Add the brown sugar, evaporated milk, egg yolks, and butter into a medium saucepan over medium heat stirring constantly. Bring to a soft boil.
Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla, pecans, and shredded coconut.
Cover and cool in the refrigerator.
Chocolate Cupcakes:
Preheat your oven to 350°F.
Add the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and espresso powder into the bowl of a stand mixer equipped with a whisk attachment. Whisk until all ingredients are combined.
Add the milk, vegetable oil, egg, and vanilla extract into the dry ingredients and mix until there are no dry spots. Do not overmix.
Carefully pour in the boiling water and start mixing on low speed. Slowly increase the speed to high and continue mixing for 1 minute.
Evenly divide the batter between 18 cupcake liners and bake at 350°F for 15-16 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcakes comes out clean.
Allow to cool for 5 minutes in the pan then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
Chocolate Frosting:
Add the softened butter into the bowl of a stand mixer equipped with a paddle attachment and cream for 2-3 minutes until smooth.
Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and add in vanilla extract and mix well.
Add in cocoa powder and mix until there are no dry spots.
Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time and fully combine after each addition. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and mix until well combined.
Pour in the heavy cream and start mixing on low speed and increase to high for 2-3 minutes or until you get a “whipped” consistency.
Add to a piping bag with a large star tip (I used a Wilton 1M).
Assembly:
Use a large piping tip or a butter knife to remove the centers of each cupcake. Fill with the coconut pecan filling and replace the top of the cupcake that you removed.
Pipe a generous swirl of frosting on top of each cupcake.
Drizzle with chocolate syrup and top with chopped pecans and shredded coconut.
Store in an air tight container in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
If you've tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was in the comments or ratings.