Beach Inspired treats: Coconut cupcakes & tropical smoothie.

My family and I have returned from our annual beach vacation in Florida. We love the white sand and clear blue waters and the FOOD!!! After a day of jumping the waves, boogie boarding and swimming we can not wait to experience some amazing seafood and other coastal treats while watching the waves roll in and watch the sun go down. Here is a pic that my Hubby took me and our girls. Notice the family in the background that is strangely dressed just like us. When we decided to all dress alike we felt really silly and giggled all the way to the beach. Only to be among numerous others doing the same thing. Between 7-8pm is the perfect time of day for pictures, but finding an isolated spot is difficult.

Then it was my turn......





  

What is so funny? Are you laughing at me? I got so distracted by how interesting the sky looked and tried to capture it, but my feet started sinking in the sand and well, I fell over. Apparently it was hilarious....story of my life:)  Good times.
The next day was time to head back to Texas and we ate our last amazing meal at our favorite restaurant and decided to try a desert, usually we are too stuffed to even think about it. We ordered coconut cake and it was not any ordinary coconut cake... it was coconut heaven! I've been craving it ever since and just had to try and recreate the moment. So here is my attempt at coconut heaven cupcake style:

The Cake Mix:

I used one box of vanilla cake mix and followed the directions except:

 use coconut milk instead of water and  coconut oil instead of vegetable oil .

( I'm trying to get as much coconut goodness in the mix as possible)

Add 2 tablespoons of artificial coconut flavoring.

The Filling:

1 Box of instant vanilla pudding

2 cups of coconut milk

The Icing:

1 large container of whipped white Icing

4 tablespoons of artificial coconut flavoring

Coconut flakes

We (my daughters helped) filled the paper cupcakes 1/2 way with batter and then added one teaspoon of pudding and filled the rest of the way with batter. This added some gooey goodness to the center. After the cupcakes were finished baking I let them cool and refrigerated them over night. For the icing I emptied it into a bowl and mixed in the coconut flavoring. I spooned on icing and dipped the top into a bowl of coconut flakes. Put them back in the refrigerator, 30 minutes. I think they taste better chilled, but then everything does when it is 101 outside.



Yummy coconut heaven!!!!!!



While we wait for the cupcakes to chill I think I should make tropical smoothies, did I mention it is hot outside?

This is super simple:

Fill blender 1/2 with frozen pineapple and frozen mango

add one banana broken into pieces

fill with coconut milk 3/4 of the way up the blender

I do not measure when make smoothies.. its a little of this and a little of that type of recipe:)

Blend until creamy serve with a coconut heaven cupcake and imagine the ocean breeze keeping you cool and the sounds of waves are so relaxing.................

Anyways, there it is before I inhaled it.

Stay cool and enjoy a little bit of my beach vacation memory.

~Cori Ann