Almond Joy Cupcakes

Hey guys! Today I’m back with another candy bar cupcake, Almond Joy®! After posting the Butterfinger® cupcakes last week this was by far the most requested candy bar. I was pretty shocked, I didn’t think Almond Joy® was quiet so popular! So last week I set out to recreate the same flavors in the candy bar. I have to admit, you guys were right… they came out fantastic!

It does take a bit extra effort to combined several different ingredients to make them, but it’s a must if you are wanting to represent true Almond Joy® here! But that doesn’t mean they were hard to make…trust me, I found myself making them in the middle of the night, completely exhausted and half asleep with one eye closed (that should explain the dark pictures!). You know how the hubs tells you 2 weeks before he needs some cupcakes, you assure him you’ve got it under control, yet completely forget and he’s at the store at 10pm the night before picking up supplies for you? Yea…that’s what happened with these guys. But thankfully I had your awesome suggestions to go off of and knew just what to make! And in my defense it was a Superbowl party on a Friday….(who does that right?) ;)

I made these cupcakes by filling a milk chocolate cupcake with a coconut filling, then topping with coconut almond buttercream, shredded coconut, a bit of milk chocolate, and some almonds to finish! The coconut filling in the center is perfect, because just when you think your down to chocolate cake, you bite into a soft and sweet coconut filling much like the one in the real thing!

For the cupcakes you can use any of your favorite chocolate recipes. For this one I kept it simple and used a milk chocolate box mix, but if your looking for a cupcake from scratch this one is my fav!

Tops and fills 24 cupcakes.

*PRINTER FRIENDLY RECIPE BELOW*

Coconut Almond Buttercream:
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)
1 cup Crisco®
2 Tbs coconut extract
1 Tsp almond extract
1  2lb bag Domino® powdered sugar
6-8 Tbs milk
4oz. (approx.) melting chocolate to top
coconut shred for topping (optional)
Almonds nuts for topping (optional)

Coconut Filling:
2 cups shredded coconut (chopped into small bits)
3/4 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 Tsp coconut extract

Step 1: Chop up 2 cups coconut shred into small pieces, the smaller the better. If you have a food processor you can run it through that.  In the photo below you will see mine are not chopped, after trying it once I figured out it needed to be small pieces so I ran mine through the Ninja after cooking, lesson learned!

Step 2: In a  medium skillet cook 2 cups chopped coconut shreds, 1 cup of sugar, and 1 cup water on medium -low. Let cook until the water cooks out stirring every few moments. You will have a sweet mushy coconut filling, then add in 2 tsp coconut extract and let cook a few minutes more on very low heat, making sure to stir so no burning occurs. Remove from heat and pour into a bowl, set aside and let cool.

Now for the coconut almond buttercream.

Step 3: In the bowl of a kitchen mixer, cream unsalted butter until soft and fluffy. Then add in Crisco® and mix. Once blended well, and in 2 Tbs coconut extract and 1 Tsp almond extract.

Step 4: Slowly pour in Domino® powdered about a cup at a time, until mixed well.

Step 5: Add in 1 Tbs of milk at a time until desired consistency. (the more you add the softer the consistency) I used 6. Set aside with coconut filling.

Step 6: Core your cupcakes. I like to do so using a large round icing tip. Works great!

Step 7: Fill with your coconut filling. A small spoon helps!

Step 8: Pipe on coconut almond buttercream and sprinkle on coconut shreds if desired.

Step 9: Melt approx. 4 oz of melting chocolate. Pour over top of cupcake and add an almond on top if you would like. Do so one cupcake at a time so the chocolate will no harden before placing the almond on.

I’m not even big on coconut, and I really liked these cupcakes. The five different textures will keep you guessing, and just when you think you loved the cupcake you get to the coconut filled center. Plus, I think they’re kinda pretty… ;)

These just wouldn’t be the same without the beautiful blue premium cupcake liners would they? Kind of makes them scream Almond Joy® doesn’t it?