Easy Coconut Cupcakes with Coconut Buttercream Frosting

Hello coconut lovers, I have a delicious treat for you: fluffy Coconut Cupcakes with Coconut Buttercream Frosting. This easy recipe starts with a boxed cake mix and bakes up moist and decadent to become a dreamy coconut dessert.

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Light fluffy and flavorful, these cupcakes with coconut are a favorite. Every bite is filled with coconut. The soft and creamy coconut frosting is lightly sweetened, flavored with coconut extract, and then topped with sweetened shredded coconut.

Make these gourmet-tasting cupcakes with a box mix hack and fancy them with some extra ingredients. Adding coconut milk and coconut flakes flavors the batter, and coconut extract flavors the buttercream for a triple delicious treat.

Cupcake Ingredients

Making this box cake taste better

Cake Mix – use a 15.25-ounce white cake mix.

Butter – Skip the vegetable oil the box recipe calls for and add melted butter for better flavor and extra richness in a cake.

Canned coconut milk – will not only add coconut flavor but adds fat and moisture to the cake. Make sure you are using coconut milk, not coconut cream.

Egg whites – adding four egg whites adds moisture and fluffiness to the cake for a soft, tender crumb. And just using the egg whites keeps the cake white instead of yellow.

Icing ingredients

Notes about the icing ingredients

Coconut flavoring – I used a deeply flavored coconut paste to flavor the icing, but you can also use coconut extract, which has a watery consistency; however, you may need to use more of the extract to get the coconut flavor you want in the icing.

How to make Coconut Cupcakes

Mixing these cupcakes is very simple; here is how to mix the batter and whip up the icing.

Step 1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place paper liners in a cupcake pan.

Step 2. Add the dry cake mix, melted butter, and egg whites in a large mixing bowl, then mix with an electric mixer or a stand mixer on low speed until blended.

Step 3. Add the coconut milk to the bowl and mix at low speed.

Step 4. Once the milk is combined, turn the mixer to medium speed and mix for a minute until the batter is smooth and thick; occasionally, scrape the sides of the bowl.

Step 5. Add the coconut to the batter and stir with a spoon until completely mixed. When done, the batter will be thick.

Step 6. Fill the cupcake papers about 2/3 full; this should be about three tablespoons, or use a #20 cookie scoop for the best results. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-24 minutes.

Step 7. Make the icing by adding the powdered sugar to a large mixing bowl. I like to mix the sugar with the mixer on low speed to whisk it and break up any lumps.

Step 8. Add the room temperature butter and mix on low speed to mix in the butter, then increase the speed to medium and continue beating for a minute.

Step 9. Add the milk, corn syrup, and coconut extract, then mix on medium speed until the icing becomes light and fluffy for 2 minutes. If the icing is too thick, add additional milk.

Note – if using a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment.

Step 10. Fit a pastry bag with a large star tip; I use 2D, then fill the bag with frosting. Pipe the icing on the cooled cupcake to make a rosette, then top with coconut.

This is why these cupcakes are so good; there are three times the coconut in every bite, in the cake, in the frosting, and coconut on top!!!

Using box mixes makes baking convenient and fast and is perfect to get kids started in the kitchen.

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Variations

• If you like toasted coconut, you can add it to the batter or sprinkle it on top. You can also do both.
• Feel free to use a yellow cake mix or a lemon cake mix.
• If you don’t have a pastry bag and tip, frost the cupcake the old-fashioned way with a knife, pile on the frosting, and sprinkle on the coconut.
• You can always bake this batter in a 13-inch cake pan for 18 to 20 minutes, then frost the top and serve. Or make mini cupcakes.
• If you prefer to keep things easy, you can make the box cake as directed and just add the coconut to the batter plus, I would add a teaspoon of coconut extract for flavor.
• These cupcakes are fun to serve at Easter. You can tint the coconut with food coloring in pretty Easter colors. You can even add some chocolate eggs on top too!

Baking FAQ’s

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Thank you for stopping by the One Hot Oven blog.  Please leave a comment to say Hello or just let me know what you are baking these days, I always love hearing from fellow bakers. Have any questions or just want to chat about the recipe? My contact information is on my about page, and I’ll be happy to help.                                                                                                                                                  

About Jere’              

From learning to cook on a farm in Indiana to culinary school in California, my passion for food is never-ending.  Turning on my oven to bake something for friends and family is my happy place, and I am glad to be here at One Hot Oven sharing both sweet and savory family-friendly recipes for your cooking and baking inspiration.