Flirty Cupcakes on Wheels

Friday was such a nice day here in Chicago, which perfectly aligned with a rare day that I was able to leave the office for lunch. To make my day that much brighter I came across the most glorious sight on my walk, a cupcake truck!

Why didn't I think of this?

Good thing the people of Flirty Cupcakes *on wheels* did. As fate would have it, the day I got away from my desk was the day they parked their van just a few blocks from my building. It was so cute that it lured me right in and I just had to get a taste.

Sure, there are other bakeries scattered around town where you can go for a cupcake craving, but this is different...like the difference between seeing an ice cream truck and seeking out an ice cream parlor. Both are good, but there is just something so spontaneously special about encountering your treat on the street and getting it handed to you through a window.

Here is the Flirty Cupcake mobile:

Their flavors include:

Devil in Disguise

(Red Velvet Cupcake with Cream Cheese Frosting)

No Plain Jane

(Vanilla Cupcake with Italian Vanilla Buttercream Frosting)

PB&C

(Chocolate Cupcake with Peanut Butter Ganache)

The Curious George

(Banana Chocolate Cupcake with Salted Caramel Italian Buttercream Frosting)

The McDreamy

(Chocolate Cupcake with a Cream Cheese & Chocolate Filling)

CBFF

(Chocolate Cupcake with a Nutella Ganache)

Coconut...Nuts!

(Vanilla Coconut Cupcake with Toasted Coconut Frosting)

Each cupcake is $3.25 or they have the option of purchasing 4 "mini's" for $5.25 (only available in 4 flavors though). I ordered the "Coconut...Nuts!" and it was to die for. Moist and sweet, but not too sweet.

If you live in Chicago, be sure to check out Flirty Cupcakes on Facebook or Twitter to see if they are on their way to an intersection near you.

Artery Clogging Coconut Cake

This weekend I tried my hand at baking my first ever, completely from scratch, cake. I took the new KitchenAid mixer out of the box for the first time since receiving it at a wedding shower last year and got to work.

After reading some reviews online, I slightly adapted the Barefoot Contessa's Coconut Cake Recipe as my guide. The link shows her recipe but I changed out a few things that I'll list here. (Warning: With as much butter that is in this recipe, you'd think Ina Gardner took a page from Paula Dean's cookbook!)

Substitutions: I used coconut milk instead of regular milk, more vanilla/less almond extract, cake flour instead of regular flour, adjusted baking time, and toasted the coconut topping instead of using it as is.

Ingredients

• 3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing the pans
• 2 cups sugar
• 5 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon pure almond extract
• 3 cups cake flour, plus more for dusting the pans
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 4 ounces sweetened shredded coconut

For the frosting: (this made way too much frosting for my cake, but I guess I could have used some more between the layers.)

• 1 pound cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract
• 1/4 teaspoon imitation coconut extract
• 1 pound confectioners' sugar, sifted (I used a bit more to thicken it)
• 6 ounces sweetened shredded coconut (PLEASE NOTE: I preferred the color and texture of toasted coconut for this part, so I baked it on a baking sheet at 325 degrees for about 12 minutes. Mine was already sweetened, but here are instructions for sweetening and toasting your coconut.)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 2 (9-inch) round cake pans, then line them parchment paper. Grease them again and dust lightly with flour.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium-high speed for 3 to 5 minutes, until light yellow and fluffy. Crack the eggs into a small bowl. With the mixer on medium speed, add the eggs 1 at a time, scraping down the bowl once during mixing. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and mix well. The mixture might look curdled; don't be concerned.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the dry ingredients and the milk to the batter in 3 parts, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Mix until just combined. Fold in the 4 ounces of coconut with a rubber spatula.

Pour the batter evenly into the 2 pans and smooth the top with a knife. Bake in the center of the oven for 35-45 minutes (she suggests 45-55 and that is too long!), until the tops are browned and a cake tester comes out clean.

Cool on a baking rack for 30 minutes, then turn the cakes out onto a baking rack to finish cooling.

For the frosting, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the cream cheese, butter, vanilla, almond and coconut extract on low speed. Add the confectioners' sugar and mix until just smooth (don't whip!).

To assemble, place 1 layer on a flat serving plate, top side down, and spread with frosting. Place the second layer on top, top side up, and frost the top and sides.

To decorate the cake, sprinkle the top with toasted coconut and lightly press more coconut onto the sides.

Serve at room temperature.

Enjoy! But with over a pound of butter and a pound of cream cheese, don't enjoy TOO often ;-)

Happy end of your Birthday Week, Dave!