These coconut Easter egg cupcakes have a moist cupcake based topped with fluffy white chocolate buttercream, then garnished with toasted coconut and mini Cadbury eggs to look like bird nests! They're the perfect Easter dessert!
You might also like these carrot cake cupcakes or these Robin's egg macarons!
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Ingredient Notes
You only need a few ingredients to make these adorable mini egg cupcakes for Easter!
Cake Flour - I always use cake flour in my cupcakes because it makes them super soft and tender, but all purpose flour also works great!
White Chocolate - Use white chocolate baking bars as opposed to chocolate chips. Chips contain emulsifiers that help them keep their shape, which also means they won't melt as smoothly for the buttercream.
Milk - I use milk to make the cupcake batter, but you could also substitute coconut milk for more coconut flavor!
Coconut Extract - This is optional, but to get more concentrated coconut flavor in the cupcakes, I recommend using coconut extract! You can usually find it in the baking aisle next to the vanilla!
Coconut - I prefer sweetened shredded coconut flakes, but unsweetened will work too if that's all you can find.
Mini Eggs - For the topping I like to use mini Cadbury eggs, but there's tons of other brand of mini chocolate eggs you can use instead!
The complete list of ingredients and amounts is located in the recipe card below.
How to Make Toasted Coconut
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Spread the shredded coconut in an even layer on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Toast for 5-10 minutes, tossing every couple minutes until golden brown.
Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature.
How to Make Easter Egg Cupcakes
Whisk the cake flour, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the melted butter and sugar.
Then add in the eggs, vanilla, and coconut extract and whisk until fully combined.
Stir in about half of the flour mixture. Then stir in the milk and the rest of the flour mixture and mix until fully combined.
Pour about ¼ cup of batter into each cupcake liner (they should be about halfway full).
Bake at 350°F for 18-22 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
Remove from pan and let cool on wire rack.
Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting.
Frost the cupcakes with the white chocolate buttercream, then gently press the toasted coconut into the buttercream so it sticks. Gently press mini Cadbury eggs on top to resemble bird nests.
Tips for the Best Baked Goods
Use room temperature ingredients! Always make sure ingredients like butter, eggs, milk, yogurt, etc. are at room temperature before baking (unless the recipe indicates otherwise)! This ensures they'll incorporate into the batter more easily and leads to overall better texture. Remove all ingredients from the fridge 30 minutes to an hour before baking for best results.
Measure your flour correctly! It's most accurate to use a kitchen scale, but if you're measuring by volume you want to spoon and level! Fluff up the flour a bit with a spoon, and then spoon flour into the measuring cup. Once it's overflowing, use the back of a knife to level it off. Don't ever pack flour into the measuring cup or you'll end up with way too much! Improperly measured flour can lead to dry, dense baked goods. [Measure cocoa powder the same way!]
Use an oven thermometer! Just because your oven says it's 350, doesn't mean it is! If you oven hasn't been calibrated recently, it can be as much as 30 degrees off, which will negatively affect all baked goods from cakes to macarons! An oven thermometer is the easiest/cheapest way to ensure your oven is always at the proper temperature.
Make sure you baking powder is fresh! Baking powder is important for helping baked goods rise properly, but it has a relatively short shelf life once opened, so it's one of the few items I never buy in bulk! To test if your baking powder is still fresh, add a small amount to boiling water. If it bubbles it's still good to use, but if not it's time to toss it!
Cupcake Decorating Tips
Make sure you let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting!!
Since these cupcakes get covered in toasted coconut, you just need a simple round piping tip (no need to be fancy)! I use the large round tip from this decorating kit. The tips are much larger than standard sizes and so fun for decorating cupcakes!
After frosting, lightly press the toasted coconut into the buttercream!
Then garnish with mini Cadbury eggs to make the cupcakes look like birds nests!
Recipe FAQ's
These cupcakes will last in the fridge for up to 3 days. However, they taste best when served at room temperature! I like to let them sit at room temperature for about an hour before serving.
Tips for Success!
For best results I always recommend using weight measurements (especially when baking) because it's the most accurate. Kitchen scales are super affordable and also reduce the number of dishes you have to do! However, all my recipes also include US customary measurements for convince. Use this chart to convert measurements for common ingredients!
Substitutions: In all my recipes, I've included substitutions that I know will work, but I cannot guarantee results if you substitute ingredients that I have not recommended. [For example, granulated sugar and honey are indeed both sweeteners but they have very different properties so they can not always be swapped 1:1. Using honey in a cookie recipe that calls for granulated sugar will yield a giant mess.] In the recipe card you'll find links to the specific ingredients/brands that I use.
A note on salt: I almost exclusively use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt because it's the best all-purpose salt for cooking and baking. If you're not using kosher salt, consult this handy guide for a conversion chart! When in doubt, if you're using table salt just reduce the amount by half for baked goods. When cooking, I prefer to under-salt because you can always add more! If you've over-salted, adding a little bit of acid (like lemon juice) can help.
More Easter Recipes You Might Like!
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Recipe Card
Coconut Easter Egg Cupcakes
Special Equipment
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon coconut extract
- 1 ½ cups cake flour, substitute all purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup whole milk, substitute coconut milk
Buttercream
- 4 ounces white chocolate , melted and cooled
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon coconut extract
- 2-4 tablespoons heavy cream, as needed
Top With
- shredded coconut, toasted
- mini Cadbury eggs
Instructions
Toasted Coconut
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Spread the shredded coconut in an even layer on a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Toast for 5-10 minutes, tossing every couple minutes until golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature.
Cupcakes
- Whisk the cake flour, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the melted butter and sugar.
- Then add in the eggs, vanilla, and coconut extract and whisk until fully combined.
- Stir in about half of the flour mixture. Then stir in the milk and the rest of the flour mixture and mix until fully combined.
- Pour about ¼ cup of batter into each cupcake liner (they should be about halfway full).
- Bake at 350°F for 18-22 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
- Remove from pan and let cool on wire rack.
- Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting.
White Chocolate Buttercream
- Melt the white chocolate and let cool almost to room temperature. It should be melted but cool to the touch. I prefer to melt the chocolate in the microwave in intervals of 20 seconds, stirring each time.
- In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and powdered sugar together until smooth.
- Set the mixer to low speed and slowly drizzle in the melted white chocolate until it's fully incorporated into the buttercream. Add in the coconut extract, then beat on high speed for 3-4 minutes or until the buttercream is super light and fluffy.
- If the frosting is too thick, add in 1 tablespoon of cream at a time to thin it out a bit.
- Frost the cupcakes with the white chocolate buttercream, then gently press the toasted coconut into the buttercream so it sticks. Gently press mini Cadbury eggs on top to resemble bird nests.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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