forget the photos

I made Samoa cupcakes for Mark's birthday party, as he requested. Things started out just fine. I set out all the ingredients, strategically placing Sir Sous Chef in the mix. (My Gramma F gave that to me to match my kitchen decor, and Mark suggested he make an appearance much like a garden gnome in many of the photos. So, readers, meet Sir Sous Chef.)


The cupcakes are made with a brown sugar butter batter. I got one photo from that step.


Make that two.


After the cupcakes have cooled, you carve a cone into the top, fill them with homemade caramel sauce, and replace the cupcake top. Add a layer of coconut cream, and then drizzle on caramel and bittersweet chocolate ganache before pressing more toasted coconut on top. Easy, right?

Um, no. The execution of this recipe is difficult to do alone - I would never have finished them without Amber. It took 5 hours to make 24 cupcakes. Mine ended up looking like a hot mess pile of coconutcaramelganachecupcake goo. And since I was elbow deep in mess and kitchen disasters, no more photos were taken.

But let me assure you, even if they were visually unappealing, after being refrigerated for 8 hours, they were a huge hit. Absolutely delicious. If you're looking to be gutsy with cupcakes, give these a try.