Lemon Coconut and Strawberry "Shortcake" Cupcakes

 We've redesigned our entire backyard this year and have been hard at work rearranging, creating new garden boxes and re-purposing our old patio. Part of all the movement included digging up hundreds of our old strawberry plants and replanting them in their new home. We've got a whole dedicated area for them now and hope they go crazy and produce tons of new berries. We figured with all the movement they wouldn't produce anything this year but after getting them back in the ground, they perked right up and are now in full blossom and ready to fruit! Our Minnesota winter puts us behind most of the country though so it will still be a few weeks before we get to pick the fruit.

Chocolate Hazelnut Cupcakes

I'm not sure why I even said yes. I'm not a professional by any means and I've never done anything near a wedding cake before. It was soon after my cake won a ribbon at the state fair though so I must have been at a weak moment when my brother asked if I'd make their wedding cake and I actually said yes. The only reason I even considered it though is because they said they wanted something less traditional and were thinking more of a cupcake tower.

Coca-Cola Cupcakes

Although I like cupcakes, I never really jumped on the whole cupcake craze bandwagon. To be honest, I can't even remember the last time I even made some. The thing is, they are so easy to make and they make a pretty fun dessert, so I'm not sure why I don't make them more often.

I'm not sure how I originally saw this recipe but it looked pretty good and after looking at a few others I decided to give it a go. I was intrigued to see what effect both in flavor and texture that the coke would have on the cupcakes. The flavor was definitely present but not overly so. There's only a small amount of chocolate in these and I think if I made them again I would increase it even more, although that might make mask the coke flavor a little more. They were super moist and I think with a little more chocolate they would be just about perfect.