This cupcake recipes is approved by my mom, which means they are very moist! But for me, it's the combination of mango and coconut that makes them special.
Preheat the oven to 350 and have all of your ingredients measured and ready to go.
Line cupcake tins with papers for 15 cupcakes (I know that's a weird number but the recipe makes 15 perfectly domed cupcakes)
In a medium sized bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and sweetened coconut, making sure to break up any chunks of sticky coconut.
In the bowl of a mixer, whip the egg whites to soft peaks, then set aside.
Mix together the coconut milk, lime juice and vanilla extract and set aside.
Soften the butter in the mixer with a paddle attachment.
Pull the coconut oil out of the freezer and dump it out onto a cutting board, then chop it up into little pieces with a chefs knife.
Scrape the coconut oil chunks into the bowl with the butter and whip until smooth.
Add in the sugar and lime zest and mix until light and fluffy.
Alternate the dry and wet ingredients in three additions, starting and ending with the dry. Make sure to not overmix!
Fold in the egg whites by hand and then scoop into cupcake liners.
Bake for 15-19 minutes. When a toothpick comes out clean and you poke the top of a cupcake and it bounces back, they're done.
Let cool completely. Meanwhile you can make the mango curd and chill it.
Make holes in the center of the cupcakes and fill with mango curd level to the top of the cupcake.
Coconut Buttercream
In the bowl of a mixer, whip the butter with a paddle attachment.
Once the butter is creamy, add in the vanilla and mix to combine.
Slowly add in the powdered sugar a little at a time.
Once all the sugar is incorporated, slowly add in the coconut cream. It's really important to go slowly so the buttercream doesn't break.
Frost the cupcakes and top with shredded coconut.
Notes
I used a yellow handled Zeroll EZ Disher for both the cupcakes and the buttercream. For the cupcakes you don't want to fill the scoop completely, for an even 15. This is by far my favorite size scoop for cupcakes and it's great for ice cream too.
Since the mango curd is cooked, it can be stored in the refrigerator at least a week, possibly up to three as long as it's keep in a tightly sealed jar. So feel free to make the curd in advance.
The cupcakes can be made a day ahead. If they get a little dry, you can rehydrate the cupcakes with a brushing of simple syrup before filling them.
I'm a cake snob and prefer to not refrigerate cake until it's my only option...like 100 degrees. Since the curd should be refrigerated, I suggest, frosting the cupcakes the day they are going to be served.