Cocoa Coconut Almond Filled Cupcakes

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I invented these cupcakes to enter in this year’s Scharffen Berger Chocolate Adventure Contest and they were so good and easy, they should have won. Sami and Izzy never got to taste the first batch I made, and Izzy reminded me every time she saw me that she wanted to make these again and taste them. When we did make them again, I was interrupted and was involved on the computer with a business call. Ten-year-old Sami made them almost single-handedly. Her only mistake was that she used regular granulated sugar in the filling instead of powdered confectioners’ sugar because she wasn’t familiar with the term. She will never forget it now. I was able to get the filling to the right consistency by beating in some powdered sugar before she scooped the filling into the cupcake batter, so the recipe appears to be pretty forgiving. Everyone who has tasted them so far really loved them. They are especially appealing if you always had a thing for Almond Joy Bars.

Cocoa Coconut Almond Filled Cupcakes

Cupcake Batter

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter or margarine (1 stick)
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 heaping Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 cup coconut milk
• 2 Tbsp. dark molasses
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 extra-large egg

Filling

• 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 2/3 cup almond meal
• 2 Tbsp. coconut milk

Icing

• 4 Tbsp. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter or margarine
• 2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 4 cups confectioners’ sugar

For Cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 375°F.

Combine butter or margarine, water and cocoa in small saucepan and heat to boiling point, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.

In mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar and salt. Pour hot cocoa mixture over flour mixture and beat until well blended.

Add coconut milk, baking soda, molasses, and eggs and mix until blended.

Divide batter among 12 cupcake papers in muffin tin.

For Filling:
Mix confectioners’ sugar, almond meal and coconut milk until well blended.

Scoop 1 level scoop of the mixture with a small (1-inch diameter) ice cream scoop into the center of each cupcake. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

For Icing:
Beat butter with cocoa until light and fluffy.

Gradually beat in confectioners’ sugar.

Add coconut milk and whip until icing is light and fluffy.

Spread or pipe icing onto cooled cupcakes.

These freeze beautifully in a sealed container. They are good to eat even when a little frozen.