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

Coconut Pandan Chiffon Cupcakes with Coconut Milk Buttercream Frosting

MAKES 36 CUPCAKES OR 60 MINI CUPCAKES

COCONUT MILK PANDAN CHIFFON CUPCAKES

This was my 2nd experiment for the Cupcake Round-Up initiated by Chocylit of Cupcake Bakeshop and Garrent of Vanilla-Garlic. I am also using local ingredients, just to try something different for a cupcake. Instead of the butter cupcake, I decided to try the no butter, all egg chiffon. Thus, my first time trying this recipe as a cupcake. I have not mastered the skill...of baking. Perhaps, Chiffon will rise and hold better directly against the baking tin and not against the paper cups. The cake shrunk in size when cooled. Nevertheless, the taste is interesting. I would try this with a more finer, delicate and slightly less sweet frosting like whipped cream with a bit of sugar for chiffon instead of coconut buttercream frosting. As I was in a hurry, I used boxed santan ie. coconut milk. Tasted equally as nice.

150 g cake flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 egg yolks
2 1/4 cup (300ml) coconut milk
2 tablespoon essence
Green food coloring (optional)
160 g castor sugar
1/2 teaspoon pandan essence
9 egg whites
1 tablespoon castor sugar
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

Pre heat the oven to 160C/350F. Pour the coconut milk into a saucepan, add the castor sugar and pandan juice. Bring to a boil, stirring slowly to disslove the sugar. set aside to cool. Sieve the cake flour, baking powder and salt. In a bowl, combine the egg yolks, coconut mixture, pandan juice, color to liking and pandan essence. Whisk lightly, then add the flour to the egg yolk mixture. Mix until the batter is smooth. Set aside. Whisk the egg whites lightly and add in the cream of tartar and castor sugar. Continue to whisk until the mixture is stiff. Do not overbeat or allow the mixture to become dry. Set aside. Gently fold half the beaten egg whites into the egg yolk mixture and blend well. Fold in the remaining egg whites and work very lightly with a spatula. Make sure the mixture is well mixed. Pipe or scoop into the cupcake tin lined with cupcake papers. Level and bake in the oven until golden brown (about 25 minutes). Remove the cake from the oven. Allow it to cool completely before piping it with Coconut Buttercream Frosting.

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

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 as you like by piping or spreading onto the cupcakes.