Happy Chocolate Monday and Happy almost Easter! Today’s White Chocolate Coconut Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting are a perfectly delicious canvas for decorating to bring the colors of the garden into your home. You can use any sprinkled toppings you have on hand, including coconut which would be a great way to decorate the cupcakes. They are also a great option for your Easter dinners. You can add them to other treats for an over-the-top dessert buffet!
Spring is here, the trees are blooming and we’ve had bright sunny and mild days here in Northern California. The local farmer’s market is overflowing with fresh produce that makes my mouth water and my mind flood with creative ideas for meals to make!
One of the tricks to this recipe is to use a powerful stand mixer. It will mix on its own, freeing you up to do other things while it is beating the butter and sugar. If you make this with a handheld mixer, your arms will get tired.
I love using mini white chocolate chips in my recipes. They are so small that you get some white chocolate in every bite!
Coconut can be too chewy for some people when left in long shreds. I put it in my food processor and pulse it a few times to break them up. They are dispersed more evenly when smaller and add just the right amount of flavor and chewiness in every bite!
I used a rounded 2 tbsp cookie scoop to fill each muffin tin. This was the perfect amount – filled about 2/3 full with a rounded top. The ones I added a little more to wound up baking up too high. Still delicious but not as easy to frost. Keep to 2/3 full and yours will be perfect!
Be sure to use an extra-large/jumbo piping tip like a 1M or 2D if you want to make ruffled roses on the cupcakes. They make anything look more festive! The trick is in the tips you use – larger gives you more abundant desserts and makes piping super easy. Here is an article with video comparing the 1M and the 2D so you can choose your favorite.
If you are new to piping, you can practice by piping frosting onto a silicone mat or parchment paper. Then scrape it off, reload your piping bag, and pipe some more. When you’re comfortable, switch to the cooled cupcakes and have fun!!
If you want to learn more about frosting and using piping tips, check out the videos from CakesbyLynz.
These White Chocolate Coconut Cupcakes are the perfect way to celebrate the end of winter and welcome the warmth of spring.
Happy Chocolate Monday, Happy Spring, and Happy almost Easter. Have a fabulous week!
If you try this recipe, let me know! Please leave a star rating in the recipe card, comment below, and don’t forget to snap a pic and tag it @theheritagecook on Instagram! Seeing your creations makes my day and I love hearing from you!
Ingredients needed for White Chocolate Coconut Cupcakes:
- Butter, sugar, all-purpose flour or GF flour blend, baking powder, baking soda, salt, vanilla, eggs, buttermilk, coconut, mini white chocolate chips, confectioners’ sugar, heavy cream, coconut flavoring or food coloring, optional
PRO Tip:
Using dedicated gluten-free products (like spoons and cutting boards) is a good option if you are baking gluten-free often. Choosing stainless steel or silicone utensils, or brand-new wooden utensils will help keep everyone safe. Even stirring a pot with gluten ingredients in it and using the same spoon to stir your gluten-free foods can make some people very sick. Managing cross contamination is serious business.
How to make White Chocolate Coconut Cupcakes:
- Line muffin tins with cupcake papers and preheat the oven.
- Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- Beat together the butter and sugar for 4 to 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Add the eggs to the butter/sugar mixture one at a time.
- Alternating, add the flour and buttermilk, then mix in the coconut and white chocolate chips.
- Bake the cupcakes, let rest in the pans for 15 minutes then cool completely on a wire rack.
- Make the frosting and pipe roses on top of the cooled cupcakes using a 2D or 1M piping tip. Garnish with coconut or sprinkles if you want.
How do I bake cupcakes in tins when all the cups are not full of batter?
This is a trick I learned from my grandmother when I was a little girl. Scatter the extra cupcake liners throughout the tin, leaving some empty cups between them for the most even baking. Fill the liners with batter. To protect your pan from overheating, pour about 1 tbsp of water into the empty tins. Place in the oven and bake as directed. Be careful when removing the tin from the oven not to splash yourself with the boiling hot water!
Key Ingredients for this Recipe
- Butter, sugar, all-purpose flour or GF flour blend, baking powder, baking soda, salt, vanilla, eggs, buttermilk, coconut, mini white chocolate chips, confectioners’ sugar, heavy cream, coconut flavoring or food coloring, optional
PRO Tip:
Using dedicated gluten-free cooking items (like spoons and cutting boards) is a good option if you are baking gluten-free often. Choosing stainless steel or silicone utensils, or brand-new wooden utensils will help keep everyone safe.
Kitchen Tools I Use to Make This Recipe (affiliate links)
- Muffin tins
- Stand mixer or hand mixer
- Food processor, for the coconut – optional
- Cookie scoop
- Piping bags
- 2D or 1M piping tip
Gluten-Free Tips:
Be sure not to use any of your wooden or porous utensils or surfaces (like cutting boards), which can harbor minute traces of gluten, endangering your Celiac and gluten-intolerant family and guests.
* You can adjust any baking recipe to gluten-free by using 120 grams per cup of my favorite gluten-free flour blend. If you are using another brand of flour or regular flour, whisk it, spoon it lightly into a measuring cup until mounded, level off the top with a knife, and weigh the flour left in the cup. Use that weight as your standard per cup of that specific flour. Do this for each flour blend you use. Commercial gluten-free blends such as Pamela’s All-Purpose Artisan Blend, Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1, or King Arthur Measure for Measure are all good choices.
You will get the best and most consistent results by using a digital kitchen scale and weighing your ingredients, especially when you are baking. And use grams, they are much more accurate than pounds and ounces.
All recommended ingredients are gluten-free as of the writing of this article. Always check to be sure the products haven’t changed and are still safe to consume.
White Chocolate Coconut Cupcakes (GF)
Enjoy these luscious White Chocolate Coconut Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting. Celebrate the beauty of springtime with treats for everyone!
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 3/4 lb (3 sticks; 340g) butter, at room temperature
- 2 cups (396g) granulated sugar
- 3 cups (360g*) gluten-free flour blend* or all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 3 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 6 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 cup (227g) buttermilk
- 7 oz (2 cups; 170g) sweetened, shredded coconut, pulsed in a food processor if desired
- 1/2 cup (89g) mini white chocolate chips
Frosting
- 1 cup (2 sticks; 227g) butter, softened but cool, cut into cubes
- 4 to 6 cups (454 to 681g) confectioners' sugar
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract or paste
- 3 tbsp heavy cream
- A few drops of oil flavoring, such as coconut, optional
- A little food coloring, preferably powder or gel, optional
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 325°F (163°C). Line 24 to 30 muffin tins with paper liners. Add a tablespoon of water to any empty cups.
2. Make the Cupcake Batter: In the bowl of a heavy duty stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a large bowl if using a hand mixer, beat together the butter and sugar. Once they are blended, increase the speed to medium and mix until smooth, then increase the speed to med-high and beat, without stirring, for about 4 to 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy.
3. While the butter and sugar are mixing, in a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk until thoroughly blended. Set aside.
4. Reduce the mixer speed to low and mix in the vanilla. Then add the eggs, one at a time. As each egg is incorporated, stop the mixer and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Continue adding the eggs until they are all mixed in. Increase the speed to medium for about 30 seconds to bring the mixture together a little more; it will look slightly curdled which is OK.
5. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture, blending until completely incorporated, Scrape the bowl. Add half the buttermilk and mix again until fully incorporated; scrape the bowl. Add another 1/3 of the flour followed by the remaining buttermilk and then the last of the flour, each time mixing thoroughly before adding the next ingredient and scraping the bowl.
6. Stop the mixer and add the coconut and white chocolate chips. Mix just until evenly distributed and blended in. Scrape the bowl.
7. Prepare the Cupcakes: Use a 2 tbsp cookie scoop to fill the muffin pans with liners about 3/4 full. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Leave them in the pans for 15 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
8. The cupcakes can be made a day ahead, and once cooled, covered and refrigerated overnight. Bring to cool room temperature before frosting.
9. Make the Buttercream Frosting: Place the butter in the bowl of your stand mixer and beat until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add 4 cups of the sugar, the vanilla, and cream. Mix on low until incorporated, then beat until thick, creamy, and fluffy. Add more sugar if needed for the right consistency. Add the flavoring and
coloring if using.
10. Transfer some of the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a 2D or 1M piping tip (for roses), and starting in the center, pipe a small dollop then continue piping, circling the center dollop in increasingly larger circles, until you have completely covered the top.
11. There is a great video from Diane of Created by Diane here showing you how to pipe a rose frosting on cupcakes. If you want to learn four different techniques, watch this video from Cakes by Lynz.
Recipe found at www.theheritagecook.com
Notes
* You can adjust any recipe to gluten-free by using 120 grams per cup of my favorite gluten-free flour blend. If you are using another brand of gluten-free flour, whisk the mix, spoon it lightly into a measuring cup without a spout until mounded, level off the top with the back of a knife, and weigh the flour left in the cup. Use that weight as your standard per cup of that specific flour. Do this for each flour blend you use. Commercial blends such as Pamela's, Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1, or King Arthur Measure for Measure are all good choices.
You will get the best results by using a digital kitchen scale and weighing your ingredients, especially when you are baking. And use grams, they are much more accurate than pounds and ounces.
All recommended ingredients are gluten-free as of the writing of this article. Always check to be sure the products haven’t changed and are still safe to consume.
Cupcakes adapted from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, Ina Garten
Frosting recipe from Created by Diane.com
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
30Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 197Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 39mgSodium: 138mgCarbohydrates: 26gFiber: 3gSugar: 10gProtein: 4g
The nutritional information for recipes on this site is calculated by online tools and is merely an estimate. If you need nutritional calculations for medical reasons, please use a source that you trust.
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