Mini Coconut Cakes with Maple Coconut Italian Meringue

These airy, cloud-like mini coconut cakes are finished with Coconut Maple Italian Meringue Buttercream for charming single-serving desserts.

If you prefer a full-size coconut cake instead of minis, check the Coconut Cream Cake on the site.

With the holidays approaching, I’ve been happily immersed in a flurry of tiny white coconut cakes. Honestly—who wouldn’t want to spend some time in a winter wonderland made of cake?

These mini coconut cakes are irresistible. They look like delicate individual wedding cakes, and the combination of the coconut cake and the coconut-maple buttercream is absolutely delightful—truly the kind of dessert you might lick your plate for and ask for seconds.

Fair warning:

If you love getting creative in the kitchen, enjoy spending an afternoon decorating, and take pleasure in serving desserts that draw plenty of “oohs” and “ahhs,” then these mini cakes are perfect for you. Decorating tiny cakes can be time-consuming, but it’s also immensely rewarding.

If you prefer a quicker holiday treat, consider simpler mini cakes like mini almond cakes with cranberry sauce or mini cranberry cakes. If you’re short on time or don’t enjoy detailed decorating, those are better choices. But if frosting and decorating are your thing, settling in for a couple of unhurried hours to craft these tiny cakes is a blast.

The coconut cake bakes as a large sheet cake, which you then cut into rounds using round cutters of any size. I used several sizes so I could create a mix of single-layer cakes and small stacked cakes, decorating each slightly differently. Pull out your decorating tools and have fun experimenting—this is the playful part of the project.

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What you need to know about frosting and decorating tiny cakes

The smaller the cake, the trickier it is to cover smoothly with buttercream. Use a small offset spatula and start with plenty of buttercream. Trying to frost a tiny cake with too little will pull crumbs into the frosting and create a messy finish.

With more buttercream to work with, use the spatula to gently pat and move the frosting around the cake. Once the cake is fully covered, you can go back and smooth the surface, removing excess as you rotate the cake. If you plan to coat the cakes in toasted coconut, you don’t need to obsess over perfect smoothness—the coconut will mask imperfections.

Make a lot or a few mini coconut cakes

This recipe yields enough batter to fill a large 21 x 15-inch sheet pan, which lets you cut out many small cakes depending on the cutter size you choose. If you want fewer cakes, the recipe can be halved relatively easily; the only tricky measurement is the egg whites—if halving, use five whites as a practical adjustment.

A quick note about Italian Meringue Buttercream

Italian Meringue Buttercream is one of my favorite frostings: light, silky, and stable. Once you make it, you’ll likely become a fan too. The coconut-maple variation used here is especially delicious—maple syrup complements coconut in a way that feels both unexpected and perfectly suited to the cake.

Tools used in this recipe

• Large 21 x 15-inch sheet pan
• Small offset spatula for frosting
• Round cutter set for cutting mini cakes
• Cake decorating tools (tips, bags, and small spatulas)
• Stand mixer or hand mixer

More holiday recipes

• Mini Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes
• Individual Almond Cakes with Cranberry Sauce
• Mini Ginger Snaps with Sorghum and Brown Sugar
• Perfect Profiteroles
• Wine-Poached Pear and Almond Tart
• Lemon Ricotta Olive Oil Loaves
• Mini Butterscotch Eclairs
• Eggnog Pots de Creme
• Cranberry Pineapple Upside Down Cakes
• Mini Cranberry Bundt Cakes with Lemon Glaze

This recipe uses many egg whites. Save the leftover yolks for recipes like eggnog pots de crème, chai pots de crème, or a crustless custard tart.

If you try this recipe, I’d love to hear about it—leave a comment, rate it, or share a photo using the site’s hashtag on social media.

Recipe

Mini Coconut Cakes with Coconut Maple Italian Meringue Buttercream

Yield:
15–30 mini cakes (depending on size)

Prep Time:
1 hour 30 minutes

Cook Time:
35 minutes

Total Time:
2 hours 5 minutes

Light, cloud-like coconut cakes topped with a coconut-maple Italian meringue buttercream—perfect for individual servings.

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1½ tablespoons baking powder
• 1½ teaspoons table salt (or 2 teaspoons kosher salt)
• 2 large eggs + 9 large egg whites, at room temperature (save yolks for other uses)
• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons coconut cream, at room temperature
• ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons coconut milk, at room temperature
• 3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1½ teaspoons coconut extract
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 9 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
• 9 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1–2 cups sweetened shredded coconut, for sprinkling
• 1 recipe Italian Meringue Buttercream, prepared as the Coconut Maple variation
• Silver sprinkles (optional), for decorating

Instructions

1. Grease a large 21 x 15-inch sheet pan with coconut oil. Line the bottom with parchment and grease the parchment. Lightly flour the pan.
2. Preheat the oven to 325°F (163°C).
3. Whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk the whole eggs, egg whites, coconut cream, coconut milk, vanilla, and coconut extract until combined.
5. In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the sugar, melted butter, and coconut oil and beat on high for 1 minute. Scrape the bowl, then add the flour and egg mixtures in alternating additions—flour, eggs, flour, eggs, flour—mixing only until each addition is incorporated and scraping the bowl after each addition.
6. Line the oven rack with foil to catch any drips. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 25–35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
7. Cool the cake completely in the pan on a wire rack.
8. While the cake cools, prepare the Coconut Maple Italian Meringue Buttercream.
9. Toast the shredded coconut in a dry skillet over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until one-third to one-half of the coconut is golden. Transfer to a plate and cool completely.
10. Use round cutters to cut out mini cakes in the sizes you prefer.
11. Frost and decorate each mini cake with the buttercream, then sprinkle with toasted coconut and silver sprinkles if desired.

Notes

• Save the leftover egg yolks for custards or pots de crème.

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