Gluten Free Toasted Coconut Cupcakes

It’s in weeks like these – stuck at home, always slightly on edge worrying about family members who we may not see for a few more months depending on shelter in place guidance – that the dreaminess of coconut can work some extra magic on our comfort-food-demanding diets. Now, I know coconut can be a divisive topic: texture-wise it’s one of the more controversial dessert ingredients, but you’ve gotta admit, creamy dreamy coconut frosting sounds like the tiny tropical note we need now (unless of course you actually live in a tropical location in which case you might be craving something totally temperate. If so, we’ve SO got you covered with about a million pumpkin/apple/pear desserts – here are a few: hazelnut pear cake, apple-cranberry crisp, pumpkin Swiss roll).

Being from the Pacific Northwest (Oregon, specifically), coconut palms are certainly not local despite my love of the giant nut, and even here in San Francisco the non-coconut palms are a forced “sunny California” vibe that demands way too much water and maintenance (check out the bill on Stanford’s “Palm Drive”). Which is why my boyfriend and I were soooooo looking forward to celebrating the marriage of two friends in Kauai (where there are, apparently, upwards of 80 varieties of coconut palms!!) at the end of May this year. As you can imagine, that trip, along with any others we were hoping to embark on this spring/early summer, are kaput, and the closest to ALL of the coconut dishes, drinks, and desserts I had been planning to gorge myself on is these fabulous gluten free toasted coconut cupcakes. You’re welcome.

To everyone who’s not a fan of coconut: I challenge you to try this out. If your complaint is with the flavor, I can’t help you out there, but if you’re not a fan of the texture, I can assure you that this recipe highlights the crunch of toasty desiccated (not shredded) coconut, and the creaminess of coconut milk, which might make them acceptable to you. I’m definitely a fan of three aspects of coconut: the creaminess that it can have (thinking of the best mango sticky rice you can find), the warm, buttery crunch of toasted coconut, and the satisfying solidity of spoon fulls of young coconut scraped from the inside of a just-opened green coconut (which sounds weirdly violent). These gluten free toasted coconut cupcakes highlight the first two if not the third (though my friend Leslie has an amazing Vietnamese cassava coconut cake recipe (also popular in other countries like the Philippines and Malaysia) that uses fresh young coconut) and I’ve been happily snacking away on these cupcakes all week. If you’re craving something coconutty, give these a try! Stay well and wash your hands, folks!

Print Recipe

5 from 2 votes

Gluten Free Toasted Coconut Cupcakes

These dreamy coconut cupcakes are packed with toasted coconut and creamy coconut buttercream

Prep Time40 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Cooling time30 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free

Keyword: buttercream, coconut, creamy, cupcakes, toasted coconut

Servings: 24 cupcakes

Calories: 300kcal

Author: Amelia Farber

Equipment

• Cupcake baking trays

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

• 2 1/2 Cups gluten free 1-1 flour mix with xanthan gum
• 1 1/2 Cups desiccated coconut unsweetened and toasted (instructions below)
• 1 3/4 Cups white sugar
• 1/2 Cup almond meal
• 1 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 4 large eggs separated
• 1 Cup full fat coconut milk or coconut cream
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 Cup canola oil
• 2 tsp coconut extract

For the coconut buttercream:

• 2 Cups salted butter room temperature
• 3 Cups powdered sugar
• 1/2-1 Cup desiccated coconut unsweetened and toasted (instructions below)
• 1 tsp coconut extract

For the topping:

• 1/2 Cup dried flaked coconut unsweetened and toasted (instructions below)

Instructions

• First, preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit and line two cupcake trays with paper cupcake cups or grease with cooking spray. Then, toast all of the coconut. Heat a large frying pan on medium heat. Pour in all of the desiccated (not shredded) coconut and let sit for about 30 seconds. Then begin stirring coconut with a rubber spatula constantly. It will take a few minutes but all of the sudden the coconut will begin to turn golden brown – keep stirring! Toast until fragrant and all golden brown then immediately remove from heat and scrape coconut into a small bowl to cool. Repeat for the flaked coconut for the decoration/topping – toasting until golden brown but not burned.
• Then, in a large bowl, whisk together the dry cupcake ingredients (flour, almond meal, sugar, cooled toasted desiccated coconut, baking powder, soda, salt) and set aside.
• Separate the egg yolks into a large bowl and the egg whites into a medium bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, then set aside. Using the same electric mixer, beat the egg yolks, coconut milk, vanilla, oil, and extracts until well blended, then add in the dry ingredients and stir together using a rubber spatula.
• Finally, fold in the egg whites 1/3 at a time until fully combined. Spoon batter into the prepared cupcake pans, filling each cup about 3/4 of the way. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until a skewer or toothpick inserted into the middle of one comes out clean. Then let cupcakes cool completely before frosting.
• Make the frosting while the cupcakes cool. In a large bowl, using the cleaned electric mixer, beat butter on high until creamy, then add in 1 cup of powdered sugar at a time until smooth. Add in the extract and toasted, desiccated coconut and continue to beat on high until totally combined. Spoon buttercream into a piping bag, or simply wait until cupcakes cool and use a butter knife to spread on frosting, whatever you have time for! Frost cupcakes, then decorate with a sprinkling of the toasted, flaked coconut, and serve!

Tag @sisterssansgluten on Instagram if you snap a photo of your cupcakes!

Food photography and styling by Amelia Farber