Papaya & Coconut Cupcakes

As a crazy cup-caker I am an occasional reader of chockylit's cupcake blog. I saw her recipe for papaya and coconut cupcakes and just loved the idea of them. However I am not a big fan of Papaya or Paw Paw. I know its sounds strange to drool over something I don't really like but I have schizophrenic taste buds. We had some Papaya that was just begging to jump into these cups so I obliged.

I used her recipe and reduced the amount of sugar to 1 cup which made the cupcake much less sweet but since the icing is so sweet I thought a less sweet but juicy cake would be nice. These are actually really nice uniced which is not often the case for me with cakes! And this seems to be the only way I will eat Papaya!

Papaya-Coconut Cupcakes

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1-1/3 cups sugar

• 2 large eggs

• 1/2 cup oil

• 1/4 cup coconut milk

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• 6 ounces papaya, chopped

• 1/2 cup coconut, sweetened

Step 1 - mix flour, baking soda, salt, and sugar in a medium sized bowl

Step 2 - in a separate small bowl, beat eggs to break up

Step 3 - add oil and coconut milk to the eggs and mix to combine

Step 4 - add eggs/oil/coconut milk mixture to the dry ingredients, mix to combine

Step 5 - add vanilla, papaya, and coconut to the rest of the ingredients and mix to combine

Step 6 - scoop into cupcake papers with an ice cream scooper

Step 7 - bake at 350 degree oven 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean

Ginger-Lime Cream Cheese Frosting

• 240grams or 1 package of Philly cream cheese

• 125grams butter

• 3 cups sifted powdered sugar

• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated or chopped fine

• 1 teaspoon ground ginger

• 1 tablespoon lime juice

Step 1 - bring the butter to room temperature by letting it sit out for 1 or 2 hours

Step 2 - sift powdered sugar into a bowl or onto parchment

Step 3 - beat butter and cheese at medium speed until creamy

Step 4 - add the sugar and beat until combined

Step 5 - add gingers and lime juice, beat until combined

NOTE: If you are not sure how much ginger taste you might like, start by adding half the amount and taste/adjust until you get the ginger flavor you like.

Step 6 - you can add more sugar until you get to the consistency and sweetness you like

Fondant flowers

• 1 packet of pre packaged fondant/white icing (found at Coles or speciality baking stores)

• Food colouring

• Flower stamp (I bought mine from ebay)

• Icing sugar to prevent sticking

• Latex gloves

I adore these little flower stamps, they're incredibly detailed but easy to use. I bought mine from an ebay seller although I'm sure you could probably find them at a good cake supplies store and they're spring loaded so its easy to remove the flowers.

I always use latex gloves as I don't like the food colouring getting under my nails. Colour fondant and shape into a small disc shape about the size of the stamp. Sprinkle a little icing sugar on the imprint area of the stamp and then fit the disc of fondant into the stamp and press gently to make sure imprint comes through. Press lever and remove fondant piece and you should have a lovely fondant flower.