Coconut Cupcakes With Lime Frosting

From New Zealand Taste magazine. Haven't tried these yet!

• Ready In: 2 hrs
• Serves: 12

Ingredients

• cupcake

• 125  g butter, softened
• 1  cup caster sugar
• 1  teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3  eggs
• 1  navel orange, zest of, grated
• 1 1⁄2 cups flour
• 1⁄2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1⁄4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1⁄2 cup milk
• 1  cup  desiccated coconut
• 1⁄3 cup marmalade, of your choice
• 2⁄3 cup  grated fresh coconut

• frosting

• 2  large  egg whites
• 1  cup sugar
• 2  tablespoons water
• 2  tablespoons  freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. To make the cupcakes.
2. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Beat eggs in one at a time until mixture is very light, then add zest and mix to combine.
3. Sift dry ingredients together and fold gently into butter mixture, alternating with milk. Fold in desiccated coconut.
4. Place paper cupcake cases in muffin tins and fill to three quarters full. Bake for 20-25 minutes at 180ºC, testing with a skewer to check that cakes are cooked to the centre. Cool on a rack.
5. Using a small sharp knife, cut a shallow 4cm diameter cone from the centre top of each cupcake. With the back of a teaspoon, spread indentation with marmalade. Replace removed cake.
6. Frost liberally, making tall peaks. Decorate with grated fresh coconut. (See below for how to crack a coconut.) Keep cakes in a cool, dry place and serve on same day. Unfrosted cakes will keep well in an airtight container for 2-3 days.
7. To make the frosting.
8. In a medium-sized metal bowl set over a saucepan of just-simmering water, gently whisk together frosting ingredients until mixture is quite warm and sugar is dissolved.
9. With a hand-held electric mixer on high speed, beat frosting for about 6 minutes, or until thick and fluffy. Remove bowl from heat and continue to beat frosting until it is cool, thick and spreadable.
10. Frost cakes using a small palette knife or a butter knife to shape generous dollops of frosting into peaks. Frosting will keep, in a covered bowl in the fridge, for 2 days.