White Velvet Cupcakes with Marshmallow Frosting

When I wrote last week's poll, I really wanted the Yeti Cupcakes to win. Sadly they did not, but I got many messages and comments from people asking me to make them anyway because they sounded interesting. Well, as you can see, the title of this post is not "Yeti Cupcakes." That's because Sunday when I made these, I don't know where my brain was. This is going to be a long story. Let's start from the top. (Oh yeah, Rocky Road cupcakes will be made and posted soon. DON'T WORRY!)

The Yeti Cupcakes were supposed to have coconut in and around the frosting. Josh (my boyfriend) was helping me bake, and he really wanted to get a fresh coconut. He saw on Survivorman how to crack open a coconut, and he wanted to prove his manliness by doing it too. We drove all the way to Kroger to get one, because the grocery stores near my house didn't have them. We got home and the internet wasn't working so we were both clueless about how to begin. I remembered last week on Good Eats, Alton Brown drilled two of the eyes out to drain the coconut water, so we did that. Actually Josh drank it out with a straw. Should've gotten a picture of that! Then Josh decided to go outside and put the Survivorman technique to the test. I wish I couldn've watched him put all his brut strength into opening that coconut, but I was in the kitchen effing up the cupcake batter. Anyway, after 2 tries he came back in with a coconut perfectly cracked into 2 pieces. What a man! :) He got to work peeling and shredding the coconut (by hand, because our food processer is from the Stone Age and the shredding blade was dull).

Meanwhile, I wanted to dye the "white velvet" cupcakes green for St. Patrick's Day, but I forgot to do so. Then marshmallows were supposed to get folded into the batter at the last minute. Of course, I forgot that too. I didn't realize it until all the cupcake liners were full and ready for the oven. I tried to salvage half by pressing 4 mini marshmallows into each cup and covering them up with batter using a toothpick. Wait until you see how that monstrosity turned out!

The next eff up was when I made the "Snow Frosting." I guess I skipped the instruction to "delicately fold in the coconut by hand." I ended up with soup because I'm a genius and used the hand mixer.

After all was said and done, I ended up with White Velvet Cupcakes with Marshmallow Frosting... no marshmallows in the batter... no coconut in sight... not even green for St. Pat's Day... definitely not Yeti Cupcakes... but they really are tasty. ENJOY!

ingredients egg whites ready to be folded
folding in the egg whites

egg whites are blended, batter is smooth... but where are the marshmallows?

This is also when I should've tinted the batter green for St. Pat's Day... not green is it?

They're just chillin' on the counter while the cups are being filled 2/3 full...

16 cupcakes cooling

I added 4 marshmallows each to the cupcake batter in one of the pans. Not so pretty...

Don't use a mixer to incorporate coconut into 7-minute frosting... You'll get 7-minute soup.

I trashed the soup and made Marshmallow frosting. I decorated one...

...Threw some sprinkles on it

And Josh did the rest. Ladies, that's the kind of man you need in the kitchen!

He works diligently while I stuff my face.

Mmmm the frosting is so soft, and the cake is a perfect vanilla cake!

Good flavor and texture. I know I'll use the recipe again.

Josh put some fresh coconut on the one he ate.

After all, he did spend about an hour with that coconut from start to finish.

The recipe for Yeti Cupcakes is from Cupcakes Galore by Gail Wagman.
The recipe for Marshmallow Frosting is from Cupcakes by Shelly Kaldunski.

MY NOTES: I got 16 cupcakes. Duh, I forgot the marshmallows, so my result will be different from yours if you have an elephant's memory. The Snow Frosting worked until I added the coconut, so don't be afraid of the recipe. It flopped because of my mistakes. In the Marshmallow Frosting, it took closed to 4 minutes for the marshmallows to melt completely.

Yeti Cupcakes
MAKES ABOUT 18 CUPCAKES

WHITE VELVET CUPCAKES
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking power
1 teaspoon salt, plus a pinch for the egg whites
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 ¼ cups sugar
2/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (you can replace with another flavoring if you prefer: lemon, almond extract, etc.)
3 egg whites
1 cup mini-marshmallows

SNOW FROSTING
2 egg whites
¾ cup sugar
¼ cup light corn syrup
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut (optional)
Sweetened shredded coconut for decoration

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Mix flour, baking powder, and salt together and set aside.
3. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Alternately add flour mixture and milk, ending with milk, and beat until batter is smooth. Add flavoring.
4. Beat egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff but not dry. Gently fold into batter. Fold in mini-marshmallows.
5. Spoon batter into cupcake papers, filling cups about 2/3 full. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool.
6. To make the frosting: in a large bowl, preferably the top of a double boiler, mix egg whites, sugar, corn syrup, and salt until combined. Place the bowl over simmering water and whisk until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is hot. This will take about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and beat for 5-7 minutes until frosting is cool and stiff peaks form. Beat in vanilla and delicately fold in the coconut by hand, if desired. The frosting will be ready to spread. Decorate frosted cupcakes to your taste.

Marshmallow Frosting
MAKES 5 CUPS

2 large egg whites
1 cup sugar
6 tbsp water
1 tbsp light corn syrup
½ tsp cream of tartar
Pinch of salt
1 cup miniature marshmallows
1 tsp vanilla extract

In a large, clean heatproof bowl, combine the egg whites, sugar, water, corn syrup, cream of tartar, and salt. Set the bowl over (but not touching) simmering water in a saucepan and heat the mixture, whisking constantly, until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is very warm to the touch (about 160°F on an instant-read thermometer), about 3 minutes. Remove the bowl from the saucepan. Using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the mixture until it is very warm and soft (but not dry) peaks form, about 2 minutes. Reduce the mixer to low and add the marshmallows and vanilla. Continue beating until the marshmallows are melted and the frosting is completely smooth, about 2 minutes more. Use right away.