coconut lime cupcakes

i totally enjoyed my spring break.  we didn't go anywhere fancy.  we just stayed at home and had tons of family fun time.  it also meant i actually had time to bake.  i love baking.  i also love eating the things i bake, husband and liam enjoy this perk too.  in between playing cars and trucks, chasing liam around the house for tickles and giggles, i ventured into my first ever cupcake adventure.  seriously.  i've never made a cupcake.  muffins on the other hand, no problem.  but i figured how hard could it be?  and i found this wicked recipe in the may issue of canada's style at home.  it was their dessert of the month.  love coconut.  love lime.  definitely had to make these ones.   and as an added bonus, liam went down for a nap that lasted over two hours!  finished the cupcakes.  finished the dishes.  and even had some mommy time to catch up on reading.  i love my son.  thanks for a nice friday treat.

for cupcakes:

1 tsp lemon juice

1/2 cup milk (i used lactaid and it was fine)

3/4 unsalted butter, softened

1 1/4 cups sugar

2 eggs at room temperature

1 heaping tbsp grated lime zest

1 1/2 tbsp fresh lime juice

1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped out

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour, sifted

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup sweetened coconut flakes

for frosting:

140 g white chocolate squares

1/2 cup butter, softened

4 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted

1 tbsp lime juice (i used 1 1/2 tbsp for more lime flavour)

4 tbsp sour cream

coconut flakes for garnish

steps:

1.   grease muffin tins or line with paper liners, pre-heat oven to 350 F

2.  make buttermilk by stirring lemon juice into milk and set aside

3.  cream together butter and sugar in large bowl with mixer, with mixer on low beat in eggs one at a time, add lime zest, juice and vanilla seeds and mix well

4.  in separate bowl sift flour, baking powder and salt, add dry ingredients to wet, alternate with buttermilk until combined.  fold in coconut and scoop cupcake mix into muffin tins filling 2/3 full.  bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  allow cupcakes to cool completely before frosting

5.  prepare frosting.  carefully melt chocolate in heat-proof bowl over simmering water.  remove from heat and cool until just warm.  whip butter with mixer until light and fluffy.  add confectioner's sugar slowly mixing until well combined.  add lime juice and sour cream and mix until smooth.  gently fold in the chocolate

6.  frost cupcakes and garnish half or all with additional coconut flakes and enjoy immediately!

makes 14-16 cupcakes

we're having a ...

time to think pink.  we're beyond happy.  we would've been just as excited to have another boy, but alas a girl was in the plan.  i'm excited for liam to have a little sister to be a big brother too.  he'll have someone to teach things to and to follow him around and do everything he is.  liam will be the muscle when boys start coming around, not that the husband won't be.

i can hardly wait to start getting pink, frilly, flowery froo-froo things for our little baby girl.  i look forward to the adventure and love she will bring to our family.  it's unfortunate that we don't actually have the gender image from our ultrasound.  there was one taken but having gone back through the disk we got, it's not there.  oh well.  we did get a good look at her lady parts and there's no doubt about it.  we can't wait to meet you baby girl.  we can't wait!

life according to iphone

being off all last week made it easier to capture what life is really like with liam.  i completely forgot how much fun every day is.  i can seriously hardly wait until june 29th.  then no more work for fourteen months!  and all the play time i want with liam and baby 2.  it just can't come soon enough.  is it too soon to start actually counting down??

monday it snowed a bit.  it just wouldn't be a spring break here without a little bit of snow.  just meant it was a good day for some running around, playing with cars and in cupboards and a really good nap.  we snuggled for a bit after he woke up, then he pushed me away and headed straight for his lightening mcqueen.  this kid is obsessed with cars.  he points out all the trucks and buses as they go by our house and when we're driving around.  

on wednesday the husband took the day off work so we could hang out for the day.  liam and i loved it!  we went out for a big breakfast.  so awesome to do it on a wednesday ... the diner was virtually empty.  we had some egg bennies and liam had fruit covered french toast.  delicious.  from there it was off to the zoo to see the penguins.  it's a new exhibit that just opened and the line ups were obsene.  i'm sorry but there is no way that we can keep an almost two year old entertained in line for two hours.  guess the penguins will just have to wait a little longer.

on thursday liam and i headed out for a little shopping with some friends.  he's almost completely grown out of his jammies so we drove out to the mega mall for a trip to carter's.  i was also in need of a dress to wear to a wedding we're going to at the end of the month.  picked up some new jammies and a cute non-maternity maxi dress (tons of room for a growing belly).  we also had some playtime, lunch and of course a nap.

linking up with amy over at a good life.  have a great week!