Coconut Angel Food Cupcakes
Light and airy coconut angel food cupcakes are topped with a coconut whipped cream frosting to make these delightful cupcakes!!
The summer is flying by way too fast and I can barely keep up with all the activities, family gatherings and baby preparation. I realized the other day that it’s been a while since I shared some cupcakes with you guys. Sometimes things like Mango Margaritas and birthday cake martini take over and we just go with the flow 🙂
I actually made these cupcakes for a July 4th party a few weeks ago. I wanted something light and easy to bring to the outdoor picnic and cupcakes sounded perfect. After the coconut extravaganza of a virtual baby shower, I was inspired by both Marcie and Amanda who made coconut angel food cake recipes so I decided to make create angel food cupcakes with coconut, of course!
To make it easier for the non-coconut addicts out there, I didn’t tinker much with my classic angel food cake recipe. I used coconut extract to infuse the flavor which you can obviously leave out and replace with vanilla extract. However, I topped the cupcakes with a coconut whipped cream frosting. Again, I made this with heavy whipping cream instead of coconut cream as I usually do to make sure the coconut flavor isn’t overpowering.
In the end, these coconut angel food cupcakes have a hint of coconut in the cake and frosting and are extremely light, airy and perfect for the summer!! They were a hit at our party and I am sure will be for any gatherings you are having too.

Coconut Angel Food Cake Cupcakes
Ingredients
For cupcakes
- 1½ cups sifted powdered sugar
- 1 cup sifted cake flour or sifted all-purpose flour
- 1½ cups egg whites (10 to 12 large), at room temperature
- 1½ teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon coconut extract
- 1 cup granulated sugar
For coconut whipped cream frosting
- 1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream, chilled
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon coconut extract
- Topping: toasted shredded coconut
Instructions
For Whipped Cream Frosting
- Chill a large bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer in the freezer for at least 10 minutes.
- Combine all the ingredients in the bowl. Using the whisk attachment, whip the cream until soft peaks form. Continue whipping for additional minute until peaks are stiff and cream looks firm
- Using a pastry bag and your favorite tip, frost the cupcakes using the whipped cream. Top with toasted coconut flakes.
These cupcakes look delicious! I’m a sucker for anything coconut 🙂 And the angel food texture makes these so dreamy and light.
I am a sucker for coconut too!! Can’t get enought lol!
Awww Z! These cupcakes totally scream you. Love the combo and I can’t wait to give it a try.
Thanks Linda!!
These look light and fluffy as clouds, Z, and are absolutely gorgeous! I love the sound of the coconut extract — can you believe I’ve NEVER used that? I need to pick some of that up fast. 🙂 Thank you for the shout out, and hope you’re having a fantastic weekend! 🙂
Thanks Marcie! And yes…you need coconut extract! I am never without it. Grab some from HomeGoods 😉
These are gorgeous Zainab!
Thanks Nancy!!
Wow! These cupcakes are truly beautiful. You can see just how lovely and fluffy they would be and I love the addition of coconut! Heaven!
Thanks Jessica!!
I’ve gone from coconut hater to coconut lover over the last few years and I have always been an obsessive angel food cake eater, so basically these are straight out of my dreams!
So glad you are coconut lover 🙂
I could describe in one word “Perfect”!
I love how you kept the coconut flavor balanced – it’s so easy to go overboard with it! These look like airy, light cupcake perfection!
I love coconut, and these cupcakes look so delicious and inviting! Fabulous share! 🙂
Z, these cupcakes look so light and airy and beautiful!!! I love angel food cake!!!! and LOVE the coconut!!!
These are like pretty little edible clouds. LOVE! And why is summer almost over. GAH! I don’t want it ever to end. Well, except for this 900% humidity. That can go away now.
I would never expect less than coconut from you, Z! 😉 These cupcakes sound so light and delicious. I think I could easily eat three or four. Great recipe!
Easily Jen!!
Gorgeous! Love the added toasted coconut touch!
Coconut anything is my favorite, and angel food cake is SO perfect for summer! These look so light, airy and I want them all! Pinned!
These cupcakes look and sound absolutely Deeeee-lish!!! Ain’t nothing wrong with Mango Margaritas and birthday cake martinis…as long as there is room for these cupcakes as dessert (preferably all three daily!)!! Pinned! ♡ Cheers, girlie!
Hhaha all three will be great 😉
I’m such a fan of coconut – so yes, please pass me two or three of these!
This touch of coconut is perfect on the cupcakes! I bet they went quickly at your family gathering!
The one word that comes to mind when I look at these cupcakes is dreamy! That icing!! I LOVE coconut so I am pinning these for my next party!!
Thanks Mary Ann!
I’m such a fan of angel food and of coconut I don’t know why I never thought to pair the two before! I love these, I bet the flavor combo is incredible!! 🙂
You will love these then!!
These are just the prettiest ever Zainab! I just love how light and fluffy they look. So perfect for summer!
These look so very ethereal and light! I have always wanted to try making angel food or chiffon cake in cupcake form. Glad to see it can turn out this nicely. The touch of coconut is a great addition.
They do and I didn’t have to tinker much with the recipe. Just kept my eye on them as they baked to adjust the baking time since cupcakes are much smaller.
What a great cupcake for summer! They look incredible. Love the polka dot cupcake liners. 🙂
Thanks Christin!
The best cupcakes are coconut cupcakes! These are so gorgeous, Zainab! & I agree – summer is going by too fast :/
So true Megan!
These are gorgeous cupcakes, Zainab! I love all of the bursting coconut flavor that comes with them. Stunning! 🙂
Thanks Julie!
Love these! Sometimes coconut can get heavy in bread recipes, so I love that you used an angel food cake base. But of course you did, because you’re a genius 🙂
So true, thanks Sarah!
I am so impressed that you are still blogging – but thank you for another drool worthy dessert.
Lol! I am hanging in there 😉
These cupcakes look so angelic indeed. I love the subtle hints of coconut throughout the cupcakes and would love to have a few of these around to snack on. I hope baby preparations are going well… I can’t wait to see pictures of your gorgeous little one!!!!
Thanks Amanda!!
Just going through my bloglovin from the last week and as soon as these glorious coconut cupcakes landed in front of my eyes, I instantly knew they were yours. Beautiful!
Hahha thanks Jocelyn!! You know coconut is the way to my heart 🙂
fabulous Zainab! the color of the cups are well chosen
Zainab, these are Sooo pretty!! I love coconut and I love angel food! It’s a win win!! Can’t wait to try these but I did have a question… If I were to half the recipe AND make them minis instead of full size, how many do you think it would make? Any changes, like baking time? Thanks 🙂
Alison thank you very much! You can definitely half the recipe and use mini cupcake molds as well. However, the minis will bake much faster. So do keep an eye on them. I would start checking them at 5mins to make sure you don’t over bake. Let me know how it goes 🙂
What could I have done wrong? My cupcakes shrunk, were burnt on the bottom and slightly undercooked in the middle.
Oh no, Sandra. I am so sorry to hear. It would be hard to guess what went wrong in your kitchen but from my experience, angel food cake is a very light batter and overmixing it can cause the cake to shrink. The air that the egg whites bring allows the cake to rise, so maybe overmixing the flour into the batter in the last step? Also, it sounds like your oven might have been very hot as the cake shouldn’t burn at the bottom and still be overcooked. That or also overfilling the cupcake tins. Again I apologize but without more details, it would be hard for me to help troubleshoot.