Cupcake a Week: German Chocolate & A Birthday Surprise

It is good to be back in Mobile, just in time for my "cupcake a week" post before this week is over! Randolph and I stepped off the Carnival Elation cruise ship this morning in Mobile around 8:30AM after a 7 day Western Caribbean cruise to Montego Bay, Grand Cayman and Cozumel! We had a wonderful time on our week long getaway and I'm looking forward to sharing some photos with you soon of all the fabulous desserts we indulged in over the last week!

But first I need to share with you some special cupcakes I made for a great friend, running partner, and neighbor, Thomas. Last Saturday was his 30th birthday so his wife Katie asked me if I would make cupcakes in his favorite flavor, German Chocolate to share with our Team in Training Marathon group after our long run!

So I started with Martha Stewart's German Chocolate Cupcake recipe! I have made this recipe several times and it is absolutely amazing! The chocolate cupcake is super moist and the coconut caramel pecan topping I could eat by the spoonfuls! You can't go wrong with this recipe!

I thought it would be fun to make some "30" cupcake toppers using colored construction paper, a scalloped paper punch and some stickers.

Thomas' wife had brought by some party hats and noise makers that she wanted me to bring to the birthday celebration since this was going to be a surprise. So I figured why not take advantage of these cute party decorations and include them into my photos.

German Chocolate Cupcakes (recipe from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes book)

Makes 24 cupcakes

Ingredients:
-1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
-2 cups cake flour
-1 teaspoon baking soda
-3/4 teaspoon salt
-1 1/3 cups sugar
-3 large eggs, room temperature
-1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
-1 cup buttermilk
-5 oz semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tin with cupcake liners.
• Whisk together cake flour, baking soda and salt.
• With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk, and beating until combined after each. Beat in chocolate until combined.
• Divide batter evenly among prepared cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake rotating tins halfway through, until cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, 20 minutes. Transfer cupcakes to wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
• Frost with Coconut-Pecan Frosting.

Coconut-Pecan Frosting

Makes 4 cups

Ingredients:
-3 large egg yolks
-1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk
-1 1/4 cups packed light-brown sugar
-3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, room temperature
-1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
-1/4 teaspoon salt
-1 package (7 oz) sweetened flaked coconut
-1 1/2 cups pecans (6 oz), toasted

• Heat egg yolks, evaporated milk, brown sugar, and butter in a saucepan over medium, stirring constantly, until thick, about 10 minutes (it should reach the consistency of sour cream). Strain through a fine sieve into a bowl.
• Stir vanilla, salt, coconut, and pecans into frosting. Let cool completely, stirring occasionally. Frosting can be refrigerated up to 1 day in an airtight container. Before using, bring to room temperature and stir with a flexible spatula until smooth.

ENJOY!