Coconut cupcakes

I've been on a bit of an experimental cooking kick, lately. I followed this recipe for my first attempt at a homemade dessert––Coconut Cupcakes––which I brought over to a friend's house for dinner two weekends ago. I am such a novice that I had to borrow my neighbor's equipment, a KitchenAid stand-mixer (sweet!) and also baking tins. It was a pretty successful first crack at baking, although I made some rookie mistakes (i.e. absentmindedly dumping the baking soda into the wet ingredients, oops!). I also wish the cupcakes had turned out fluffier like my beloved Flirty Cupcakes and less dense (most probably because of the shredded coconut flakes that the recipe instructed I dump into the batter!). Nevertheless, the cuppies were well-received and quite yummy! 

Ingredients
3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
5 extra-large eggs at room temperature (I only had large eggs, this worked just fine)
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons pure almond extract
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk
14 ounces sweetened, shredded coconut (I would probably only use half of this next time, in total)

Directions
:: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

:: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs, 1 at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and mix well.

:: In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In 3 parts, alternately add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the batter, beginning and ending with the dry. Mix until just combined. Fold in about 3 to 4 ounces of coconut (modified from original recipe).

:: Line a muffin pan with paper liners. Fill each liner to the top with batter. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, until the tops are brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Remove to a baking rack and cool completely.

:: Frost the cupcakes and sprinkle with the remaining coconut.

{ making the base––lots o' butter, eggs, sugar }

{ mixing the batter }

{ naked cupcake tops! }

{ now comes the best part––decorating! }