Coconut Cupcakes

Ingredients

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 2 eggs, separated
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 (13.5 ounce) can coconut milk
• 1 1/4 cups unsweetened shredded coconut

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease 12 muffin cups or line with paper liners.

Mix sugar, applesauce, and butter together in a bowl.

Beat egg whites in a glass or metal bowl until medium peaks form. Lift your beater or whisk straight up: the tip of the peak formed by the egg whites should curl over slightly.

Stir egg yolks and vanilla extract into applesauce mixture; fold in egg whites. Stir in flour, baking powder, and salt until just combined. Beat coconut milk into batter until smooth, about 1 minute. Beat in shredded coconut for about 30 seconds. Pour batter into the prepared muffin cups.

Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean, about 20 minutes.