Easter Bunny Cupcakes (Vanilla Coconut Cupcakes)

These adorable easter bunny cupcakes are so fun to make and make a cute addition to your Easter dessert table, or make a great long weekend baking project. Made with a soft and tender vanilla coconut cake topped with a coconut buttercream and decorated with desiccated coconut and marshmallows, these dairy free cupcakes are as delicious as they are cute.

Course Dessert

Cuisine Australian

Prep Time 1

Cook Time 30

Total Time 1 30

Servings cupcakes

Calories 388kcal

Author Sally

Ingredients

For the vanilla coconut cupcakes:

1 ½ cups plain flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
125 grams dairy free butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¾ cup white sugar
2 eggs room temperature
½ cup coconut milk

For the coconut buttercream:

125 grams dairy free butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups icing sugar
1-2 tablespoons coconut milk
⅛ teaspoon salt or to taste

For decorating:

1-2 cups desiccated coconut
Marshmallows
Small pink heart sprinkles

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a 12 cup muffin pan with patty cases and another with 2 (this recipe makes 14 cupcakes total).
In a medium bowl, sift flour baking powder together and stir a few times to combine. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, beat dairy-free butter, vanilla and sugar with an electric mixer until creamy. Add in eggs, one at a time and continue to beat until light and creamy.
Slowly add in half of the sifted flour and half of the coconut milk and mix to combine. Add in the remaining half of the flour mixture and coconut milk and beat until a thick batter forms.
Spoon mixture into the prepared pans, ensuring they are no more than ¾ full, and place in the oven for 18-20 minutes or until cakes are lightly golden on top and spring back when lightly touched. Remove the cupcakes from the pan once they are cool enough to touch and set aside on a wire rack to cool completely before decorating.
Make the coconut buttercream. Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment fitted, beat the dairy-free butter and vanilla for 1-2 minutes until creamy. Add in 3 cups of icing sugar and beat on medium until combined. As mixture thickens, drizzle in the coconut milk, a little at a time until the buttercream is thick and creamy. Add a little salt to taste and mix through.
Add the buttercream to a piping bag with the end snipped off and pipe the frosting in a single layer over the top of the cooled cupcakes. Gently press the top of the cupcake into the desiccated coconut that has been spread out on a plate so that the top of the cupcake has a round, flat surface coated in the coconut.
From here, decorate the cupcakes as bunny butts or with bunny ears using the marshmallows and sprinkles. See post for full instructions on creating these designs.

Notes

Cupcakes can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 days, and up to 3-4 days in the fridge.

Nutrition