Cherry Chocolate Coconut Cupcakes Recipe

Cherry Chocolate Coconut Cupcakes Recipe photo by Taste of Home

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Chocolate-covered coconut candy is tucked inside each of these moist morsels. The ganache frosting is complemented by coarse sugar and chocolate-covered cherries.—Sandy Ploy, Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin

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Cherry Chocolate Coconut Cupcakes Recipe

Prep: 35 min. + chilling Bake: 20 min. + cooling

Yield: 24 Servings

35 20 55

Ingredients

1 package (10 to 12 ounces) vanilla or white chips
1/2 cup butter, cubed
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon coconut extract
1 can (21 ounces) cherry pie filling
1 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup baking cocoa
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 packages (1.9 ounces each) chocolate-covered coconut candy bars
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon shortening
24 maraschino cherries, well drained
3-1/4 cups confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons coarse sugar

Directions

For ganache, place vanilla chips and butter in a large bowl. In a small saucepan, bring cream just to a boil. Pour over chip mixture; whisk until smooth. Stir in extract. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, stirring occasionally.
In a large bowl, beat the pie filling, buttermilk and eggs until well blended. Combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt; gradually beat into pie filling mixture until blended.
Fill paper-lined muffin cups one-third full. Cut candy bars in half; place half of a candy bar in center of each cupcake. Cover each with 2 tablespoonfuls batter.
Bake at 375° for 16-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.
Meanwhile, in a microwave, melt chocolate chips and shortening; stir until smooth. Dip cherries in chocolate mixture; allow excess to drip off. Place on a waxed paper-lined baking sheet. Refrigerate until set.
Remove ganache from refrigerator; gradually beat in confectioners' sugar until frosting is light and fluffy. Pipe over cupcakes; sprinkle with coarse sugar. Garnish with chocolate-dipped cherries. Yield: 2 dozen.

Nutritional Facts 1 cupcake equals 426 calories, 16 g fat (10 g saturated fat), 44 mg cholesterol, 255 mg sodium, 67 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 4 g protein.

Originally published as Cherry Chocolate Coconut Cupcakes in Taste of Home Christmas Annual Annual 2009, p161