Almond Joy Cupcakes Satisy Candy Bar Cravings

Almond Joy cupcakes from A Cup of Sugar are a sure way to satisfy your candy bar cravings.  Decadent chocolate cupcakes are stuffed with a creamy coconut filling and then are frosted with coconut icing.  To top it off, each cupcake is decorated with a whole toasted almond.  Calorie wise, these cupcakes and the much loved candy bar are comparable but at least one is homemade- you should feel good about that.

Almond Joy Cupcakes

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes
4 1/2 ounces high-quality bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
9 tablespoons (1 stick plus 1 tablespoon) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
6 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour

For the filling
1 cup shredded coconut (untoasted)
1/2 cup cream of coconut

For the frosting
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 can coconut milk, reduced to 1/3 cup (Reducing instructions below)
Seeds scraped from 1 split vanilla bean or 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt

Whole almonds for decorating

For recipe instructions, click here.