Coconut and Orange Liqueur Cupcakes

So, I thought I would try making some homemade cupcakes yesterday. I had found a recipe for Coconut Almond Cupcakes online. There was one small problem, I was fresh out of almond extract but I did happen to have a little bottle of Grand Marnier stuck in the back of my cupboard and I thought, "What the heck, I'll throw that in instead!". I have to admit that I cheated a little on my frosting because my husband (who has decided to try his hand at golf) called me from the (I can't think of what it's called) place where you practice hitting the ball to say he had a dead battery in his truck and needed a jump. By the time we got back home it was too late for scratch frosting so I cheated with a little packaged cream cheese frosting. I added a little food coloring for fun.

Here is my recipe.

1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (I wonder if cake flour might be a better choice.)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup cane sugar
3/4 cup butter, room temperature
3 large eggs
3/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup orange liqueur
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup flaked sweetened coconut
1/3 cup coconut for topping

Directions

Line 14-16 muffin cups with paper baking cups, set aside. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the sugar and butter on medium speed for about 3 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Turn the mixer speed to low, and add the eggs one at a time, beating 1 minute after each. Beat in the vanilla and orange liqueur. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and beat again briefly. Next, add the flour mixture and the buttermilk alternately, beating on low speed after each addition, just until combined. Fold in 1 cup coconut. Fill each cup almost full with batter. Bake on middle rack for approximately 22 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely and frost. Sprinkle with remaining coconut. Gobble up!!!

Just a side note: I think it would probably be even yummier if the coconut sprinkled on top was toasted a little and if a Tbsp of orange zest was added to the batter. (Ooh, I wish I would have thought of this before! Oh well, next time) :0)