Coconut Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes – that’s a lot of delicious in one gorgeous little cake. The combination of strawberries and coconut are dreamy, then add in some cream cheese for good measure and you have cupcake bliss.

If you love some cute and fancy little cupcakes, check out these easy vanilla cupcakes with strawberry buttercream or these pineapple coconut cupcakes.

overhead view of a batch of cupcakes with strawberry jam in the middle

With this mash-up of strawberry, coconut and cream cheese, you can’t go wrong. These coconut cupcakes are  incredibly soft and fluffy and actually taste like coconut and they have a surprise strawberry jam filling.

What you’ll need?

It might look like a lot of ingredients but most of them you’ll likely already have in your pantry – flour, sugar, butter, baking powder, salt, eggs. Every day stuff. Here’s the other bits and pieces you’ll need.

Ingredients for strawberry cheesecake cupcakes on a marble bench top
  • Coconut milk (1): Not coconut cream and use the kind that comes in a tin. Give it a good shake before you open it so that the solids are all mixed into the liquid.  
  • Desiccated coconut (8): This is very finely shredded coconut. Use an unsweetened one.
  • Oil (2): Vegetable oil like canola is all you need here.
  • Cornflour / cornstarch (3): I use this a lot in my baking as it gives a softer end result. The combination of flour and cornflour is also known as cake flour but I refuse to have yet another container of flour in the pantry. If you have it on hand, feel free to sub both the plain flour and corn flour for cake flour.
  • Strawberries – freeze dried (5) and fresh (6): The fresh ones are used to top the cupcakes while the freeze dried version are what gives flavour and colour to the cream cheese frosting.
  • Strawberry jam (optional and not shown): This is use to give the cupcakes a surprise filling.

The freeze dried strawberries in the frosting are important for getting that strawberry flavour without adding liquid to the frosting. I find them in my local grocery store around where the dried fruit and nuts are.

Closeup of a strawberry cupcake with a strawberry on top

How to make them

You’ll love how easy both the cupcake batter and the cream cheese frosting are to make. I use a stand mixer purely as it deals with a large quantity better but you can use a handheld electric beater too.

  1. Whisk together the dry ingredients for the cake batter.
  2. Beat the oil, sugar and eggs together.
  3. Add the flour and beat slowly and once it’s almost come together add the coconut milk until just combined.

The strawberry cream cheese frosting

  1. Beat butter and little powdered sugar until it’s light and fluffy.
  2. Add cream cheese beating until smooth, then add the sugar a bit at time until it’s all incorporated.
  3. Coconut milk, a pinch of salt and freeze dried strawberry powder is added towards the end and beaten through.

You can adjust the consistency of the frosting using extra sugar (to thicken) or coconut milk (to loosen).

Can they be frozen?

You can freeze these coconut strawberry cheesecake cupcakes quite successfully. The cupcakes themselves can be frozen once baked and cooled. Make sure to wrap them 2-3 times in plastic wrap and freeze 2-3 months.

While my preferred method would be to frost the fresh, the frosting will freeze quite well.

Like anything they’re always best fresh though.

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Close up of the inside of a whtie cupcake with pink frosting and jam in the middle

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6 strawberry cupcakes on a white platter with a few more in front

Coconut Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes

Yield: 12 cupcakes
Prep Time: 40 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
0 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
4 from 4 votes
Fluffy coconut cupcakes filled with strawberry jam and a strawberry cream cheese frosting, these Coconut Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes taste like a summers day and look pretty as a picture. Soft and light cupcakes meet the rich flavour of strawberry cheesecake all in one little cake.
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Ingredients

FOR THE COCONUT CUPCAKES

  • 165 g plain (all-purp) flour (1 ¼ cups / 5.8oz)
  • 35 g cornflour (cornstarch) (¼ cup / 1.2oz)
  • ¼ cup fine desiccated coconut
  • 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 200 g white granulated sugar (1 cup / 7oz)
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • ½ cup vegetable oil (like canola / sunflower / rice bran)
  • 1 cup coconut milk, room temp (250ml)

FOR THE STRAWBERRY CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

  • 20 g freeze dried strawberries (roughly 1 1/2 cups / 0.7oz)
  • 226 g unsalted butter, room temp (1 cup / 2 sticks)
  • 250 g cream cheese (9oz)
  • 3 ½ cups Icing (powdered) sugar
  • 1 tablespoon coconut milk (note 1)
  • Pinch of Salt
  • ¼ cup strawberry jam
  • 6 ripe strawberries

Equipment

Instructions
 

COCONUT CUPCAKES

  • Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F 160C fan forced. Line a regular muffin tin with cupcake cases.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornflour, coconut, baking powder and salt.
  • In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat the sugar, eggs and oil, until well combined.
  • Add the flour mixture and mix slowly until it just starts to come together.
  • Pour in the coconut milk and mix slowly until just combined.
  • Spoon into the cupcake cases to about â…” full and bake for 20-22 minutes.

STRAWBERRY CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

  • Blend the freeze dried strawberries to a powder (or you can place them in a sturdy plastic bag and bash with a rolling pin).
  • In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat butter and ½ cup of the icing sugar until light and creamy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
  • Add the cream cheese and beat well until thick and creamy. Scrape down the bowl again.
  • Add the sugar ½ cup at a time and beat well after each addition.
  • Add the coconut milk and salt and beat through.
  • Finally carefully beat in the freeze dried strawberry powder.

ASSEMBLE

  • Once the cupcakes have cooled, cut a hole in the centre and add a teaspoon of strawberry jam to each.
  • Pipe the cream cheese frosting on top then top with half a strawberry.

Notes

  1. I use an Australian standard 20ml tablespoon (= 4 teaspoons worldwide)
  2. For best results, you should always weigh ingredients like flour and sugar. Kitchen scales are relatively cheap but if you can’t weigh the ingredients, use the spoon and level method (don’t scoop).
  3. The cornflour / cornstarch in the recipe is correct. Using this results in softer cakes. The combination of plain (all-purp) flour and cornflour is also known as cake flour – feel free to use cake flour for both if you have it.
Looking for more cupcakes? Click here
 
Author: Marie Roffey
Course: Afternoon Tea, Dessert, Snack, Sweets
Cuisine: American, Various
Have you tried this recipe?Rate or comment below and let us know how it was!