Sweet Coconut Cake

Once again, this is not cupcake related, but it was SO good I had to share! Our office Mom, Susan Long, is at it again.  This time she made Sweet Coconut Cake.  It was to die for!  She is always making something sinful (like her Pineapple Cake and her Butterfinger Cake), but this has to be one of my favorites.  Not only is it SUPER easy, it also has coconut and sweetened condensed milk in it.  It's SO coconutty and moist I could almost throw it in a glass with a straw and a little umbrella!  I guess when she bakes something from now on, she will be a regular contributor to my blog. She just doesn't know that yet. :)  Give the recipe a try and let me know what you think.  I'll let her know you <3 it as much as I do!

Ingredients:
1 box of white cake mix
1 can coconut milk (in ethnic section of grocery store)
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 8 oz container of Cool Whip
1 bag of sweetened coconut (you can use as much or as little as you like!)

Directions:
Bake the white cake in a 9 x 13 according to directions. When done, poke holes in the top of the cake with a cake tester, toothpick, etc. (some people use their forks). Just make a lot of holes for the next part to be able to soak into.

Combine the condensed and coconut milks and pour over the cake. Sometimes I don’t use all of it but most of it. It looks like it’s swimming, but it will soak it up.

After everything is cooled, spread cool whip on top and sprinkle with coconut.

Tada!!!!

Keep in refrigerator.

Coconut Cupcakes

I guess you could say this is technically my second adventure in cupcaking, but since it's been several years since I've made any and this is my first blog posting, we'll just say it's my first! I was actually looking for something fun to make for Easter, but when I ran across Ina Garten's (The Barefoot Contessa) recipe for Coconut Cupcakes, I just couldn't wait that long to make them!  Although the ingredient list is extensive (13!) and they were not easy to make by any means, they were well worth the effort.  My husband even claimed they were the best thing I've ever baked and that I could put Camicakes out of business!  WOW!  I wouldn't go that far, but they are damn good! They turned out just perfect.  The cream cheese frosting and the hint of almond took these cupcakes to the next level.  They sort of reminded me of a macaroon.  I think you could even tweak the recipe a little and add some pineapple and voila.. you have a Pina Colada cupcake!  I may have to try that one of these days.  These turned out so good, I'm already planning my next adventure.  Let's just say you might go bananas for them!