Coconut Cupcakes

This is my first attempt at coconut cupcakes and I used my entire extended family as guinea pigs :) I do have to say upfront that I myself do not like coconut and during my time in the kitchen I felt like I should be at the beach with coconut sun tan lotion! My husband was my taste tester and gives his seal of approval. 

I found this recipe at Cupcakes and Kale Chips and decided I'd give it a try and surprise my father-in-law. You can print off her full recipe and instructions. I changed 2 things with my recipe and I mention them below.

The cupcakes have a nice little surprise inside - a sweet coconut filling! I used a jumbo frosting tip to insert into the middle of my cooled cupcakes and gave them a twist to remove part of the cake.

The first thing I changed in my recipe was to chill the filling I made while the cupcakes cooled. In my opinion the consistency was easier to work with and less "watery".

When I added the filling I did this one cupcake at a time since you have to replace the small piece of cake you removed over the filling.

The second thing I changed was I decided to roast some shredded coconut in my oven (follow directions on package) and sprinkle on cupcakes when cooled. Everyone loved the coconut cupcakes and surprisingly it's not an overpowering flavor with all the coconut added to this recipe. This recipe is pretty easy and I would certainly repeat for future occasions!