Strawberry, Lime and Coconut Cupcakes

Of course, you probably know me very well for invading Vocal with my film studies stuff and articles entitled ‘a filmmaker’s guide’. I have often explained that I love to bake as well. Since I was young, I have loved the idea, the creativity and the relaxation of baking different things. I love to make macarons, layer cakes and gingerbread in particular and the activity of it really gets me away from my laptop (where I’m sure you know that I spend most of my life). So, I hope you enjoy me talking about what I bake and why I bake it complete with pictures (if not very good) of me actually baking, my baked goods in the process of being created and when they’re finished. I’m really happy to share this with you. And if you like, you can show me your baking (yes, I spend a lot of time writing, but I also spend a lot of time reading other people’s articles!), I would love to see it. Since I was in school, I was always interested in creating things, whether that be pieces of writing, welding things to make small statues or baking foods and making sweets (candy, if you’re American). I hope you enjoy looking at some of the stuff that has honestly kept me sane, because I seem to be going slightly mad.

Strawberry, Lime and Coconut Cupcakes

There’s something about these cocktail-esque flavours that I love. They always remind me of summer and the way they work together makes you want to take in some nice white rum alongside them and relax on the porch with your favourite book in the sunshine. Now, I know that summer was pretty bad this year considering so many people passed away from this awful pandemic, but that does not mean that you have to sit and sob about it. Baking is a great way to cheer yourself up and really, I love watching the average person bake on YouTube, one who has some five or six views and they’re some home-baker. Seeing regular people happy at work on their baking makes me glad to see there are people out there trying to keep their heads up in our worldly time of despair and deterioration.

So, here’s how we make the cupcakes…

• 115g Caster Sugar
• 115g Chilled Butter
• 115g Self-Raising Flour
• 2x Eggs
• 35g Desiccated Coconut
• 1 Lime (Zest Only)
• 3x Large Strawberries cut into quarters

1. Preheat your oven to 200C
2. Line your 12-cupcake tray with cases
3. Cream together the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl whilst adding the lime zest and coconut bit by bit
4. Add the eggs and whisk
5. Add in the self-raising flour and whisk until completely blended
6. Spoon into the cupcake cases equally and then add a quarter of a strawberry to each cupcake, press slightly into mixture but not too hard
7. Put the tray in the oven for 18-20 minutes
8. Allow to cool for 15 minutes

Decoration

Now, I know I'm not the greatest at decorating but I like things to look simple and sweet. Inviting but not over-the-top is the key to my decorating having a nice homely appearance to it.

I start by rolling out fondant icing and cutting out 12 white circle shapes, placing one each atop the cupcakes and pushing them down at the ends a little to secure them

Then, I get a blue piece of fondant, cut 12 medium-sized bits, roll them up into balls and use edible glue to place them atop the white fondant in the centre of the cupcake

I take the edible glue and create a circle around the blue ball, placing silver edible pears all around and then, one atop the blue ball.

Leave them to dry for about five minutes so the pearls don't fall off!

Different Arrangements

This recipe can be made with pineapple instead of strawberry as well. But seeing as pineapple contains a lot of water, I would suggest drying out the pineapple overnight via wrapping some of it in a tea towel and tying the towel to the tap with the pineapple inside. Hang the towel over the sink from the tap and leave it there overnight. The liquid will drip out of the pineapple, leaving you with some better and drier pineapple in the morning.

Another arrangement is to replace the lime zest with lemon zest and the desiccated coconut with ground or flaked almond. I love lemon and almond together, but for this recipe, a bit of honey would also suffice in order to make the almonds extra tasty. Everyone knows honey-roasted almonds are absolutely delicious.

I hope you enjoy your cupcakes!