Coconut Cupcakes with Vanilla Frosting and Shredded Coconut, AND Chocolate Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting, 04/ 04

It's Cupcake EASTER!! Ok so it's not Wednesday, but I couldn't ignore the cuteness of these cupcakes this year--they are much better than my first foray into themed cupcakes LAST Easter. None of these cupcakes are my own creation, but instead I found them on the internet. Visit the site and scroll through to find each version and its directions. Now, on to the cupcakes themselves. The chocolate cupcakes are the duckies, and that was just a mix from a Betty Crocker box (half used from the Valentines Day cupcakes). I frosted it with some green tinted cream cheese frosting (left over from St. Patty's Day), and then built the duck (two donut holes, yellow tinted vanilla frosting, and a cut-up Sour Patch kid for the beak). The other two cupcakes are my own adaptation of a white cupcake recipe from A Bakers Field Guide to Cupcakes. I REALLY wanted a coconut cupcake, but I couldn't find a recipe I liked well enough--so I made my own. And they were FABULOUS (not to brag too much). So I toasted 1/2 cup of coconut and added it to the batter at then end, stirring it in with a spatula. Then, to get the consistency I wanted, I added a (generous) amount of Malibu rum (and then took a sip--what???). I would say it ended up being 1/4 cup. They baked up to perfection! After frosting them, I dipped the bunny into shredded coconut, cut a LARGE marshmallow for the ears, plopped on some jellybeans for the eyes and nose, and added two TINY marshmallows for its muzzle. The basket has green-tinted coconut, Robin's Eggs candy and jellybeans, with the handle being a pipe cleaner. Having not eaten sweets for WEEKS, I was thoroughly satisfied that this was the first cupcake I was able to eat. They were festive and tasty and perfect for Easter!