How to Make the Smoothest Coconut Buttercream

Coconut buttercream is one of the most delicate, fluffy, and creamy icings that pairs perfectly with any flavour of cake. Chocolate and coconut for a rich palate, vanilla and coconut for light and sweet, and strawberry with coconut for a fruity flavour bomb are all great combinations. This is an icing that you can experiment with, and the thick texture is perfect for piping to decorate cakes or cupcakes with. For this recipe, I decorated a large batch of chocolate pistachio cupcakes with coloured buttercream to make them look like various types of flowers - simple, but a crowd-pleaser. 

Only a few ingredients are needed for a good buttercream, and the trick is to whip the butter before adding your powdered sugar to ensure that it is light, airy, and fluffy. Room temperature butter is a must, and you can add additional flavours, food dyes, or even cream cheese to create delicious icings with various textures for all your baking needs. 

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Ingredients:

(for a large batch)

• One stick softened unsalted butter
• One stick softened salted butter
• 4+ cups of icing/powdered sugar, depending on desired thickness
• Half a can of coconut milk 
• A dash of vanilla 
• Shredded coconut

Whip the butter on the highest speed with an electric stand mixer (or a hand mixer depending on what you have available to you) until the butter is lightened in colour and fluffy. 

Then, gradually add the powdered sugar to the butter mixture with the stand mixer still running on a lower speed, adding coconut milk, vanilla, and shredded coconut to the mixture. 

The icing should be smooth and thick. Add desired colours to the icing for piping and decorating. This recipe is perfect for decorating cakes and cupcakes.