Description
Ultra moist and bursting with fresh coconut flavor, these cupcakes are for serious coconut lovers only.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
For the coconut cake:
- 2 3/4 cups bleached cake flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup fresh shredded coconut (fresh frozen also works)*
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
- 6 large egg whites, room temperature
- 1/2 cup sour cream, room temperature
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 tsp coconut extract
- 1 cup coconut milk, room temperature
For the coconut cream cheese frosting:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 8 oz full fat cream cheese, room temperature
- 5 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 TB heavy cream or coconut milk
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp coconut extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
- Make the cupcakes. Preheat the oven to 350F/176C, and line two 12 cavity cupcake/muffin pans with cupcake liners. Combine the cake flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and shredded coconut in a mixing bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside. Add the butter and granulated sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer, and use the paddle attachment to beat until pale and fluffy, no less than 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add the egg whites all at once, and beat on high speed until completely combined. Add the sour cream, vanilla and coconut extract and beat once more until well blended.
- Add a third (roughly) of the flour/shredded coconut mixture to the butter/sugar in the mixer and beat on low speed until you begin seeing batter streaks again, about 10 seconds. Add a third of the coconut milk. Repeat twice until both the flour mixture and coconut milk have been added. Do not overmix. Give the last addition of coconut milk about 5 seconds before you shut off the mixer. Use a spatula to gently finish folding everything together until the batter is smooth. It will be slightly thick.
- Fill the cupcake liners about 2/3 full and bake for 22-24 minutes. You will have some batter leftover. Set it aside until you remove the first round of cupcakes from the oven, then re-line the pan with cupcake liners and fill with batter as needed. You should end up with around 36 cupcakes.
- Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.
- Make the buttercream. Clean the stand mixer bowl and add the cream cheese. Beat for 2 minutes and then scrape down the bowl. Add the butter and beat for an additional 2 minutes until creamy. Scrape down the bowl again before adding the powdered sugar, coconut milk or cream, vanilla and coconut extracts, and salt. Mix on low speed until all of the powdered sugar has been mostly incorporated, and then increase the speed to beat on high for 2 more minutes.
- Frost the cupcakes with buttercream, and garnish with toasted shredded coconut, if desired. Leftover cupcakes can be stored either at room temperature for 2 days or up to a week in the fridge. Cupcakes will freeze indefinitely.
Notes
*sweetened shredded coconut may also be used.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 frosted cupcake
- Calories: 300
- Sugar: 28.9 g
- Sodium: 141.2 mg
- Fat: 16.3 g
- Saturated Fat: 10.7 g
- Trans Fat: 0.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 37.2 g
- Fiber: 0.3 g
- Protein: 2.5 g
- Cholesterol: 38.7 mg