1 egg white
1/4 tsp almond extract
2 tbsp powdered sugar
3/4 c sweetened flaked coconut

CUPCAKES
3/4 c all-purpose flour
1/2 c sugar
1/4 c unsweetened cocoa
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
6 tbsp water
1/4 c canola oil
1 egg
1 tbsp distilled white vinegar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract

FROSTING
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
3 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1/8 tsp almond extract
1 3/4 to 2 c powdered sugar, sifted
almond slices
chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350°F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

Whisk egg white and 1/4 teaspoon almond extract in small bowl until slightly frothy.


Whisk in 2 tablespoons powdered sugar until blended.


Stir in coconut.


Whisk flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt in large bowl.


Whisk water, oil, egg, vinegar, vanilla and 1/4 teaspoon almond extract in medium bowl until blended.


Slowly whisk into flour mixture just until combined. (Batter will be lumpy.) Spoon into muffin cups.


Top each with scant 1 tablespoon coconut filling, gently pressing down so filling is even with batter.


Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in cupcake comes out clean (making sure to avoid filling). Cool in pan on wire rack 5 minutes; remove from pan. Cool completely.


Beat cream cheese, butter and 1/8 teaspoon almond extract in large bowl at medium speed 1 minute or until smooth.


At low speed, beat in 1 3/4 cups of the powdered sugar, adding additional powdered sugar to desired frosting consistency.


Frost cupcakes; top each with sliced almonds and a couple of semi-sweet chocolate chips. Store in refrigerator; serve at room temperature.

Halved, you can see the how the coconut filling is seated in the finished cupcake.


These were fascinating little cupcakes and I liked the coconut filling, particularly how the tops of them were toasted a little bit. Baffling though is the entire lack of nuts, relying solely on the addition of chopped candy bars or, in my case, the nuts on top. I should've used a single whole almond though. Skip the nuts and call them Mounds cupcakes if you like.

I used way too much butter in the frosting - so much that even the cats wanted to eat it. And the recipe makes a lot of frosting. In this case it wasn't a bad idea since the baking time, even the minimum of 25 minutes, was too long. Mine turned out dry so almost all the frosting was welcome.

Cost:
  • eggs: $0.62
  • almond extract: $0.31
  • powdered sugar: $0.42
  • sweetened flaked coconut: $0.69
  • all-purpose flour: $0.06
  • sugar: $0.20
  • unsweetened cocoa: $0.35
  • canola oil: $0.44
  • vanilla extract: $0.04
  • cream cheese: $0.56
  • unsalted butter: $0.21
Total: $3.90 or about $0.33 for each of 12 cupcakes.