4.4 from 15 votes
Gluten Free Samoa Cupcakes
A versatile and tasty recipe that’s quick to prepare and easy to enjoy.
Prep Time
40 mins
Cook Time
20 mins
Total Time
1 hr
Servings:
16
cupcakes
Course:
Cake
Ingredients
For the Topping
- 1 ½ cups coconut sweetened shredded
- ¾ cup dark brown sugar packed
- ⅔ cup whipping cream
- 7 tablespoons butter cut into 7 chunks, unsalted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅜ teaspoon salt
For the Brown Sugar Cupcakes
- 1 cup coconut flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅔ cup butter melted, unsalted
- 1 cup dark brown sugar 2 tablespoons, packed
- 8 egg room temperature, large
- ½ cup milk whole
- 4 teaspoons vanilla extract
For the Ganache
- ¾ cup semisweet chocolate or chocolate chips, chopped
- 6 tablespoons heavy cream or whipping cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare two muffin pans with 16 muffin liners.
- Place the coconut on a rimmed pan and toast for 5-8 minutes or until lightly browned. Keep a close eye on it as it burns quickly and stir after every 3-4 minutes to ensure even browning. Remove from the oven and set aside.
- Prepare the cupcakes. In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the coconut flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the beater blade, beat the melted butter, brown sugar, eggs, milk and vanilla together until well combined. Stir in the dry mixture to the wet and beat at medium speed until no lumps remain.
- Fill each muffin liner with slightly less than 1/3 cup of batter. The liners should be about 4/5 full. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool for 5 minutes in the pan and then remove the cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once the cupcakes are almost cool, prepare the ganache. Place the chopped chocolate in a small bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until hot and steamy. Pour the cream over the chocolate and stir until thoroughly combined and no chunks of chocolate remain. Let the ganache sit for about 5-10 minutes to firm up slightly.
- Dip the tops of the cupcakes in the ganache and place back on the wire rack. Place the rack in the refrigerator to allow the chocolate to firm up.
- Prepare the caramel coconut topping. Heat the sugar, cream, butter, vanilla and salt in a heavy bottom saucepan (do not use non-stick) over medium heat. Stir until well combined and no more chunks of butter remain. Simmer for 8 minutes, readjusting the heat as needed. Do not stir. If needed, tilt the pan to redistribute the mixture. Remove from the heat. The caramel will be quite thin at this point. Let it cool for 20 minutes or until considerably thickened and just barely pourable. Add the toasted coconut and stir until combined. Add a little more than 1 tablespoon of caramel coconut topping to the top of each ganache dipped cupcake.
- Pipe on the remaining ganache or use a fork to drizzle it on top.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 2 days. Refrigerate any leftovers after that.
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