Oh um, hey Friday, meet my 3-milk cupcakes…with Nutella buttercream. ?

Coconut Banana 3-Milk Cupcakes with Nutella Buttercream | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

If there was ever a Friday for cupcakes, today is that Friday. For one, it’s been kind of a brutally painful week. Getting wisdom teeth pulled is zero fun and I cannot wait to have all the pain soon be gone. Crossing my fingers that happens ASAP, cause man I am over the throbbing pain. Two, it snowed again this week… a lot. SOOO over the snow. And finally reason number three, this Friday should be all about cupcakes (with Nutella buttercream!!)?

Easter is Sunday and everybody knows Easter Sunday should be filled with chocolatey goodness.

Coconut Banana 3-Milk Cupcakes with Nutella Buttercream | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvestCoconut Banana 3-Milk Cupcakes with Nutella Buttercream | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Therefore I’m going to get right down to the cupcakes today. Honestly, words cannot describe how much love I have for these Coconut Banana 3-Milk Cupcakes. They’re simply perfect in every way. Let’s start at the cupcake and then move onto the buttercream.

The cupcake itself, is all on delish. It’s vanillay, bananay and hinted with a subtle touch of coconut flavor. For some reason whenever I think Easter, I think coconut. I know most people think carrots, deviled eggs, carrot cake and ham, but I dunno I’m a coconut girl. Ok, while this year I did do a little combo: see my coconut carrot cake cheesecake 🙂

Anyway, the point here is, if you simply wanted a yummy banana cupcake this would be a great recipe. Me being me though, I of course had to take it a step…or two, further. Which leads me to the three milks. If you’re wondering what the heck that’s all about, let me explain. A three milk cake is amazing. Basically, you bake a cake, poke a bunch of holes in the top and then pour a sweet milk mixture over the cakes. Typically the mixture consists of whole milk, coconut milk and sweetened condensed milk. I used goat milk in place of the whole milk, which I HIGHLY recommend, but if you don’t feel like buying goat milk, use whole milk, almond milk or any other milk you love.

And yeah, I know it sounds really weird to be pouring milk onto you cake, but you guys it’s a magical, magical thing. The cake just soaks up the milks leaving you with a light, moist and sweet cake. Honestly, it’s everything.

Just trust me here, mmm k?

GOOD.

Coconut Banana 3-Milk Cupcakes with Nutella Buttercream | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Moving on now to that buttercream frosting. Oh that Nutella buttercream, this is a recipe that everyone should have up their sleeve. It’s perfect for pretty much any cake, cupcake, brownie, baked doughnut, whatever. It’s flipping good.

All I did was replace the cocoa powder in my favorite chocolate buttercream recipe with Nutella. The return the result was a creamy, milk chocolate buttercream that yes, you could totally just sit and eat with a spoon…

Not going to lie, I was kind of starving for any and all foods Sunday night. Since I couldn’t eat or chew anything, this frosting was my little piece of heaven. One spoon + me + lots of guzzling salt water afterward.

No shame. No shame at all…but I could have done without the swishing and swirling of salt water after. Again, I cannot wait until my mouth is all back to normal again.

UGH.

Coconut Banana 3-Milk Cupcakes with Nutella Buttercream | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvestCoconut Banana 3-Milk Cupcakes with Nutella Buttercream | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

OK ok, so what happens when the cupcake and buttercream meet??

You get one KILLER of a cupcake. I mean, really, KILLER! The fun thing about these cupcakes is that they are great for taking to parties, serving to kids and then taking the leftovers home for yourself.

TIP: if you’re making these for Easter and want to ensure that you have some cupcakes left for yourself, I highly recommend doubling the recipe and saving a batch just for you (ok and maybe a significant other). What, it’s just smart thinking, and hey, it’s EASTER!

Chocolate time!

Coconut Banana 3-Milk Cupcakes with Nutella Buttercream | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest Coconut Banana 3-Milk Cupcakes with Nutella Buttercream | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Real quick before I leave you guys for the weekend, here are some of my favorite Easter Brunch, dinner and dessert recipes. Enjoy!

Drinks

Brunch/Mains/Sides

Sweets

And here is a complete and SIMPLE Easter Menu if you want to take all the thinking out!

Coconut Banana 3-Milk Cupcakes with Nutella Buttercream | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest
Coconut Banana 3-Milk Cupcakes with Nutella Buttercream | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest
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4.82 from 16 votes

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

The Recipe

Coconut Banana 3-Milk Cupcakes with Nutella Buttercream.

By halfbakedharvest

Course: Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: American
Keyword: banana, coconut, cupcakes, nutella

They're simply perfect in every way. Let's start at the cupcake and then move onto the buttercream.

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 24 Cupcakes
Calories 276 kcal

Ingredients

Nutella Buttercream

  • 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
  • 1-2 cups powdered sugar
  • 3/4 cup nutella
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 2-4 tablespoons heavy cream or full fat coconut milk
  • pinch of salt
  • toasted coconut + fun decorations for topping

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 20-24 muffins cups with cupcake liners or grease with cooking spray.*
  2. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the oil, sugar, eggs and vanilla until the mixture is well combined and pale yellow in color. Stir in the mashed bananas.
  3. Add the flour, baking powder and salt and mix until fully combined.
  4. Divide batter evenly among the prepared pans, filling each three-quarters full. Bake 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, do not over bake. Allow the cupcakes to cool slightly and then transfer the cupcakes to large a rimmed baking sheet. Using a skewer, make holes all over the top of the cupcakes.
  5. In a bowl, whisk together the coconut milk, goat milk (or regular milk), sweetened condensed milk and vanilla until combined. Gently pour the milk over each cupcakes, ensuring it gets down into the cupcakes nooks and crannies. You may not need to use all the milk (save any leftover for basting during chill time). Refrigerate for 2–3 hours or until the milk mixture has been absorbed. During this time, I like to spoon more milk over the cupcakes to make sure they a staying moist and really soaking up all the milk they can.
  6. To make the buttercream, Add the butter and 1 to 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer (or use a hand held mixer). Beat the butter and powdered sugar together until the butter is light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add the Nutella and vanilla and beat more, scraping down the sides as needed, another 2 minutes or until there are no streaks of white. Add 2 tablespoons of the heavy cream + a pinch of salt and whip the frosting for 2-4 minutes or until light and fluffy. If desired add the remaining tablespoons of the heavy cream (I normally do) and whip until combined. Taste the frosting and add more powdered sugar if you like a sweeter or thicker frosting.
  7. Frost the cupcakes generously with the Nutella buttercream. Sprinkle with toasted coconut and decorate as desired. Cakes should be kept in the fridge and brought to room temperature 20-30 minutes before serving.

Recipe Notes

*Alternately you cane bake these cupcakes in 12 (8 ounce) ramekins. Baking time should be about 15-20 minutes.

Coconut Banana 3-Milk Cupcakes with Nutella Buttercream | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

I mean? It doesn’t get any better…or sweeter. Have a great Easter guys!

Coconut Banana 3-Milk Cupcakes with Nutella Buttercream | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest