These coconut cupcakes with light and fluffy vanilla buttercream are the perfect dessert for spring! I decorated them for Easter because I really just wanted an excuse to use Cadbury mini eggs in something and they seemed like the perfect vessel. To decorate them like I did in the photos, just add some blue food coloring to your buttercream, and in a separate bowl, stir together about a teaspoon of cocoa powder, and enough water to thin it out. Dip a pastry brush or a clean paint brush into the cocoa mixture and flick the bristles towards the frosting, for that robins egg speckled look.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners and set aside
In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Mix in cubed butter, until butter resembles small pebbles. There should not be any butter pieces larger than the size of a lentil, and batter should be sandy in texture. Mix together the egg whites and milk, pour half into the batter and mix on medium speed for 15 seconds. Pour remaining liquid in and continue to mix for another 15 seconds, scraping down the sides as needed. Stir in the toasted coconut. Pour batter into prepared muffin pan, filling each cup 3/4 full. The batter will rise quite a bit, so do not over fill.
Bake for about 20 minutes, rotating once throughout. Cupcakes should be golden around the edges, and they should spring back to the touch. Cool completely before frosting.
Vanilla Buttercream
165 grams egg whites
285 grams granulated white sugar
454 grams unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Combine egg whites and sugar over a double boiler, stirring constantly until sugar is dissolved and mixture is hot to touch. With a whisk attachment, whip until the meringue reaches stiff peaks and has cooled down.
Slowly add cubed butter until it is combined and continue to whip 2-3 minutes until buttercream is light and fluffy. Stir in the vanilla extract. Frost the cooled cupcakes with an offset spatula or a pastry bag fitted with a round or fluted piping tip.