Homemade Sno Balls

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and baking powder.

Meanwhile, in your stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar on high for a minute or two, making sure to scrape down the bowl. When the butter and sugar are light and fluffy, add the eggs, one at a time, and beat after each addition. Add the vanilla and give it one last whirl.

Melt and cool the chocolate using a double boiler or over very low heat. While it’s melting, measure out the milk.

In your stand mixer, using the lowest speed, stir about half of the flour mixture, all of the milk, and the remaining flour mixture into your creamed mixture. Don’t forget to scrape that bowl. Finally, with the mixer running on low, pour in that melted chocolate.

Spray two muffin tins (24 total cupcakes) with vegetable spray. Please only fill the tins about half-way. This will yield you the right sized cupcake. You will probably have a bit of batter leftover. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Pull those babies out pronto. You’ll need the help of a plastic knife and fork to remove them from the pan. Cool on a wire rack.

While the cupcakes cool completely, make the filling/frosting. Use the three-bowl method to separate egg whites from yolks. Crack the egg. Place the white in the small bowl, and the yolk in the medium bowl. Assuming no yolk contamination, transfer each of the whites to the big bowl. Add the cream of tartar to the whites. Set this aside for a while.

In a small saucepan, over medium high heat, bring the sugar and water to 240 degrees F. Do not sir. Ever. Right before the syrup reaches 240, start beating those whites, along with the cream of tartar, on high.

When you reach the magic temperature, slowly stream the syrup into the still beating egg whites. This will take about 30 seconds. Add the vanilla and coconut extracts, and continue to beat on high for 8 minutes.

Cover the filling/frosting with plastic wrap, and set aside on the counter.

Use a very sharp knife to cut plugs out of the bottom of each cupcake. Use a 45 degree angle for the best result. Reserve the plugs. Use a paper towel to clean any sticky cupcake crumbs from your knife between cuttings.

Fill a plastic bag with about a cup of the fluff. Cut off a corner of the bag, not too much, and use this as a piping bag to fill the holes.

In a food processor, pour in the coconut, and add about 4 drops of food coloring. Pulse until the coconut is tinted to your desired shade of pink. Trasfer the pink coconut to a shallow pie plate.

Put the plugs back into the bottom of the cupcakes and frost each cupcake all over. You’ll need to frost the top, sides, and bottom. Sprinkle tinted coconut over and all around each cupcake.

Wash your hands, and enjoy!