Cupcake Flag with Berries and Coconut

By The Good Housekeeping Test KitchenPublished: May 28, 2010

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Michael Partenio

Yields:

Total Time:

1 hr

Our twist on the popular American Flag Cake is easier to portion out for a party, and gets an unexpected crunch from sweetened flaked coconut!

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Ingredients

Cupcakes:

2 cups
all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp.
baking powder
1/2 tsp.
baking soda
1/2 tsp.
salt
1 cup
granulated sugar
1 1/2
stick butter or margarine
1
lemon
3
large eggs
1 cup
low-fat buttermilk

Frosting:

8 oz.
reduced-fat cream cheese (Neufchatel)
1 cup
confectioner's sugar
1/2 pt.
blueberries
1 pt.
raspberries
1 cup
sweetened flaked coconut

Directions

1. Step 1Prepare cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 20 muffin-pan cups with cupcake liners.
2. Step 2On sheet of waxed paper, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In large bowl, with mixer on medium-high speed, beat granulated sugar and 8 tablespoons butter 5 minutes or until pale and fluffy, scraping bowl with rubber spatula. From lemon, grate 3 teaspoons peel; reserve 1 teaspoon peel and set aside. With mixer on medium-high speed, add remaining 2 teaspoons peel to butter mixture and beat 1 minute. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping bowl with rubber spatula. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture into egg mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture, just until blended.
3. Step 3Divide batter evenly among cupcake liners. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until golden brown and toothpick inserted into center of cupcake comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes. Remove from pans; cool completely on wire racks. (Cupcakes can be stored, well-wrapped, at room temperature up to 2 days, or in freezer up to 1 month.)
4. Step 4Prepare frosting: In bowl, with mixer on low speed, blend cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, remaining 4 tablespoons butter, and remaining 1 teaspoon lemon peel. Increase speed to high; beat 3 to 5 minutes or until pale and fluffy.
5. Step 5Spread frosting on cupcakes. Top 4 cupcakes with blueberries, 8 with raspberries, and 8 with coconut; arrange on platter to resemble American flag. EACH BERRY CUPCAKE: About 240 calories, 4 g protein, 32 g carbohydrate, 11 g total fat (7 g saturated), 2 g fiber, 61 mg cholesterol, 245 mg sodium. EACH COCONUT CUPCAKE: About 260 calories, 4 g protein, 30 g carbohydrate, 14 g total fat (9 g saturated), 1 g fiber, 61 mg cholesterol, 240 mg sodium.