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Lemon Coconut Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting are a delectable treat packed with the freshest lemon flavor! Bake a dozen and then share this lemon cupcakes recipe with your friends and family.
If you follow me on Instagram, you know that I have a lot of Meyer lemons to use this season. My one Meyer lemon tree produced over 500 lemons this year! As I eat through my stash of lemons, I’m always looking for more ways to incorporate them into every single meal. Of course, I love adding fresh lemon flavor to dessert too. Today, I’m sharing these Lemon Coconut Cupcakes with homemade lemon frosting to celebrate the anticipated arrival of my friend Lindsay‘s twins! Lindsay creates the most delectable recipes at Life, Love and Sugar. If you love sweet treats then you will absolutely love Lindsay’s collection of recipes. Her cupcake and cake recipes are often the inspiration for digging out some flour and sugar to make desserts in my own kitchen. Congratulations, Lindsay!
Because we want to invite you to the party too, we are hosting this virtual baby shower to share over 15 sweet and savory recipes that you will love. Scroll down for the complete list of recipes from some of my favorite bloggers.
Do not miss the opportunity to make these Lemon Coconut Cupcakes! They are made with coconut cream, fresh lemon juice, lemon zest and a simple vanilla buttercream frosting. They come together easily and are an impressive treat for baby showers, special events and more. Or you can just bake the dozen to share with your friends and family.
See what everyone’s bringing to the party!
Banana Pudding Cupcakes, Lemon Coconut Cupcakes, Chicken Salad Cups,
Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies, Star and Moon Decorated Cookies,
Lemon Poppy Seed Cupcakes, Cream Cheese Cookies with Nutella Glaze,
Salted Caramel Popcorn Brownies, Sugar Cookie Bars, Funfetti Cheesecake Pie,
Banana Chocolate Chip Cheesecakes, Sweet and Sour Slow Cooker Smokies ,
Red velvet Cookie Bars, Veggie Egg Muffins, 2 Layer Espresso Chocolate Cake
Lemon Coconut Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3 eggs, separated
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk
For the frosting:
- 1/2 cup butter, softened, (1 stick)
- 3 cups confectioners' sugar, divided
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1/4 cup coconut flakes
Instructions
- To make the cupcakes, preheat an oven to 350 degrees F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners. In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add egg yolks, one at a time, mixing until well blended. Add vanilla, lemon juice and lemon zest and beat until combined. Slowly add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the coconut milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed and beat until combined.
- In another clean bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. (You can use a stand mixer or hand mixer.) Stir one-fourth of the egg whites into the cake batter to lighten, then fold in the remaining egg whites until combined. (Be careful not to over mix. You want some egg whites to still be visible in the batter.) Divide the batter evenly among the lined muffin cups, filling them about 3/4 full. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes in pan, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
- To make the frosting, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Slowly add 2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar and beat until fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add lemon zest, lemon juice and remaining sugar. Beat for an additional one to two minutes.
- Pipe frosting onto each cupcake and sprinkle with coconut. Garnish with sliced lemons, as desired.
Notes
- You can use standard lemons or Meyer lemons.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
These cupcakes are perfect for Lindsay! Thanks for joining in the party!
These cupcakes are downright perfection.
Love lemon desserts, and these cupcakes look stunning!
What a gorgeous cupcake! I love this flavor combo!!!
These are gorgeous, such a nice bright flavor… makes me think of spring and I’m ready for it!
I absolutely LOVE lemon. It’s one of my favorite things ever! These cupcakes are gorgeous.
Totally gorgeous and the flavor combo sounds AMAZING!
Where does the coconut filling come from? To assemble you say take some of the cupcake out and fill with coconut filling, for which a recipe or any mention of hasn’t been provided. Also, there are asterisks (*) next to some ingredients without further explanation. Great-sounding recipe, but further instruction would be appreciated!
Hi, Kristin! So sorry. This recipe was adapted from one of my other recipes (Key Lime Coconut Cupcakes) and when the new recipe was input into this post, step #4 and the notes did not update properly. There is no coconut filling in this recipe, although you could definitely add it, if you wanted. I apologize for that error.
These look delicious! Love the lemon flavor! Thanks Ashley! 🙂
So bright and lemony!