Flip Flop Chocolate Coconut Cupcakes

I've been test baking cupcakes for Ashley's wedding for a a couple months now and thought it was time to give her beach themed wedding cupcake decorations a shot. I've always wanted to try marshmallow fondant so I thought flip flops would be an easy decoration to try it with.

I've been searching for a chocolate cupcake recipe that packed more of a chocolate punch then my George Town Chocolate Cupcakes I made a while back. These cupcakes weren't quite the chocolate overload creations I was looking for but they tasted great, were light and fluffy, and stayed moist even after being frozen for a few weeks. I love that the recipe uses sour cream to give a more rounded flavor and to keep the cakes from drying out too quickly.   

All in all, these were pretty yummy cupcakes so I'm calling it a success :)

Recipe from Martha Stewart

• 3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup hot water
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt
• 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter
• 2 1/4 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup sour cream, room temperature

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together cocoa and hot water until smooth. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
   
2. Melt butter with sugar in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring to combine. Remove from heat, and pour into a mixing bowl. With an electric mixer on medium-low speed, beat until mixture is cooled, 4 to 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add vanilla, then cocoa mixture, and beat until combined. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the sour cream, and beating until just combined after each.
   
3. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-
   quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool 15 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.
   

I decorated mine with coconut frosting topped with toasted coconut and fondant flip flops.

For the frosting, I added some coconut extract to butter cream and beat until white and fluffy.

For the coconut, I toasted sweetened coconut on baking pan for 3-5 minutes at 350 degrees or until slightly browned.

For the flip flops, I made a marshmallow fondant by melting 2 cups of mini marshmallows in the microwave and then stirring in food coloring. I then added powdered sugar until a dough formed. I rolled and shaped small flip flops and then drew straps with a food marker. The marker ran on some of them so I would suggest piping icing.