My parents are remodeling their kitchen, which to me comes with mixed emotions.  It’s nice because after nearly 40 years of living in the same house, they are finally getting their dream kitchen.  They added on to make it bigger, got all new cabinets, counter-tops and appliances, knocked down a wall and are updating the flooring.

But, it’s kind of sad at the same time.  I grew up in that kitchen.  I have a lot of fond memories of that blue ceramic tile, the white formica counter-top and the funky back-splash.  Before the days of cell phones, or even being allowed to have a phone in my room, I spent hours laying on that floor talking on the corded, rotary phone.  We shared a party-line with our elderly neighbor at the time – you were always left wondering if she was listening in on our teenage love angst.

One of my favorite pictures from our old kitchen. This is me and my siblings – I’m the one second from the right.

I can remember both of my grandmothers cooking in that kitchen – many family birthday parties started and ended in that room – our Friday night get-together’s with my aunt, uncle and cousins always seemed to congregate in there.  As I got older I learned to cook in that kitchen, and in in the years after my grandparents were gone, started helping my Mom and sisters prepare all of our holiday meals and a lot of our traditional Sunday dinners.  My Mom still makes Sunday dinner every single week, and most every week, all of the kids come home.  It’s one of my very favorite traditions – that even though my four brothers and sisters have all grown up and moved out, we all still come home for Sunday dinner.  And, if you don’t make it home, you hear about it.  (Right, Jon-Jon?)

The point of all this, I suppose, is that  now that their kitchen is under construction, my siblings and I have started taking turns hosting Sunday dinner.  This past weekend was my brother’s birthday, and because I can’t seem to make just one dessert, I made four.  This is one of them, German Chocolate Cupcakes.

These cupcakes come together pretty quickly.  The cake is very sweet thanks to the use of the sweet chocolate in the batter, but it’s very moist and absolutely perfect with a tall glass of ice-cold milk.  I used my standard coconut frosting, omitting the pecans because I have some people in my family that aren’t that fond of nuts.  I considered filling these with a whipped chocolate ganache, but honestly just ran out of time.  These are jumbo cupcakes, but might be better if you keep them the standard size – it’s a lot of sweetness for a big ol’ cupcake!

Hope you’ll give these a try.  I have another recipe coming soon using the same frosting, so stay tuned!  (Speaking of staying tuned – have you liked my Facebook page yet?)

German Chocolate Cupcakes with Coconut Frosting
Yield:  10 jumbo or 20 standard cupcakes
Prep Time: 35 minutes ♦ Bake time: 20 minutes ♦ Total Time: 105 minutes

Cake Ingredients:
4 ounces German or sweet chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa
1/2 cup boiling water
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
12 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened but still cool
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon table salt
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup sour cream, at room temperature

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter, sugars and salt until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes.  Scrape the bowl as necessary to ensure all of the butter is thoroughly incorporated.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add the vanilla, and beat the mixture until light and fluffy.  Slowly add the chocolate and beat until completely incorporated.

Add the dry ingredients (flour and baking soda in three additions, alternating with the sour cream.  (Add 1/3 flour, 1/2 sour cream, 1/3 flour, 1/2 sour cream, 1/3 flour.)  Mix until just barely combined (the batter will be thick.)

Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full with batter. Bake until a cake-tester comes out clean, about 20 minutes (as little as 17 or as much as 25, depending on your oven).

Coconut Frosting:
16 Tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 bag (approximately 14 oz) sweetened, shredded coconut
1 can (approx 12 oz) evaporated milk

In a heavy bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat, melt the butter.  Add the brown sugar and whisk until combined and smooth.  Add the evaporated milk, stirring constantly until constantly bubbling.  Stir in salt, then coconut, and allow to cool before frosting.

To frost, spoon a healthy dallop of frosting on to the top of each cupcake.
Enjoy!