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Saturday, April 30, 2011

Sweet Treats Saturday: Sheep... I Mean, Coconut Cupcakes

I looove sheep! Seriously, I have a sheep collection.  Well, not of real sheep, but plush sheep.  I think it ties in with my love of Ireland.  


Anyways, when I saw the blog post from Fowl Single file of their sheep cake and cupcakes, I instantly flagged it to make... and soon!  Luckily, Easter presented the perfect opportunity. Spring, Easter, sheep... the perfect combination!





I went with coconut cupcakes.  In case I couldn't get the frosting to work properly, I could use the shredded coconut to act as the sheep wool.  I ended up not having to do that (as you'll see), but I did also use almond marzipan from my local grocery store to shape the sheep face.  


Coconut Cupcakes
Recipe from Ina Garten



Ingredients

  • 3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 5 extra-large eggs at room temperature
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons pure almond extract
  • 3 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 7 ounces sweetened, shredded coconut (additional coconut can be used for the frosting, if desired)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.


In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs, 1 at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and mix well.







In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In 3 parts, alternately add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the batter, beginning and ending with the dry. Mix until just combined. Fold in 7 ounces of coconut.




Line a muffin pan with paper liners. Fill each liner 3/4 with batter. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes (I only needed to cook it for 20, but it depends on your oven), until the tops are brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Remove to a baking rack and cool completely.




Cream Cheese Frosting
Recipe from Ina Garten

Ingredients



  • 1 pound cream cheese at room temperature
  • 3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
  • 1 1/2 pounds confectioners' sugar, sifted
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, on low speed, cream together the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla and almond extracts. Add the confectioners' sugar and mix until smooth.


Decorating Instructions

Now, to make the sheep.  

First, I used a star tip to make swirls of frosting all around the top of the cupcake.  I started from the center, then did little swirls all around it.  Then, I took a small piece of marzapan, about 2x the size of a pea and shaped it into an oval. 

Then I squished down one end, which then became the bottom of the face.  I took two tiny pieces of marzapan and also made them into ovals - then I flattened them and attached them to the top of the head.  

For the eyes, I used little sprinkles that I gently pressed into the face.  

Then, I took the head and placed it on one side of the cupcake. That's it! Easy peasy and oh so cute!

18 comments:

  1. OMG. These are SO CUTE!!! I love sheep too!!

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  2. These sheep are adorable!! (and look delicious!) Another one to remember. :D

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  3. Those little lambs are so cute! I almost wouldn't want to eat them...almost!

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  4. Those are the cutest sheep I've ever seen! ;)

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  5. Those are adorable - and I bet they tasted pretty good. I love coconut.

    Great blog. ♥

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  6. Awwww!! This is so cute! I'm glad it's so (hopefully) easy to make the little sheep's head, i may actually try this out...how adorable! :D (and i love coconut & marzipan too, this should be delicious.)
    :)

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  7. They are so stinking cute~ thanks for sharing!

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  8. These are so adorable! And yummy looking. Great job!!!

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  9. This is SO adorable and will go perfectly with my church lesson today on lost "sheep". LOVE IT! Thanks for the cute tute! We would ♥ for you to show this off at our link party!

    Lolly Jane
    http://lollyjaneboutique.blogspot.com

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  10. They came out super cute! I also LOVE to make cupcakes over at www.mylifeunzipped.blogspot.com

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  11. These are adorable!! What a cute idea!
    I would love it if you shared this at my linky party @ {nifty thrifty things}!
    xoxo,
    Vanessa

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  12. AMAZING! I am in awe of the creativity here!

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  13. Just stopping by from What I whipped up blog hop and these are adorable. I like sheep a lot too, (I raise them on our farm.) Very cute and creative!!!

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  14. oh my goodness, cutest cupcakes ever!

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  15. Thanks everyone! Yes, the sheep faces are soooo easy to make! I'm artistically challenged when it comes to clay-like sculpting but with a little tinkering, they were perfect. Add the two sprinkle eyes and voila! Just a warning, the marzipan is pretty 'tacky' in its consistency. Wash your hands frequently as it makes it easier to shape the faces and ears.

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  16. These are the cutest!!!! My daughter would LOVE them for her birthday, hope mine turn out as good as yours.

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  17. Thank you so much for linking up to {nifty thrifty sunday}!
    I hope to see you again this week! :)
    xoxo,
    Vanessa @ {nifty thrifty things}

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