There’s no sharing these Samoa Cupcake Shooters. These parfaits are layers of chocolate cake, coconut Swiss meringue buttercream, toasted coconut, chocolate sauce and caramel. Topped off with Samoa cookies, these are absolutely perfect.

This recipe was originally posted in February 2013, it was updated in February 2017.

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What can I say, I am a sucker for Samoas.

Today while I was walking through my office, my eye locked onto the box of Girl Scout cookies sitting on someone’s desk. I swiftly walked away to avoid temptation.

It’s nearly impossible for me to actually have a box of Girl Scout cookies in my house because they never last long and I am the only one that eats them.

While I am a Thin Mint girl at heart, I can’t deny my love for Samoa (and peanut butter patties!).

When I was a Girl Scout a looooong time ago, we called these cookies Caramel Delights. No one here knows what I am talking about when I say Caramel Delights, so lets just go with Samoa cookies so we’re all on the same page.

Over the past few years, I’ve been translating my love for samoa into very desserts including this sinful cake, ice cream pies, and even cookie cups.

This time I am combining chocolate cake with toasted coconut, a coconut buttercream, caramel and chocolate all in a cute little jar for the ultimate Samoa Cupcake Shooters. Parfaits have never looked so mouthwatering!

When I originally made these, I made them with 5oz glasses. I love these because they are larger than a shot glass, so it allows you to stuff it full of the goods! The second time I made these I used larger mason jars with a wider mouth, so there was more room to pipe the frosting.

Speaking of frosting, let’s discuss the Coconut Swiss meringue buttercream I used for this recipe. If you’ve never made Swiss meringue buttercream, you’re in for a real treat. It does take a bit more effort than a traditional American buttercream but it’s WAY worth it.

Swiss meringue is made with tempered egg white, granulated sugar and unsalted butter. This buttercream takes a bit of patience because you first have to temper the eggs then you need to whip it good. Literally, for like 10 minutes or more!

The most important thing is that the butter is at room temperature or it will be more difficult to incorporate it into the egg whites. You’ll also want to cut the butter into 1 tablespoon sizes to slowly incorporate it into the egg white. I recommend using unsalted butter because the salted butter will drastically shift the flavor of the frosting and I find it’s too much salt.

Lucky for you, I have a tutorial for Swiss Meringue buttercream . I definitely recommend reading through this, especially if you are not familiar with how to make this type of buttercream. This buttercream should not be refrigerated, due to the high butter content, it will solidify and it is difficult to recover it. Therefore, I recommend serving these right when they are prepared. Otherwise store the prepared parfaits in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

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If you love no-bake recipes, be sure to check out my cookbook, No-Bake Treats!

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Samoa Cupcake Shooters

Author: Julianne Bayer
Prep Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour
Yield: 6 jars 1x

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Description

Ingredients

2–3 cups chocolate cake crumbs or 6 chocolate cupcakes, unfrosted
6 Samoa cookies
1/2 cup hot fudge sauce
1/2 cup caramel sauce
1/2 cup toasted coconut
1 batch coconut Swiss meringue buttercream
Coconut Swiss Meringue Buttercream  Makes Approximately 2 1/2 Cups
3 large egg whites
3/4 cups granulated sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon coconut extract

Instructions

Prepare and bake chocolate cake or cupcakes.
For the toasted coconut: Place the shredded coconut on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking sheet.
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Cook for 8-12 minutes until you achieve your desired color. Remove from the oven every 5 minutes and stir so that it toasts evenly. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
For the Swiss meringue: Butter must be at room temperature. Prepare a pot of water about 2-3 inches deep and heat to a boil on medium-high heat.
While the water is heating up. place the egg white and granulated sugar in a heat-proof bowl over the pot of water. Do not wait for it to boil. Make sure to stir the eggs whites and sugar constantly to avoid cooking the egg whites.
Temper the egg white by heating the mixture to 150°F. The sugar should be dissolved into the egg whites.
Remove the sugar and egg whites from heat. Using a wire whisk on your stand mixer, beat on low for two minutes. Increase to a medium speed for five minutes.
Increase speed to high and beat until stiff peaks form, about 3-5 more minutes until stiff peaks form.
Next, reduce speed to low and add the softened butter 1 tablespoon at a time, ensuring the butter is well mixed before adding more.
Next, add the coconut and vanilla extract and beat for another minute or two with the wire whisk.
Change your mixer attachment to the paddle attachment continue to beat on medium speed until the butter is well incorporated and the meringue is glossy with stiff peak, this should take about 5 more minutes or so.
To build the shooters: Preheat the hot fudge sauce according to the instructions on the jar.
Start by filling the bottom of your glasses with some of the cake crumbles or half of the cupcake.
Then pipe a layer of coconut buttercream on top. Drizzle with hot fudge sauce and caramel over the buttercream and sprinkle some toasted coconut.
Repeat these steps two more times and top these off with Samoa cookies. If using a cupcake, you might only have 2 layers

Notes

I have a tutorial for Swiss Meringue buttercream . I definitely recommend reading through this, especially if you are not familiar with how to make this type of buttercream. The butter must be at room temperature. This frosting should not be refrigerated, since it is mostly butter it will harden and you cannot recover it. So it’s best to serve these after you prepare them. Otherwise store the prepared parfaits in an airtight container at room temperature.