My second cupcake recipe to try and bake yesterday, was Coconut and Orange cupcakes topped off with some orange flavoured frosting.  This recipe was emailed to me by a friend of a friend on Facebook, I’m so glad I asked for it, they were yummy!

Ingredients (makes 12):
1/4 cup unsweetened (desiccated) shredded coconut
2 Tbsp finely grated orange zest
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1 stick of butter, softened
3/4 cup superfine (caster) sugar
2 eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup shelled natural pistachios, chopped (for on top of frosting – I didn’t use any!)

Orange Frosting:
2 Tbsp butter, melted
2 Tbsp fresh orange juice (I used 4)
2 cups confectioners sugar

Preheat oven to 350F.
Place coconut in a bowl. Add 1 Tbsp of orange zest and all of the juice, and stir to combine.
Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
Sift flour and baking powder over butter mixture. Add coconut orange mixture and fold ingredients together to combine.
Spoon mixture into cupcake liners. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until the center of the cake springs back when lightly pressed. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

To make orange frosting, beat the butter, orange juice and confectioners sugar together to make a firm mixture. Spread over the cooled cupcakes, and immediately sprinkle with chopped pistachios and remaining orange zest.

These cupcakes were super quick and easy to make! The batter is more like a mousse needing spooned as opposed to runny pour-able batter, but they came out light, fluffy and delicious with just the right amount of orange!