i'd rather be baking

I may have a bit of a tendency to go overboard on some things. You know, sometimes. For instance, a recipe for peach bourbon cupcakes seems indulgent enough, yes? The answer is yes. But I just couldn’t leave well enough alone. Lily-gilder, party of one.

It all started innocently enough. The recipe called for almond meal, and I didn’t have any almonds on hand nor the desire to buy any. I knew that any sort of dry flour wouldn’t be quite an appropriate substitution, as it would lack the fat content of almonds. That would be okay except that it would require further substitution in order to ensure moist cupcakes, and I just didn’t want to go there.

Then I found some sort of forum somewhere on the interwebs (sorry, I have no idea where), suggesting the use of coconut in such an instance. Brilliant. Perfect. I loved it. And there you go.

The only downside here was that the combination of flaked coconut and coconut milk makes the coconut flavor kind of intense. Don’t get me wrong – these cupcakes are awesome. They’re Ryan’s new favorite. But they don’t taste particularly peachy. Such is life (or cupcakes).

Coconut Peach Bourbon Cupcakes
Adapted from Love and Olive Oil

Makes 11-12 cupcakes

For the cupcakes:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup coconut milk (low-fat is fine)
1/2 cup fresh peach puree (about 2 large peaches)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon bourbon

For the frosting:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, room temperature
3-4 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup fresh peach puree (about 1 large peach)
1 teaspoon bourbon

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a large bowl, sift together flour, coconut, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Whisk together coconut milk, peach puree, sugar, oil, vanilla, and bourbon. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Mix until relatively smooth. Fill cupcake liners with a scant 3 Tablespoons of batter (cups should be just under 2/3 of the way full). Bake for 20-22 minutes or until lightly golden, and toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer to cooling rack and allow to cool completely.

For frosting, cream butter in electric mixer (with whip attachment) for 1-2 minutes until fluffy. Slowly add half of the sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, and beat until smooth. Add peach puree and mix until combined. Add remaining confectioners’ sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, and beat until well incorporated. Add bourbon and mix at medium-high speed until light and fluffy (2-3 minutes). Add more sugar as necessary to achieve proper consistency.* Pipe or spread onto cooled cupcakes.

High-Altitude Notes: Bake for 18-20 minutes at 375°F.

*The best way to achieve really wonderfully smooth buttercream is to add sugar gradually until you know the frosting is thick enough to hold its shape when piped or spread. At this point, whip the frosting on high speed for about 5 minutes. This will make the frosting a bit thinner, but will effectively beat out all sugar clumps and leave you with perfectly smooth frosting. Refrigerate the frosting for about 30 minutes or until it has regained its original stiffness, and use as desired.