Coconut Cupcakes

For her birthday celebration, my sister made a special request for coconut cupcakes. Yum! Right on sista! (That's me in the photo, by the way). So I looked all over the world-wide-interweb for a recipe. I came across this one (scroll down to "vegan birthday cupcakes") and decided to give it a go. They turned out perfectly! Just the right amount of coconut flavor, and not too tooth-shatteringly sweet (that's what the frosting is for)--although they are very rich, with the coconut milk and canola oil. The only thing I adjusted was the amount of dried coconut. The recipe calls for 1/2 cup, but I used more like 1/3 cup. Don't ask why, I just felt 1/2 cup might have been a little too much.

I basically followed her guidelines for the frosting too. Use 1/3 cup Earth Balance, beaten with an electric hand mixer, and gradually add in about 3-4 cups of powdered sugar and a few tablespoons of coconut milk and a teaspoon of vanilla extract. I wanted to make a trip to the natural foods store today to pick up some beet powder to naturally color some dried coconut to decorate the tops of these luscious cupcakes (this would have been purely experimental), but it didn't happen...maybe next time.

But what DID happen today is I got my camera!! As you can see above, it takes great pictures and I love it! Sony Cybershot all the way.