Coconut Milk Pandan Cupcakes with Coconut Milk Buttercream Frosting

MAKES 24 CUPCAKES OR 48 MINI CUPCAKES

COCONUT MILK PANDAN CUPCAKES
WITH GREEN CHERRIES

This is my 1st experiment to join in the Cupcake Round-Up! by Chokylit of Cupcake Bakeshop and Garret of Vanilla-Garlic due 26th Jan. I adjusted a simple vanilla butter cake recipe to come out with this one. This recipe uses local ingredients that can easily be found in Asian countries. You can use fresh ingredients made from scratch or you can buy ready made ones from the groceries.

I have used a mix of both. If you can have easy access to fresh coconuts; to get coconut milk, you need to get the flesh shredded and then mix with water, mix and press them, between your hands for couple of minutes so that the it will start to produce the milk. Put the mix into a fine strainer or a piece of muslin cloth. Milk it. Mixing and pressing one coconut, with one cup of water, will yield about 1 cup of thick coconut milk.

Likewise, you can get the pandan flavour by pounding pandan leaves using a mortar then slowly simmer it with coconut milk so that the fragrant and flavor will seap into the coconut milk.

6 pandan leaves pounded or finely chopped
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil or cooled melted butter

** Note:
Fresh pandan substitues
You can also substitute this with:
a) 1/2 teaspoon of pandan paste mix with 2 teaspoon of pandan juice or
b) 1 1/2 teaspoon pandan essence mix with couple of drops of green food coloring.

Preheat the oven to 350.F. Line cupcake tins with baking papers. Slowly simmer about 3/4 to 2/3 cup of coconut milk with pandan leaves. You want 1/2 cup of coconut milk pandan. Set aside to cool. Alternatively, you can also just mix 1/2 cup of coconut milk with the suitituition described above. Place the eggs and sugar in electric mixture and beat till cream in colour. Stop the mixture and scrap the side of the bowl. On low speed, beat in the oil or melted butter and pandan mix. Beat till well combined. Pour in coconut milk/pandan mix and mix till it is well combined with the mixture. Fold in flour. Bake until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cupcake comes out clean, about 20-25 minutes. Frost with Coconut Milk Buttercream frosting.

Coconut Milk Buttercream Frosting
1 cup butter
2 to 4 cups confectioners sugar
1/4 cup milk (subtituting this with cup of simmered and cooled coconut milk)
1 tsp. vanilla extract


- COOLED & FROSTED CUPCAKES

Place butter, 2 cups icing sugar, ½ cup of milk and the vanilla extract in a free-standing mixer (or you can beat it by hand) and beat on medium-low speed. Add the rest of the icing sugar until you reach a desired consistency. Divide into separate bowls for your choice of colors. Decorate cupcake with frostingtopped with green cherries if that is your theme, or shredded chocolates or dessicated coconuts.

Decorations Options
Green cherries
Shredded chocolate
Dessicated coconut


- COCONUT MILK PANDAN CUPCAKES WITH
GREEN CHERRIES & SHREDDED CHOCOLATE