"Put de Lime in de Coconut"

Remember that old song "Put de Lime in de Coconut" by Harry Nilsson? I first heard Harry Belafonte's version of it when I was a kid. I had no clue what the song was about, but it had a catchy tune. It was funny to me that the lyrics were about coconuts! How many songs are written about coconuts?

I recently ran across a few recipes containing lime and coconut. Of course I immediately started humming that old familiar tune in my head. The combination those flavors sounded intriguing to me and I wanted to give it a try. I used a recipe from www.barbarabakes.com. but wanted to make cupcakes instead of cake. So a few changes were made to more easily facilitate cupcakes. I also added coconut extract and a bit more lime zest to the recipe. I love coconut and wanted it's flavor to be more pronounced.

Coconut Lime White Chocolate Cupcakes

(adapted from barbarabakes.com)
2 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup sweetened, flaked coconut
1 stick butter, softened
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
11/2 tablespoon grated lime zest
2 large eggs, at room temperature
3/4 cup light sour cream, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons coconut extract
6 tablespoons lime juice, divided
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 2/3 cup powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees with the rack in the middle of the oven. Prepare the cupcake pan with wrappers or nonstick spray.
2. In a medium bowl sift together the flour, baking powder and baking soda.
3. Measure out the shredded coconut and process in a food processor until very finely chopped. 

4. Stir chopped coconut into the flour mixture and set aside. 
5. In a separate bowl, combine sour cream and 2 tablespoons of lime juice and coconut extract then set aside.

6. Beat together butter, sugar, and lime zest with an electric mixer until very fluffy. 

7. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Turn mixer to low speed, and add one third of the flour mixture, then add in half of the sour cream. Mix in another third of flour mixture, then second half of sour cream. End with the last third of the flour mixture and beat until just combined, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Stir in white chocolate chips.

8. Spoon the batter into a cupcake pan. 

9. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool cupcakes on a cooling rack.
10. Whisk together powdered sugar and the remaining four tablespoons of lime juice. Poke the top of the cupcake with a fork 3 or 4 times or poke with a toothpick. Brush the lime glaze over the top of the cupcakes. 

I frosted my cupcakes with Italian Meringue Buttercream and added a few green sprinkles on top. Sprinkles just make cupcakes look more yummy!

I thought these were moist delicious cupcakes. The lime glaze makes these pretty tangy. If you don't like tangy flavors then add less lime juice to the glaze. I liked the tangy lime mixed with the sweet taste of the white chocolate chips. It seemed to be a nice contrast of flavors. If I were to make these again... I'd add more coconut extract to boost it's flavor up a bit.

 ♫ She put de lime in de coconut and mixed them both together... ♫