Easy Bird Nest Cupcakes

These toasted coconut bird nest cupcakes are the perfect quick and easy treat for your Spring or Easter celebration.

Bird nest cupcakes are a fun and festive way to add a bit of seasonal cheer to your next special event. These toasted coconut topped cupcakes are a delicious and also quite simple to make. With just a few simple ingredients and a few steps, you can create a beautiful and delicious treat that will be the favorite of all your guests. The crunchy toasted coconut topping adds an extra special touch that will have everyone asking for seconds. Whether you’re looking for a fun Easter dessert or a special treat for your spring celebration, these bird nest cupcakes are sure to be a hit!

This post is a classic here at the Nina Hendrick blog! I originally posted these toasted coconut bird nest cupcakes back in 2013 and they are one of my favorites to make every spring and Easter. Bonus, they are super easy and can be made even easier with a simple shortcut that I’ll share below. Cupcakes are one of my favorite treats to make, you can see more of my cupcake recipes here!

How to Make Toasted Coconut Nest Cupcakes

Aren’t these bird’s nest cupcakes the cutest? I couldn’t actually believe how they came out! They are sure to charm at your Easter celebration, and they are also incredibly easy to make!

For the cupcakes themselves, you can use a classic vanilla cake and buttercream frosting like the recipe I included, but they are really convenient for any recipe. I love to scoop out the center of the vanilla or lemon cupcakes and add some strawberry or raspberry jam.

To toast the coconut, all you need to do is add sweetened coconut flakes to a skillet and sauté on low heat until they’re “toasted”. There’s no need for additional oil, since the coconut flakes already contain some!

In a pinch, a trick for these bird nest cupcakes cuts them down to just minutes. You can take plain vanilla grocery store cupcakes (we love the ones from Whole Foods) and scoop the frosting out of the middle. Then add your toasted coconut and egg candies, and you have a sweet customized Easter treat!

It’s the perfect solution for those who don’t have time to bake and frost cupcakes but want to create a cute treat for their gathering. I’m always an advocate of balancing beautiful touches and enjoyment on holidays, rather than having a million things to cook and bake.

This is also a really fun recipe to get the kids to help with. They can add the (cooled) coconut to the tops of the cupcake to make the bird nests. I have a sweet memory of my boys counting the little eggs to put on top when they were small. I hope your family enjoys these as much as we have!

Toasted Coconut Nest Cupcakes

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• Author: Nina Hendrick
• Total Time: 32 minutes
• Yield: 12 cupcakes 1x

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Description

These toasted coconut nest cupcakes are the perfect quick and easy treat for your Spring or Easter celebration.

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Ingredients

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Classic Vanilla Cake Ingredients

• 1/2 cup room temp or softened butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs room temp
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1–1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup of milk or creamer

Basic Buttercream Ingredients

• 1/2 cup 1 stick unsalted butter, softened/room temperature
• 1 lb half a bag of confectioners sugar, sifted
• 1 tsp of pure vanilla extract
• 1 tsp Light CreamToasted Coconut Nest Ingredients
• 2 cups flake sweetened coconut
• egg candies (I used these)

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Instructions

Classic Vanilla Cake Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
2. Cream together butter and sugar in stand mixer. Add eggs one at a time until combined. Mix in vanilla.
3. Mix dry ingredients in separate bowl. Add to wet batter in thirds alternating with milk/cream. You may find that you don’t need all of the milk/cream, or you may find you need to add more. You want a loose consistency.
4. Scoop batter into cupcake liners until they are 3/4 full. Bake for 22 minutes.

Basic Buttercream Instructions

1. Beat butter and confectioner’s sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer until fluffy.
2. Add vanilla and light cream, if needed.
3. The consistency of your buttercream should be similar to peanut butter. Add additional sugar or cream to achieve the desired result.
4. Pipe buttercream around just the perimeter of the cupcakes. Toasted Coconut Nest Instructions
5. Add your coconut to a small skillet, and turn your heat to medium-low.
6. The oil from the flakes is sufficient for browning. Stir constantly until lightly toasted.
7. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
8. Press the cooled coconut into the frosting to create the “nests”.
9. Add 2-3 egg candies. 

Notes

You can also add a filling like raspberry jam to the center of the cupcakes once they are cooled, but before frosting. 

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 22 minutes
• Category: Dessert
• Cuisine: American

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