Sunshine Cupcakes

The tangy flavour of citrus combined with the subtle hints of coconut, make these Sunshine Cupcakes the essence of summer. Today I'm sharing my recipe.

I'm an autumn/winter girl but these Sunshine Cupcakes evoke wonderful memories of long childhood summers and a period of my life where days were carefree, happy and endless.

The sweet and tangy flavours of orange with subtle hints of nutty, creamy coconut are like a burst of sunshine in every bite and they're a light, refreshing snack on a hot summer's day. They're easy to bake and everyone enjoys the wonderful burst of citrus in a soft airy cupcake.

The kitchen smells like summer when you bake a batch and as our season is coming to an end, I wanted to hold on just a little longer before the cosy season arrives and reminisce about some of the best days of my life.

As a child our summers were spent on the east coast of Tasmania, where picturesque beaches stretched endlessly and cool ocean water beckoned. School was over, adventure awaited us and time stood still.

We filled our days with tennis, golf, bike riding, roller skating, secret tree house meetings and frolicking on the warm sand or in the cool refreshing ocean. At night we relaxed around campfires, mussels boiling on the embers, music playing, people laughing and the night sky full of wonder and beauty above our heads.

During summer if your eyes were open, you were outside - the taste of salt on your lips, coconut tanning lotion on your body (a time before parents protected their children with sunscreen), dirt on your feet and a sense of adventure in your soul.

Our children hated the beach and as a parent I understood how much work it took my mum to get us there every single day and how much sand you actually bring home without realising. Our kids would arrive, sometimes in tears, sometimes brooding and sometimes groggy and grumpy from the car ride, and they couldn't wait to pack up and head home.

They weren't interested in exploring the beach, the waves frightened them and they screamed like banshees if marine life came anywhere near them, so gradually hubby and I got disconnected from our roots. They enjoyed exploring nature, but the beach became a memory that we longed to rekindle.

Now our children are self-sufficient adults, we head to the beach at least once a summer for nostalgic reasons. We're no longer young and carefree and frolic around like wildlings but reconnecting with the ocean is healing and the perfect way to restore calm to our everyday lives.

These Sunshine Cupcakes evoke powerful memories and have me longing to return to a time when life was simpler, summer was for playing and everything heavy in the world was washed away with the tide.

They're light, tender, fluffy and airy with a soft and delightful crumb. They melt in your mouth, and the citrus flavour is a tangy refreshing dance on your tastebuds. The glaze is sweet but perfectly flavoured with fresh orange juice and sprinkled with zest, and it adds a sticky element to the softness of the cupcake.

This recipe makes twelve Sunshine Cupcakes using basic pantry ingredients and they store well in an airtight container for a few days. It's an easy recipe to adapt - substitute lemon or lime for the orange or chocolate chips, blueberries/raspberries for the coconut.

Sunshine Cupcakes are summer on a plate and as we hold these days close and prepare for a new season, memories explode in every bite. I welcome autumn with open arms, but I hold the brilliance of childhood summers in my heart.

If you would like to bake a batch of these Sunshine Cupcakes, simply click the link to download the recipe card or right click on the photo below and save it to your computer.

I hope these Sunshine Cupcakes bring a smile to your face, a sense of adventure to your soul and awakens your carefree wildling spirit - they do for me!

PIN FOR LATER: