These chocolate caramel coconut cupcakes come together with soft coconut cupcakes, homemade salted caramel filling, and creamy milk chocolate frosting. Each bite will remind you of a Girl Scout Samoas/Caramel DeLites cookie. The combination of coconut, chocolate, and caramel is an indulgent triple threat that’s sure to satisfy most cupcake cravings!
Tell Me About These Chocolate Caramel Coconut Cupcakes
- Texture: These coconut cupcakes are fluffy and moist. They’re probably the first cupcake we’ve ever made from scratch that completely melts in your mouth. Thanks to the cake flour, egg whites, and canned coconut milk—they are just so light!
- Flavor: We took our favorite vanilla cupcakes and infused them with coconut flavor using coconut oil, coconut extract, canned unsweetened coconut milk, and sweetened shredded coconut. Of course we also have all the caramel hiding inside and the mountain of chocolate buttercream on top. Certainly a lot of flavor packed in 1 cupcake!
- Ease: We categorize these chocolate caramel coconut cupcakes as an intermediate baking recipe just because there’s a couple extra steps including making the caramel and filling the cupcakes. And though the frosting tastes exceptionally creamy as if you worked on it for hours, the process of making it is basic and no-frills. (By the way, here’s a post dedicated just to our chocolate buttercream).
Can We Use This Vanilla Cupcake Recipe in Other Places?
As mentioned above, today’s coconut cupcakes are adapted from our vanilla cupcakes base. It’s a well-loved and popular cupcake recipe on the site—and one my team and I turn to often! You can see that we turned the vanilla cupcakes into many other flavors including pistachio cupcakes, white chocolate strawberry cupcakes, chai latte cupcakes, and mimosa cupcakes.
Key Ingredients in Chocolate Caramel Coconut Cupcakes
- Cake flour: The cupcakes are guaranteed soft and fluffy if you start with cake flour.
- Half coconut oil + half butter: Make sure the coconut oil is SOLID and at room temperature so it can cream properly with the butter. This creamed fat will be the base of your coconut cupcakes. To ensure you have a little coconut flavor, look for unrefined coconut oil (not refined).
- Canned coconut milk instead of whole milk: You can use full fat or reduced fat coconut milk, but make sure it’s from a can. Refrigerated coconut milk is more like a beverage and canned is more like a cooking and baking ingredient. (It’s what we use in this coconut cake, too.) Give the can a good shake before using because the solid coconut cream separates from the liquid. If it’s still separated, pour it all out into a bowl and whisk until combined, then measure what you need for the batter.
- Coconut extract: Only 1 teaspoon does the trick to really get this coconut party started! Though you could leave it out if desired, the cupcakes lack flavor without it.
- Sweetened shredded coconut: You can hardly taste the texture in the baked cupcakes as it breaks down and absorbs the moisture. But the flavor is all there!
Recipe Testing: What Works & What Doesn’t
Chocolate Caramel Coconut Cupcakes Recipe
Ingredients You’ll Need
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a 12-count muffin pan with cupcake liners. Line a second pan with 3-4 liners—this recipe makes about 15-16 cupcakes. Set aside.
- Whisk the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Set aside.
- Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the butter and solid coconut oil together on high speed until smooth and creamy—about 1 minute. Add the sugar and beat on high speed for 2 minutes until creamed together. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the egg whites, vanilla extract, and coconut extract. Beat on medium-high speed until combined, then beat in the sour cream. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl as needed. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients until just incorporated. With the mixer still running on low, slowly pour in the coconut milk and shredded coconut until combined. Do not overmix. You may need to whisk it all by hand to make sure there are no large lumps stuck at the bottom of the bowl. The batter will be slightly thick with a few lumps of shredded coconut.
- Pour/spoon the batter into the liners—fill only 2/3 full to avoid spilling over the sides. Bake for 19-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow cupcakes to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan to cool completely.
- Using a sharp knife, cut a circle/hole into the center of the cooled cupcake to create a little pocket about 1 inch deep. This piece you removed will be the shape of a cone. Set it aside. Place about 1 teaspoon of caramel inside the cupcake—or however much will fit. Slice off the pointy end of the “cone” piece of cupcake you removed so that it can fit on top of the filling. Repeat with all cupcakes. See my How to Fill Cupcakes post if you need extra visuals or help with this step.
- Prepare frosting and frost cooled cupcakes. I used the Wilton #12 round piping tip. Top with any leftover caramel and toasted coconut, if desired. I recommend a cupcake carrier for storing and transporting decorated cupcakes.
butter, cake flour, cocoa powder, coconut, coconut extract, coconut milk, coconut oil, confectioners-sugar, egg whites, eggs, granulated sugar, heavy cream, milk, salted caramel, sour cream, vanilla extract
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