not too heavy tho) moist HOMEMADE cake.....and this one hit the spot.

I suggest you read the cookbook and...make the coconut cake as well as many other recipes, such as the crab cakes. Yum.

There might seem like a lot of steps to this cake, but it's well worth it.

Coconut Cake

For the Rum Sauce:
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup coconut rum (I used Malibu Rum)
1/3 cup water
In a small saucepan, combine the ingredients and heat over medium heat, until the mixture comes to a slow boil. Continue boiling for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside until the cake is baked. The syrup can be made a day ahead and reheated when needed.


For the toasted coconut:
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (available at health food stores) (I have used sweetened coconut before and it's fine)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the coconut on a baking sheet and toast until the edges turn a light brown, 3-4 minutes. Toasted, yet still pale shredded coconut will add another layer of flavor and slight crunch to the frosting. Check it carefully during the toasting; coconut can burn quickly. Total toasting time should not exceed more than 4 minutes. Remove immediately and transfer to another (not hot) baking sheet to cool.


For the Cake:
2 cups cake flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup sugar
1 cup shredded coconut
2 large eggs
1 cup canned coconut milk well shaken.
1/2 pound ( 2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled.
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest (1 Large lemon)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract.
To make the cake, butter and flour a 9-inch round cake pan.
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and sugar. Stir in the coconut.
In a another bowl, whisk the eggs and add the coconut milk and melted butter until the mixture is smooth. Stir in lemon zest and vanilla.
Using a wooden spoon, mix the egg mixture into the flour mixture until just blended.
Pour the batter (it will be thick) into the prepared cake pan. Bake at 350 degrees F until cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 55-60 minutes.
Cool the cake in the pan on a rack for about 20 minutes. Invert the pan an release the cake onto a clean work surface or a cake stand. When the cake is cool, cut horizontally into two equal layers, using a serrated knife and pressing down lightly on the top of the cake as you cut. Transfer each half, cut side up, to an individual plate and prink holes in several places on the surface. Rewarm the rum syrup and brush (or drizzle) the syrup over the cut surfaces of the cakes.


For the Frosting:
2 cups chilled heavy cream
powdered sugar, 2-4 teaspoons (or to taste)
1 cup untoasted shredded coconut
Whip the heavy cream and sugar together until the cream is almost firm (do not over whip). Fold the untoasted coconut into the whipped cream.
Frost the bottom layer of the cake with 1/3 of the coconut cream. Place the second layer on top of the coconut cream and frost the top and sides of cake with the remaining frosting. Sprinkle the top and sides with the toasted coconut.

I am going to submit this to "Weekend Cooking"

Weekend Cooking is hosted by Beth at Beth Fish Reads. It is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend.

Coconut Macaroons

Every once in awhile, when you read a book, that you've never read before, you'll notice all sorts of allusions and references and quotes to the book happen all around you once you've finished it.
The question is...did this happen "before" you read the book, and you just didn't know it? You didn't realize it because you had no point of reference?

I have a circle of friends who get together every few months for a BBQ or potluck or lunch, but sometimes if we are asked to "bring a dish to share", inevitably two or more of us will bring the same or similar dishes. (we once had 3 hot artichoke dips at the same party).

These two instances above are examples of this post. I had been thinking of making coconut macaroons. I purchased the ingredients. I took pictures as I was making them.
And then.... I logged on to my blog.
There on my sidebar was an update from "Lori" of "Lori's Lipsmacking Goodness". She had posted about "Coconut Macaroons".

How odd is that? Is there really a collective unconscious? Do great minds think alike?

You'll have to check out Lori's cookies, they look great...better than mine. Mine taste great tho. Like "Mounds bars" in a cookie.
Our recipes are very similar, only she uses more flour...which I plan to do the next time I make these. Mine spread a bit too much.

My cookie recipe comes from this cookbook (so this can count as my cookbook goal also)

Rosie's Bakery
Chocolate Packed, Jam Filled, Butter-Rich, No-Holds-Barred, Cookie Book
by Judy Rosenberg

The Cookies are:
Chocolate Coconut Scoops

THE COOKIE
1 cup sugar
4 large egg whites
6 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 cups shredded sweetened coconut

THE GLAZE
6 oz. bittersweet chocolate
4 tsp vegetable oil

1. Preheat over to 350 degrees. Line one or two baking sheets with parchment paper or a silpat mat.

2. Using a whisk, vigorously stir the sugar, egg whites and flour together in a medium sized bowl. Then stir in the coconut.

3. Using a melon baller or a mini-cookie scoop, scoop mounds of the mixture onto the baking sheets, placing them 2-inches apart. Bake until the edges and tops just begin to turn golden, about 12 minutes. Cool completely on the baking sheets.

4. When cookies have cooled, prepare the glaze: Melt the chocolate in the top of a double-boiler placed over simmering water. Stir in the oil.

5. Place the chocolate mixture in a small deep bowl and dip the bottom of each coconut cookie in the glaze. Set them upside down (they will tip slightly) on a plate or rack and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.

6. If you plan to snack on them the first day, place the cookies on a plate. After that, layer the cookies in an air-tight container, using plastic wrap, parchment or waxed paper between the layers and store in the fridge.

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This recipe says it makes 14 scoops, but I got double that...without doubling the recipe. they must have a bigger scoop, than I do.

I only baked them for about 11 minutes. I guess you'll have to test your own to see how your oven works.

You'll notice that I dipped half the cookie in the chocolate and not the bottom. You can dip however you want. (or drizzle like Lori did)
I've done it both ways, so whatever you like to do is fine.
The cookies are even good without the chocolate.