Coconut White Chocolate Cupcakes

Dreamy coconut cupcakes bursting with coconut flakes and topped with a decadent white chocolate frosting! The ultimate cupcake flavor pairing!

You don’t understand. I am literally obsessed with these towering, bite-sized, melt-in-your mouth coconut white chocolate cupcakes. Sure, I’m a huge fan of cupcakes overall, but these cupcakes are astonishingly next level.

Here’s an extra large image with a heavenly glow for proof. And if you don’t believe me? I guess you’ll have to try them out for yourself!

Think delicately soft vanilla-y cake but with a hint of coconut (from coconut milk and extract) and with the subtle texture and sweetness of shredded coconut. Top-tier already on its own. But we have to go even bigger with a generous dollop of buttery white chocolate swiss meringue buttercream. And finally, top off the showstopping cupcake with crisped coconut flakes that add another layer of crunch and nuttiness. Absolutely exquisite.

I blinked and suddenly my family polished off all of the cupcakes. And you will too when you make these!

Coconut Cupcakes

Coconut in desserts is a mild and nutty flavor. It pairs wonderfully with other tropical fruits like mango and pineapple, but also with traditional dessert flavors like chocolate. Check out my Coconut Black Rice Pudding with Mango for a healthy twist on a traditional Thai dessert!

Coconut Products

This recipe (adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction) uses coconut milk, coconut extract, and shredded coconut to flavor the cupcake. These additions also add moisture and texture which makes the cupcake that much more amazing. Coconut products like coconut milk, coconut extract, desiccated coconut, and shredded coconut are widely available online and in grocery stores! Try your best to use all the ingredients.

Toasting Coconut

I highly recommend decorating your cupcakes with toasted coconut flakes to add contrasting texture. You can easily toast coconut flakes using the stovetop or oven method!

• stovetop: heat a skillet over low heat. Toast coconut flakes, stirring occasionally, until the edges start to turn tan, 4-6 minutes.
• oven: bake at 350°F for 8-10 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes until the coconut begins to brown.

Cake Flour

This recipe calls for cake flour which is a low protein flour with a finer consistency. This leads to less gluten development in the batter and therefore a softer crumb. If you don’t have cake flour on hand, here’s how you can make it easily at home!

Start with 1 cup all-purpose flour. Remove 2 Tablespoons so you have 14 Tablespoons total. Add cornstarch to the 14 Tablespoons of flour. Sift together and measure 1 cup from this mixture. Now you have 1 cup of cake flour that you can use!

Sour Cream

This recipe relies on just egg whites for binding. Thus, sour cream replaces some of the fat that the egg yolk would normally provide. It also helps to make the cupcake irresistibly moist. You could substitute sour cream with buttermilk or Greek yogurt as they all act similarly in the baking process.

Make Ahead and Storing Coconut Cupcakes

After baking and cooling, you can individually wrap and freeze unfrosted cupcakes for up to three months. To serve, defrost at room temperature.

White Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream

There are only two types of frosting that I will tolerate and Swiss meringue buttercream (SMB) is one of them. SMB consists primarily of (cooked) egg whites which makes it less heavy and overly sweet than American buttercream. The result is a lusciously creamy and light frosting that is delicious both at room temperature and chilled. Check out my Best Swiss Meringue Buttercream post for more details and SMB troubleshooting!

Melting White Chocolate

SMB usually can’t take a lot of additional substance but it works great with melted and cooled chocolate!

To prepare white chocolate for the frosting, roughly chop white chocolate and place in a heatproof/microwave-safe bowl.

• Microwave: microwave in 30 second bursts, stirring throughout until completely melted.
• Double boiler: set the bowl over a saucepan filled with a few inches of simmering water, making sure not to touch the water. Stir gently until completely melted.Let cool to around room-temperature.

Egg Whites

You will be using plenty of egg whites for the coconut cupcakes and frosting. Here are some ideas on what to do with the leftover egg yolks!

• milk tea crème brûlée
• Portuguese custard tarts
• matcha white chocolate cookies

And more typical options: pasta carbonara, lemon curd, omelet !

Coconut White Chocolate Cupcakes – Step by Step

This recipe is simple and quick, guaranteeing you a coconut white chocolate treat in less than an hour! Remember to bring your butter to room temperature beforehand.

Coconut Cupcakes

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a cupcake tin with 12 cupcake liners. Whisk together cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.

Using a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on medium-high speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg whites until combined, scraping down the sides with a spatula as needed. Add in sour cream, coconut milk, vanilla extract, and coconut extract and beat until well combined. Batter may look curdled – this is normal.

On low speed, beat in dry ingredients until just combined. Add in shredded coconut by folding with a spatula or beating on low speed. Do not overmix. The batter will be thick.

Bake in preheated oven for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes then remove to wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

White Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Roughly chop white chocolate and place in a heatproof/microwave-safe bowl.

• Microwave: microwave in 30 second bursts, stirring throughout until completely melted.
• Double boiler: set the bowl over a saucepan filled with a few inches of simmering water, making sure not to touch the water. Stir gently until completely melted.

Let cool to around room temperature.

In a dry, grease-free, heatproof mixing bowl, whisk together egg whites and sugar. Set bowl over a double boiler (saucepan filled with a few inches of simmering water) over medium heat. Make sure that the bowl does not touch the water. Whisk the whites and sugar constantly until sugar is dissolved and mixture has thinned out, or until mixture reaches 160°F, about 4 minutes.

When the mixture is still warm, transfer to the bowl of stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. On high speed, beat the mixture until stiff glossy peaks form and the meringue is no longer warm to the touch, at least 10-15 minutes. If it still feels warm, wait until room temperature before adding butter.

On medium-high speed, add the butter 1 tablespoon at a time. Wait for the butter to fully mix in before adding the next tablespoon. After all the butter has been added, turn the mixer down to medium speed and fully beat in the vanilla and pinch of salt, about 30 seconds, until thick and creamy. Mix in the melted and cooled white chocolate and beat until combined.

Assembling Coconut White Chocolate Cupcakes

After cupcakes have cooled, frost with white chocolate swiss meringue buttercream using a knife or piping bag fitted with a piping tip (I used 1M). Top with toasted coconut flakes.

How to Store Coconut Cupcakes

Frosted cupcakes can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days. Chilled cupcakes will be more dense because of the batter is butter-based. Let sit at room temperature for a few minutes before serving, if desired.

For more cupcake recipes, check out my Pumpkin Cupcakes with Espresso Cream Cheese Frosting and my Salted Caramel Earl Grey Cupcakes!