Easy Coconut Cupcakes with Coconut Buttercream Frosting

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Hello coconut lovers, I have a delicious treat for you, 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.

A coconut cupcake with white frosting and coconut on top. — Our favorite coconut cupcake

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

Make these gourmet-tasting cupcakes with a box mix then fancy it up with some extra ingredients. Adding coconut milk and flaked coconut flavors to the batter, and coconut extract flavors the buttercream for a triple delicious treat.

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Cupcake Ingredients
Making this box cake taste better
Icing ingredients
Let's bake
A quick view
Variations
FAQ's
More great desserts
Recipe
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Cupcake Ingredients

Eggs, flour, milk, coconut and butter for a cake. — 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 white 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

Powdered sugar, butter, milk, extract for icing. — Icing ingredients

Notes about the icing ingredients

Coconut flavoring - To flavor the icing I used a deeply flavored coconut paste, 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.

Let's bake

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

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

Step 2. In a large mixing bowl add the cake mix, melted butter, and egg whites 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, scrape the bowl occasionally.

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 ⅔ full, this should be about 3 tablespoons, or use a #20 cookie scoop for the best results. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-24 minutes.

Scooping cake batters into cupcake liners. — Scoop the batter into cupcake liners

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.

Mixing powdered sugar. butter and milk for icing. — Steps for making coconut icing

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

An icing bag and icing a cupcake. — Making icing rosettes

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

Baked and frosted cupcakes — Coconut milk cupcakes

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

These Peanut Butter Cup Brownies start with a box mix and turn into a decadent chocolate dessert made with only six ingredients.

If you are a lemon lover then grab a lemon cake mix and a can of Mountain Dew and bake this fabulous Mountain Dew Bundt cake.

Black Cupcakes are perfect for a Halloween dessert or even a fancy black-tie dessert. Black cocoa powder is what gives these cupcakes their deep dark color.

Now if you want to go totally gourmet, these Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Caramel Frosting are our tribute to baseball season. Don't forget to top with the classic Cracker Jacks popcorn.

A quick view

Variations

If you like toasted coconut you can add that into the batter or sprinkle toasted coconut on top. Or, you can do both.
Feel free to use a yellow cake mix, or try a lemon cake mix.
If you don't have a pastry bag and tip, just frost the cupcake the old-fashioned way with a knife and pile on the frosting, then 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 really 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 and you can tint the coconut with food coloring in pretty Easter colors. You can even add some chocolate eggs on top too!

FAQ's

Why do the butter, dairy, and eggs need to be at room temperature for baking?

Room temperature ingredients mix together better and become more homogenous and smooth. It is easier to aerate a smooth batter over a lumpy batter which creates a fluffier and lighter baked good.

Is coconut milk the same as coconut cream?

These have two different consistencies with the coconut milk having the consistency of cow's milk and is just coconut and water. Coconut cream is made from coconut milk and is the thick layer of cream that floats to the top when making coconut milk.

More great desserts

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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.