Coconut Rum Cupcakes with Rummy Chocolate Ganache

Well, here it is, my very first blog post. Ta da. The past few days have been a hectic mess of broken computer cables and endless essays but last night I finally got the chance to get to work and concoct something marvelous. Rum-coconut cupcakes with a rum chocolate ganache and toasted coconut. Now I know that the tag-line under my blog title says "a semi-healthy cook" and this recipe is definitely semi-healthy (huge emphasis on the semi) . Actually, the only thing about this recipe that might be considered healthy is the incorporation of whole grains and the extremely sparing use of oil. That said, these cupcakes were truly marvelous. Without further ado, here is my recipe.

For the cupcakes:
1/2 C + 2 Tbsp All Purpose Flour
1/2 C + 2 Tbsp Whole Wheat Pastry Flour (can use all purpose instead)
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt

1/2 C plain yogurt (non-fat or low-fat is fine)
2/3 C soy milk
1/4 C + 2 Tbsp Applesauce
1 Tbsp Canola Oil
3/4 C Sugar
2 1/2 Tbsp Rum
2 1/2 tsp Coconut extract
1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 C unsweetened shredded coconut

Preheat the Oven to 350 F. Mix the flours, baking powder, baking soda, cornstarch, and salt together in a bowl. Set aside. Mix the yogurt, soy milk, Applesauce, oil sugar, rum, coconut extract, and vanilla together in another bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until fully incorporated. Fold the coconut into the batter. Spray the insides of twelve cupcake cups with nonstick cooking spray or line with cupcake liners. divide the batter evenly amongst the twelve cups. Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until tops are lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the center of one comes out clean. Set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, while the cupcakes are baking, assemble the rum chocolate ganache.

Ganache
A scant 1/4 C milk (I used soy but any sort of milk is fine)
1/2 C semisweet chocolate chips
1 Tbsp Rum

Bring the milk to boil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat a soon as it boils and whisk in chocolate and Rum. Stir until Chocolate is fully melted. Set aside to cool.

Toasted Coconut
Grab a handful of unsweetened shredded coconut. Place the coconut in a small frying pan over medium heat. Stir constantly until coconut begins to turn a golden brown color. Remove from heat and pour coconut out onto a plate to cool.

To Assemble Your Cupcakes

Spoon a small dollop of ganache into the center of the cupcake and spread around with the back of a spoon. Then sprinkle a few pinches of toasted coconut across the top. Place cupcakes in fridge and allow ganache to solidify somewhat (if you can wait) or enjoy immediately and prepare to have your face smeared in delicious drippy chocolate.