Prep: 60 minutesCook: 20 minutesTotal: 1 hour 20 minutes
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
Serving Size: 1 cupcake
Calories: 518
Sugar: 53.8 g
Sodium: 63.9 mg
Fat: 25.6 g
Carbohydrates: 69.6 g
Protein: 3.2 g
Cholesterol: 66.6 mg
Nutrition information is a guide only.
Category: CupcakesCuisine: Australian