Anniversary Special: Coconut Choco-Chip Cupcakes

It was our anniversary yesterday and because I did not have time to buy him anything I decided to do what I do best, bake/cook something for him.  Unfortunately, I had some left overs that I had to finish so we had all that for lunch and were planning to go out for dinner…so baking was my only option. He brought me a bunch of gorgeous flowers when he came for lunch and I made him these dainty cupcakes...there ended our gift exchange for the day :-)

I had imagined this cupcake in my mind (inspired by the Coconut-Chocolate Chip Cookies) and decided to go for it because he had liked the flavor combination in the cookie form.

The result: absolutely delicious little cupcakes.

Ingredients

For cupcakes

Wheat flour - 1 cup

Baking powder – 1 tsp

Salt – a pinch

Brown/white – 3/4 cup

Milk – ¾ cup

Oil - 3 tbsps (I used canola)

Nutmeg – a pinch

Toasted coconut – ½ cup

Chocolate chips – ¼ cup

For frosting

Cream cheese – ¼ cup (approx.)

Confectioner’s sugar – to taste

Coconut flakes for garnish

Method

For cupcakes

Preheat the oven to 350^oF.

In a pan set to low-medium heat, toast grated coconut until it turns medium brown. Stir occasionally to avoid burning. *You can use store bought dried coconut. I used frozen grated coconut.

Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl and keep aside. Mix wet ingredients in a bigger bowl. Slowly add the dry to the wet and mix well.

Pour into cupcake liners and bake for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick poked in comes out clean. *You could of course bake a bigger cake with the batter; I chose mini cupcakes because they look really cute.

Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before applying the frosting.

For Frosting

For best results, use cream cheese at room temperature. In a bowl, whip together the cream cheese and sugar until you have a smooth mixture. Slather the cupcakes with the frosting. Sprinkle some toasted coconut flakes and devour.