Soft and sweet, these buttery Coconut Cupcakes are filled with toasted coconut and topped with swirls of creamy coconut buttercream frosting. They’re perfect for birthdays, parties and celebrations.
Perfect Coconut Cupcakes 💙
Soft and tender coconut cakes filled with toasted coconut and topped with swirls of coconut buttercream. Can you even?!
If you love all things coconut and are still fond of the cupcake craze, you’ll fall madly in love with these cupcakes and their fancy pants frosting.
Since I published my Coconut Cake recipe, Lemon Coconut Cake and my Coconut Pound Cake, I’ve been obsessed with coconut cake.
Seriously light and fluffy, with that rich nutty flavour permeating the whole cake, it rivals even the best chocolate cake.
But let’s be real. The magic is in that dreamy, creamy coconut frosting. I mean, just pass me a spoon and I’m done. All finished with a few crisp coconut flakes.
These pretty Coconut Cupcakes are perfect for celebrations like weddings, engagement parties, baby showers and the like. There’s something sort of magical about their cloud-like white appearance.
Why You will love these cupcakes
- Full of coconut flavour
- Use only everyday ingredients (with a few easy substitutions)
- Simple to make yet they look SO impressive
- Perfect for celebrations or parties
HOW TO MAKE COCONUT CUPCAKES
- Start by toasting desiccated coconut on the stove. Place coconut in a shallow frying pan on a low heat and stir occasionally until coconut turns golden brown. Set aside to cool slightly. If you don’t have access to desiccated coconut, you can use shredded coconut instead.
- Ensure your butter is at room temperature. Begin by creaming together butter and caster sugar using an electric mixer. If you don’t have access to caster sugar, you can use granulated sugar here.
- After a minute or two, the butter and sugar should be creamy and pale. It’s then time to add a dash of vanilla extract and an egg. Beat briefly just to combine and then scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Next, add flour, baking powder, salt and the toasted coconut. Remember plain flour is the same as all purpose flour.
- And finally, add canned coconut cream – ensuring you’ve given it a good stir before adding. While canned coconut milk is not quite the same (it has a lower fat content), I have tested the recipe with both and either coconut cream or coconut milk are ok to use.
- Beat on a low speed for 30 seconds or so until a creamy cake batter forms. Spoon out cake batter into a 12-hole muffin pan lined with cupcake liners. Bake cupcakes for approximately 18-20 minutes.
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Let’s talk coconut buttercream
We love buttercream here at Sweetest Menu. Earlier this year, I shared all my tips and tricks for making perfect vanilla buttercream.
But now there’s a new kid on the block: coconut buttercream. And it just might be my new favourite thing. It’s delightfully smooth and buttery – like a good frosting should be. But the addition of coconut cream makes it FULL of flavour with a lovely, thick texture – perfect for piping.
Tips for making smooth buttercream
- Make sure your butter is at room temperature. You don’t want it fridge cold nor do you want it so soft it’s melty. You should be able to easily press it using your thumb and make an indent.
- Sift your icing sugar. This is crucial to ensuring your buttercream is lovely and smooth. Also add the sugar in batches.
- Add coconut cream sparingly. Because we are piping this buttercream, we want it thick enough to hold its shape. Add coconut cream, 1 tablespoon at a time, until your buttercream is thick and smooth. It’s easy to add a little more coconut cream if it’s a bit thick, but hard to take it away! If your frosting is too runny, leave it in the fridge for 15 minutes or so to chill.
Commonly asked questions
Desiccated coconut is dried coconut in small flakes. It is typically unsweetened. It is much finer than shredded coconut. It is not the same as coconut flour. If you don’t have access to desiccated coconut, you can use shredded coconut in this recipe.
Coconut milk and coconut cream are not the same. Coconut cream has a higher fat content and is therefore thicker in consistency and richer in taste. Coconut milk is thinner and more watery in comparison. While I prefer to use coconut cream (because of it’s creaminess) in both the cupcake AND the frosting, coconut milk does still work well.
Here in Australia, our store bought coconut (whether it’s desiccated, shredded or flaked) is typically unsweetened. So that’s what I have used in this recipe.
MORE COCONUT RECIPES
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Let’s Bake
Perfect Coconut Cupcakes
Soft and fluffy Coconut Cupcakes topped with coconut buttercream.
Ingredients
Coconut cupcakes
- 50 grams (1/2 cup) desiccated coconut*
- 115 grams (1/2 cup or 1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, roughly chopped
- 150 grams (3/4 cup) caster sugar or granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 210 grams (1 and 1/2 cups) plain flour or all purpose flour
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- 180 ml (3/4 cup) full fat canned coconut cream or coconut milk, stirred
Coconut buttercream
- 170 grams (1.5 sticks) butter, room temperature, roughly chopped
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 500 grams (4 cups) icing sugar or powdered sugar, sifted
- 3–4 tablespoons full fat canned coconut milk or coconut cream, stirred
- Coconut flakes, to decorate
Instructions
Coconut cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F) standard / 160 C (320 F) fan-forced. Line a 12-hole muffin pan with cupcake liners.
- Add desiccated coconut to a small non-stick frying pan and place on a low heat. Cook for approximately 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until coconut turns golden brown. Set aside to cool.
- In a large mixing bowl, add butter and sugar. Beat together using an electric mixer until pale and creamy. Add vanilla and egg and beat briefly until combined.
- Add flour, baking powder, salt and toasted coconut. Then add coconut cream. Beat on a low speed until a thick and creamy cake batter forms. Don’t over mix.
- Spoon out cake batter into your prepared liners and bake for approximately 18-20 minutes or until golden. Leave cupcakes to cool completely on a wire rack.
Coconut buttercream
- Add butter to a large mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed for 1-2 minutes or until your butter is smooth and creamy. There should be no lumps.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add vanilla and beat briefly to combine. Then add 125 grams (1 cup) sugar. Beat on a low speed to combine, then turn up the speed to medium and mix for 30 seconds or so. Mixture should be thick and appear a little dry – this is fine.
- Next, add 250 grams (2 cups) sugar, along with 2 tablespoons of coconut cream. Beat on medium speed until mixture is thick and creamy.
- Finally, add remaining 125 grams (1 cup) sugar and beat on medium speed until mixture is smooth. Buttercream should be lovely and thick at this stage with no lumps.
- If the buttercream is too thick, add an extra tablespoon or two of coconut cream. To finish, remove your mixer, and give your buttercream a good stir by hand using a spatula – this helps to eliminate any air bubbles.
- Transfer your buttercream to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip. Frost swirls of buttercream onto each cupcake. Sprinkle over flaked coconut.
Notes
Desiccated coconut: If you don’t have access to desiccated coconut, you can use shredded coconut instead.
Nutrition Information
Lena says
Thank you for the great recipe!
They came out perfectly fluffy and not at all greasy with a delicious and not overwhelming coconut flavour. Great idea to toast the coconut first, it made the flavour really pop.
I topped them with lime buttercream, for a refreshing summer treat.
If anyone else here is from Germany:
I had slight difficulties finding coconut cream in German supermarkets. In the end i decided to buy creamy coconut milk (Kokosnussmilch) from Edeka and just skim of the thick, fatty part that separates on top to use in the batter. Then I realised that the fat content of the coconut milk was even higher than in the coconut cream from Australia and I could just use it as is.
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! So happy to hear that Lena! And thank you for that helpful feedback too – it’s so annoying how different ingredients are across the world!
Eve says
I tried making this but my buns turned out very sticky because of the coconut milk used I think it being very high fat content. So didn’t end up being fluffy normal bun consistency. Not sure what went wrong there 😞
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Eve, these aren’t buns – they’re cupcakes? The recipe should create light and tender cakes.
Sara says
Yeah mine came out like I was missing a wet ingredient for sure… more like a dough.
I used coconut flour, not sure if that was my issue. Same 1:1
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Sara, yes that’ll make a difference! Coconut flour is not the same as plain flour which is what I used when creating this recipe.
Mel says
When do I bake to serve them super fresh ???
It’s Xmas day dessert and don’t have Xmas morning to make them.
Jessica Holmes says
How about the day before Mel? They should keep well in an airtight container overnight. You can make the frosting in advance and keep it in the fridge. And then just pipe or decorate when you’re ready to serve?
Kathleen McDonough says
Hi!
For the Buttercream should the shredded coconut be sweetened?
Thank you
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Kathleen, I use unsweetened for mine!
Anonymous says
These are really good! They are moist, and decadent without being heavy. I paired it with a cream cheese icing instead because I had it left over. It was a good combination. I will definitely be saving this recipe! Thank you!
Anonymous says
Oh, and thank you so much for the weights of the ingredients! That is a huge help in baking!
Jessica Holmes says
Oh brilliant! So glad you enjoyed them. Cream cheese icing would be delicious!
Ann says
I made these for Mother’s Day and everyone loved them. I didn’t have coconut cream, so I used coconut milk. The cupcakes were very fluffy, but didn’t really taste like coconut. I even added some coconut extract, but that didn’t help much either. However, they were very good.
Jessica Holmes says
I’m glad you enjoyed them Ann!
Sarah says
Hi; I need to 1/2 the recipe. It is only the two of us.
How do we 1/2 the CUPCAKE recipe?
Thank you
4-5-22
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Sarah, I haven’t tested a small batch of this recipe. For best results, I recommend making the recipe as is and freezing any leftovers.
Luna says
Hi. Is there any way to make this dairy free? Thank you
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Luna, I’m sorry I haven’t tried this cake with dairy-free ingredients so I can’t say.
Miguel Lorenzo says
I’m a Cupcake amateur and being try to make the perfect coconut cupcakes. For my taste this is the BEST RECIPE I ever make. (An believe me try a few). My advice USE coconut milk instead of “sweetened” coconut cream for a MILD sweet. But if you like the Sweeter side of life GO for the cream. So moist, so good, you will enjoy it. NOTE: Don’t over mix.
Jessica Holmes says
Yaaay! So glad you loved them Miguel!
Liz says
Can’t wait to try this recipe. Can it be made into a cake instead of cupcakes?
Jessica Holmes says
Yes! But you might like to try my Coconut Cake recipe.
Eve says
Hello. I love in Yorkshire, England and it’s what we call muffins or cupcakes over here. Mine were sticky and wet feeling. I tried another recipe using coconut cream instead of milk and worked great – fluffy. I think it was the fat content.
Jessica Holmes says
I’m sorry to hear that Eve! Coconut milk has a lower fat content than coconut cream so I don’t think it should be that. But if they were sticky, perhaps they either needed a little extra time in the oven or slightly more flour. I would maybe experiment with a different brand of coconut milk too, as they can differ!
Ain says
Lovely!