Chocolate Coconut Easy Easter Bunny Cupcakes {+ Video!}

These delicious, easy Easter Bunny Cupcakes are made with a decadent chocolate cake and creamy coconut buttercream. This post is sponsored by Pillsbury, but all opinions (as always) are all my own. #EasterWithPillsbury *Video Below!*

I think bunnies are the cutest, sweetest, most darling creatures to grace this planet. (Well, next to my corgi Cocoa, of course.)

I absolutely love bunnies!

I was at a farmer’s market in Coeur d’Alene not too long ago where they had a bunny booth. They had the most adorable Holland Lop rabbits, and I spent far too long holding and playing with them. I had to be dragged away. I begged my husband to get one for me, but I was reminded of our fiendish little corgi at home. Judging by the way Cocoa treats squirrels/birds/cats/every small animal ever, I don’t think a bunny is in my near future.

Sigh.

But, on the bright side, Easter is almost here, which means an inflation in all things bunny.

And dessert.

And bunnies on desserts.

Cue Easy Easter Bunny Cupcakes, please. (Scroll down for a video tutorial!)

Coconut is one of my favorite flavors and a natural when it comes to Easter desserts.

I love coconut cake, but I wanted to make something a bit easier. Every holiday I try to make a dessert for my dad’s soldiers. The holidays are busy and sometimes stressful times, so there’s definitely no shame in making things a bit easier for yourself. My one-bowl, no mixer required chocolate cupcakes to the rescue!

My favorite chocolate cake recipe is one I’ve perfected over the years and I love. It’s moist, chocolate-y, and always comes out perfect. The combination of freshly brewed coffee, brown sugar, and buttermilk makes a lovely, rich cake that’s not too sweet.

My classic recipe, which I’ve used to make the Hot Chocolate Cupcakes on the blog, calls for a bit of vegetable oil alongside the butter. Here, I swapped out the vegetable oil for coconut oil, adding a subtle coconut flavor to the cake.

These cupcakes are not overwhelmingly coconut-y (my husband hates coconut). If you would like to give them more of a coconut flavor, you can add coconut extract to the coconut buttercream. The coconut buttercream that tops these easy Easter bunny cupcakes is one of the smoothest, creamiest frostings. It uses coconut cream (the solid that separates from a can of coconut milk) to achieve that velvety texture with natural coconut flavor.

And of course my version of an Easter dessert needs to be bunny-fied.

Since these are easy Easter Bunny Cupcakes, we’re not getting fancy here. One-bowl, no-mixer chocolate cake comes together in a jiffy. The coconut buttercream is just as easy, too. Then we simply decorate them with Pillsbury™ Shape™ Bunny Sugar Cookies, shredded coconut, and some chocolate eggs. And how adorable are they?!

The Pillsbury bunny sugar cookies are ready-to-bake and bake in just about 10 minutes. There’s no cutting, rolling, or mixing involved. You can find these sugar cookies in the refrigerated section at your local Walmart. (There’s also cute chick shaped ones, too!)

This is a fun recipe to get your kid’s involved with. They love decorating the cupcakes with the colorful eggs and bunny cookies! To make them a bit more fun and colorful, you could dye the shredded coconut if you’d like—especially if you’re baking these for/with kids.

Watch our video below to see how fun and simple these Chocolate Coconut Easy Easter Bunny Cupcakes are to create! And check out Walmart’s Everyday Recipes for more delicious, spring-inspired recipes with Pillsbury!

and here’s a few things you may need for this recipe:

Valrhona Pure Cocoa Powder  //  Non-Stick 12-Cup Muffin or Cupcake Baking Tin  //  Pastel Baking Cupcake Liners  //  NOW Foods Organic Shredded Coconut

This post contains affiliate links but are always products I highly recommend.

Chocolate Coconut Easy Easter Bunny Cupcakes {+ Video!}

★★★★★ 5 from 5 reviews

• Author: Tiffany La Forge
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins
• Total Time: 35 minutes
• Yield: 24 1x

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Description

These delicious, easy Easter Bunny Cupcakes are made with a decadent chocolate cake and creamy coconut buttercream.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

For the Cupcakes:

• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup melted coconut oil
• 1 cup freshly-brewed coffee
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 1/2 cup buttermilk, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla

For the Coconut Buttercream:

• 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup coconut cream (from 1 can full-fat coconut milk)*
• 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1–2 teaspoons coconut extract**
• Pinch salt

For Topping:

• Pillsbury™ Shape™ Bunny Sugar Cookies
• Shredded unsweetened coconut
• Chocolate eggs

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Instructions

Make the Cupcakes:

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Line cupcake trays with 24 cupcake liners and spray lightly with baking spray/oil.
2. In a small saucepan, combine the butter, coconut oil, and coffee. Heat until everything is melted and combined. Let cool slightly.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Add the butter mixture to the dry ingredients and whisk or stir until everything is thoroughly combined.
4. Whisk or stir in the eggs, then the buttermilk and vanilla. Combine until everything is a smooth, lump-free batter, but do not over-mix.
5. Divide the batter among 24 cupcake liners, filling each about 3/4 full. Bake the cupcakes until the tops spring back and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting.

Make the Buttercream:

1. With a standing or handheld mixer, beat the room temperature butter until creamy.
2. Measure out 3/4 cup coconut cream from a can of full-fat coconut milk. See notes below.* Add in the coconut cream and beat until the butter/coconut mixture is smooth and creamy.
3. Add in the powdered sugar, one cup at a time, until incorporated. Add in a pinch of salt and the extracts.**
4. Beat the buttercream until smooth, fluffy, and creamy.

Assemble:

1. Pipe or hand-frost the cupcakes with the buttercream. Roll the edges in shredded coconut. Top with a bunny cookie (baked according to package instructions) and colorful chocolate eggs. Enjoy!

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Notes

To separate the coconut cream in a can of full-fat coconut milk, refrigerate the coconut milk overnight. The next day, your coconut cream will separate from the coconut water. Scoop out the coconut cream, and reserve the liquid for smoothies/another use. 3/4 cup of coconut cream is about exactly what you will get from one can of full-fat coconut milk.

The coconut extract is optional here for more of a pronounced coconut flavor to the buttercream. Use 1-2 teaspoons, depending on taste. Without the extract, the cupcakes will have a subtle coconut flavor from the coconut cream.