Tropical Breezes: Mango Cupcakes Stuffed with Coconut Cream

Thanks, everyone, for your comments on my last post.  It turns out everything is OK; I went to the doctor's office this afternoon, and though I had to wait an hour and a half to hear it (and got stopped by the police for lapsed registration on the way, as I was stuck in standstill traffic on the way to the appointment, late because Ian had been having a meltdown ... talk about the perfect storm of events designed to drive any sane person mad), the heartbeat was just fine.  It seems I can go back to worrying about other things, for the time being, anyway.

I would have posted this earlier, but as soon as I got back, I had to finish up these little morsels for a housewarming I was supposed to go to tonight.  After visiting the Petit Cafe/Stuffed Cupcake the other day (by the way? anyone living in Nutley is welcome to pick some up and come visit), I felt like I needed to get my cupcake groove back on.  This blog is, after all, half baked, right?  I thought I'd give my own stuffed cupcakes a whirl.

It's supposed to be over 100 degrees here tomorrow, and I wanted something tropical, summery, and light.  Suddenly it hit me: mango cupcakes.  Coconut cream filling.  A fluffy vanilla buttercream (sort of ... but not as heavy as buttercream).  Tropical paradise in cupcake form.

Custard has never been my forte, but the ones at the Petit Cafe were so good that I had to try.  I browsed through a few recipes, and settled on one that I could modify a bit.  I was worried that it wasn't thickening fast enough at the end, but once I put it in the ice bath, it set beautifully (so beautifully, in fact, that I had to eat some).  I had a lot of custard left over, so if you're going to do this, plan accordingly.  I might even halve the recipe if I were to do it again.

I wound up doing mango buttercream because the cupcakes weren't mango-ey enough for me, but they got devoured pretty quickly.  There's one left for Ian, and if he's kind, perhaps I can get a picture of the inside to post here before he eats it (they were an architectural triumph).  While I'm not sure they were even half as good as the ones at the Petit Cafe/Stuffed Cupcake, they were definitely different, and they made an impression.

Mango Cupcakes

1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
2 T. cornstarch
3/4 t. baking powder
3/4 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
1/3 c. canola oil (or any lightly flavored vegetable oil)
3/4 c. granulated sugar
2 t. vanilla extract
1/2 t. to 1 t. mango extract (optional, but recommended)
3/4 c. pureed mango
1/2 c. unsweetened plain soy milk (or other milk of your choice)1 t. apple cider vinegar

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and line a muffin pan with cupcake liners.

Whisk the soy milk and vinegar in a measuring cup and set aside a few minutes to curdle.  Beat together the soy milk mixture, oil, sugar, and extract(s) in a large bowl. Add in the pureed mango and combine thoroughly. Sift in the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and mix only until no large lumps remain.

Fill cupcake liners 2/3 of the way full, and bake for 20-24 minutes till done (you can stick a toothpick in the center and it should come out clean). Leave in muffin tins for 3-5 minutes after taking out of the oven, so the cakes can set, and then take out of the tins and place on a cooling rack to cool completely before filling and frosting.

When you're ready to fill them, poke a hole in the top with your pinky and move it around inside a bit to make a small cave.  Pipe in the custard, and top with frosting.

Coconut Custard Filling

4 large egg yolks (you can use egg substitute)
3 c. coconut milk
2/3 c. sugar
5 T. cornstarch
1/4 t. salt 

1/2 to 1 t. coconut extract (or vanilla if you don't have coconut)

Prepare an ice bath and set aside.

In a bowl, whisk egg yolks and set aside.  

In a saucepan whisk together coconut milk, sugar, cornstarch and salt. bring to a simmer and cook for about 3 mins, whisking constantly. Whisk a quarter of the hot milk mix into egg yolks and then whisk in remaining mixture. Strain into a clean saucepan and cook over medium heat for about 4 mins, whisking constantly until custard is thick (it will be less thick than the coconut milk mixture was in the saucepan; don't worry about that).  Stir in the extract.

Transfer to a medium bowl and cover with plastic wrap, pressing directly onto surface.  Set in ice bath until completely chilled - about 45 mins.

Mango Frosting

6 T. butter
4 T. vegan shortening (Earth Balance)
1/3 c. mango puree
1/4 c. cubed fresh very ripe (mushy) mango
1/2 t. vanilla
2 c. powdered sugar