TBB: Coconut Cupcakes with Milk Chocolate Ganache

I started off 2016 with root canal.. boy was it painful! Then I was down with flu in between the treatments.. and now that I've recovered, I am still feeling super tired despite taking iron supplements daily.  Some days I feel like I need to sleep all day, yet some days I feel so energetic.  Perhaps it is due to hormones imbalance playing wreck on my body...  like roller coaster!   This morning, I was so tired, that I couldn't even find the strength to answer my husband when he asked me a question. I didn't purposely ignore him, but I too tired to say a word.  Also who was that stupid person who called our home phone line at 2am looking for someone else?! 

So you see, it took a lot of effort for me to write this post this morning.. lol!  (actually I felt better after I took 2 Lindt chocolate truffles this morning.. maybe I just needed some sugar!)

No one in my family likes coconut in cakes, so I was half-hearted making these cupcakes. 

I tried to make the cupcakes less coconut-y by adding pandan paste .. and my cupcakes ended up green.. not because I'm celebrating St. Patrick's Day early. Also I reduced sugar by 1/4 cup.

Cupcake Batter resting for 20mins.

All baked and green

I didn't make the ganache. I made the coconut custard cream and stopped at that.  I tripled up the coconut cream.. or was it triple x 3?  And piped the cream as frosting instead. 

(this close up pic, my hands look quite "veinily" scary..!)

 All packed for Church the next day. 

I had to line with paper towel to absorb condensation that will happen when store in the fridge.

Cross-section of the cupcake.  I had to try no matter what. 

As a baker,  I feel it is important to taste my own bakes.

I really like the coconut custard pairing with the cupcakes. 

The cold custard with the cake lightens overall texture..not too sweet and also not too coconut-y either.  

Really good.