Best Cream Cupcakes Recipe

The cake is topped with a tasty cream cheese frosting…but cream cheese isn’t really common in Italian cooking.  Mascarpone is.  But not cream cheese.

This Cream Cupcakes feature pecans and coconut both as garnishes as well as ingredients in the actual cupcake.  So these cupcakes actually have a bit of a tropical flavor going on.  Oh, and buttermilk is used as the liquid to provide a rich flavor to the cake.  Top these bad boys with a maraschino cherry, and you’ve got one delicious dessert!  Enjoy!

Best Cream Cupcakes Recipe



Ingredients

For the Cupcakes

• 8 Tbsp (4 oz.) unsalted butter, room temperature
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ cup buttermilk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1¾ cups pecans, toasted + chopped (divided)
• 1 cup coconut flakes

For the Cream Cheese Frosting

• ¾ cup coconut flakes
• 12 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
• 12 Tbsp (6 oz.) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 3–3 ½ cups powdered sugar
• {optional garnish} maraschino cherries

Instructions
For the Cupcakes

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Line standard muffin pan with paper liners; set aside.
• Using a countertop mixer, cream together butter and both sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy (~2-3 minutes on medium speed).
• Add egg and egg yolk; mix until just combined.
• In a separate bowl, sift together dry ingredients (flour, baking soda and salt). In another bowl, whisk together the liquid ingredients (buttermilk and vanilla).
• Add ½ of the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl; mix on low speed until fully combined. Add ½ of the liquid ingredients; mix on low until fully combined. Repeat with remaining dry and liquid ingredients.
• Once all ingredients have been added, scrape the sides of the bowl down with a spatula and mix on medium speed until batter is smooth.
• Fold in coconut flakes and 1 cup of the toasted, chopped pecans. (Note: The remaining pecans will be used to garnish tops of cupcakes.)
• Divide the batter evenly among cupcake liners. Bake at 350°F for 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out mostly clean.
• Let cupcakes cool in pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.

For the Cream Cheese Frosting

• Spread the coconut flakes out on a baking sheet; bake at 350°F for 6-8 minutes, or until lightly golden brown. (Tip: Watch coconut closely as it can burn quickly!) Set toasted coconut flakes aside.
• Using a countertop mixer, cream together the cream cheese and butter until fully combined.
• Add vanilla extract and powdered sugar (½ cup at a time) until frosting reaches desired consistency.
• Beat on medium-high speed for 2-3 minutes, or until fluffy.
• Once cupcakes are completely cool, fill piping bag with frosting and decorate as desired. (Note: I used a Wilton 1M large star tip.)
• Garnish tops of cupcakes with toasted coconut and reserved chopped pecans.
• {Optional} Garnish cupcakes with maraschino cherry before serving.

Recipe Adapted : Italian Cream Cupcakes @ spicedblog