Sugar and Spice

Spring is finally here, and I've been feeling creative again! I bake with the seasons, and spring is definitely a cupcake kind of time. A couple of weeks ago, I tried making Julie Hasson's Kahlua Cupake recipe with a chocolate ganache frosting.

Today, we had guests for dinner. I had planned on making pavlova, but then I ran across this recipe at Cupcake Bakeshop for a pavlova cupcake! Persimmons aren't very spring-ish, so I decided to experiment and make my own version. I really like the interplay of textures and flavours I chose, but I think this would be easily modified, too; try a different base and use berries or even chocolate to dress it up. This is the first time I've tinkered this much with a recipe, and I was really pleased with the result. Here are my coconut lime pavlova cupcakes!
Here's what I did, if anyone wants to give it a try:

• I decided to modify the Kahlua Cupcake recipe as a base - I used Godiva White Chocolate Liqueur instead of the Kahlua and added 2 tsp coconut extract. I think coconut rum or even coconut milk would work as substitutes for the liqueur.


• I used 1% milk for the pastry cream, and added lime zest and juice (to taste, after it had cooled a bit) instead of fruit.


• I reduced the amount of vinegar in the meringues and added 1 tsp coconut extract. I also didn't bother with measuring and creating templates - freehand worked fine.


• I added kiwi slices for garnish and as a complementary flavour for the coconut and lime.

This was the result - my new favourite cupcake!