My in-laws recently celebrated their 40th (!) wedding anniversary and my dear father-in-law, one of my favorite people in the world, asked me to make some "coconut cupcakes".

I've made Almond Joy-inspired cupcakes in the past, and while delicious, I wanted the focus to be on his two favorite flavors -- dark chocolate and, of course, coconut. The result was messy deliciousness.

The 40th anniversary is the ruby anniversary, so I used some more of the red fondant hearts I made for the Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie-filled cupcakes my mother-in-law asked me to make. I like the way the red hearts pop on the white coconut marshmallow frosting and coordinate with the teal blue cake liners I chose.

The cupcakes were actually a little frustrating to make -- the frosting, while delicious, was just too runny and ended up spilling over the sides of the cupcakes. As a result, I've altered the recipe and, on my second try, it worked much better.

All in all, a very moist, dense dark chocolate cake that tasted eerily similar to a Snoball.

You can find the recipe here: DARK CHOCOLATE & COCONUT MARSHMALLOW CUPCAKES.