Salted Caramel Chocolate Coconut Bombs... For lack of a better name

So I have made these cupcakes twice now and every cupcake gets rave reviews. Normally, I try to do my baking more from scratch but since they are already labor intensive, I took a pass on these. They are sooooooo worth it.

Fluffy, soft chocolate cupcake. Chocolate coconut filling. Ermine frosting topped with toasted coconut, melted chocolate and caramel. Ugh, now I'm hungry.
In addition to the Chocolate Cupcake Recipe below, you'll need:
Smucker's Chocolate Coconut Topping
Smucker's Salted Caramel Topping (or caramel of your choice)
Ermine Frosting - DO NOT make ahead and refrigerate. Once chilled, you cant reshape it without killing it.
4-6oz Milk Chocolate Chips
1/2 Cup Toasted Coconut



Chocolate Cupcakes

1 Box Chocolate Cake Mix
1 Small Box Chocolate Pudding Mix
4 Eggs
1 Cup Water
1/3 Cup Coconut Oil (or oil of your choice)

Combine the dry cake mix and pudding mix and then mix in eggs, oil and water until moistened. Mix on medium speed for about 2 minutes. It will be THICK batter. Bake according to package directions. I got 24 cupcakes out of the batch but I like them tall and domed.

 I love tall, domed cupcakes!

While they bake, I'd recommend starting your Ermine Frosting. The milk will need to cool for a bit. Follow the link above for the recipe.

Once the cupcakes are cooled, pop the center out. I prick it with a fork but you can also use a cookie scoop or one of the little tools I have seen around that are specifically for the job. Spoon in the Chocolate Coconut Topping and replace the top you popped.

Tell me that filling doesn't look amazing!

It's time to frost! I prefer to use a 1M tip but due to all the toppings on these cupcakes, you can just use a knife and they will still look divine!

Ermine is super light, fluffy and not super sweet so it's perfect to load with all these fun toppings!

Sprinkle with toasted coconut. (I usually toast mine in a saucepan over the stove on medium).

Melt your chocolate in the microwave on 50% for 30 seconds, stir, repeat until allllllmost melted. Stir it until the remaining chunks are gone. Drizzle the cupcakes. I like to use a butter knife, dip it in chocolate and flick it back and forth. 

Heat the salted caramel until drizzle-able. Drizzle over the cupcakes. If you used regular caramel or would like a little more saltiness, sprinkle lightly with kosher or sea salt. Annnnnnnd DONE! For reference, the first ones are frosted using a knife and the second ones are using the 1M tip. Due to the frosting, you must store them in the fridge!

Knife-frosted and heavier on the chocolate and caramel.

1M tip and a slightly more delicate drizzle.

The sum is greater than all the parts though. Take a big bite!