Italian Cream Cupcakes (Cake Mix)

If you love classic Italian Cream Cake, with it's flavorful combination of pecans, flaked coconut, and cream cheese frosting, you will love these easy Italian Cream Cupcakes!

They are so fluffy and moist, and nobody would guess that the recipe starts with a box of yellow cake mix.

How to Make Italian Cream Cupcakes

These Italian Cream Cupcakes from cake mix are based on our Easy Italian Cream Bundt Cake.

Just as with many of our other doctored cake mix recipes, this recipe starts with a box mix but gets its from-scratch flavor and texture from add-ins like sour cream, sugar, cake flour, vanilla extract, and more.

You can find the full, printable recipe card at the bottom of this post. Here is a quick look at our steps.

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin pans with cupcake liners.
• In the bowl of your mixer, add these dry ingredients: cake mix, cake flour, sugar, salt and baking powder.  Whisk for 30 seconds to blend.
• Next, add the sour cream, water, eggs, vegetable oil and vanilla extract. 
• With the mixer on low speed, blend for 30 seconds.  Increase to medium speed and mix for  2 minutes.  Stop after 1 minute to scrape the sides and bottom of bowl then continue to beat for for the second minute.
• Stir in the coconut and chopped pecans. Fill the cupcake liners. We use approximately ¼ cup of batter per cupcake.

• Bake for approximately 15-17 minutes. Bake times can vary and so peek in as the end time approaches. The cupcakes are done when they spring back when lightly touched, or when an inserted toothpick comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached.

• The recipe makes about 6 ½ cups batter, enough for about 30 cupcakes.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Just as with many of our classic cake recipes (like hummingbird cake, red velvet cake, and spice cake), Italian cream cupcakes are most often frosted with cream cheese frosting.

Today, we used our favorite go-to recipe for classic cream cheese frosting. It is a simple combination of softened butter, softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, a bit of vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt.

This frosting is very easy to work with. If it becomes too soft at any point, simply refrigerate the bowl of frosting (or filled piping bag) for a few minutes until it thickens.

Decorating the Italian Cream Cupcakes

Decorate the cupcakes however you like! Today, we kept things very simple and used a disposable piping bag fitted with a large star (1M) piping tip. A 2D tip gives a very similar look also.

Holding the piping bag vertically, we started piping in the center of the cupcake and spiraled outward.

(Check out our cupcake decorating basics tutorial for simple cupcake decorating ideas!)

We then topped the decorated cupcakes with pecans.

Recipe FAQs

More Cake Recipes

Don't miss our collection of cupcake recipes! Some of our favorites are our easy Boston Cream Pie cupcakes, Banana Pudding Cupcakes, and scratch Funfetti Cupcakes, but there are so many more to choose from.

Thanks so much for stopping by, we hope that you keep these Italian Cream Cupcakes in mind for your next special occasion!

Italian Cream Cupcakes

BY Melissa and Bebe

These moist, fluffy Italian Cream Cupcakes have wonderful flavor from crushed pecans, flaked coconut, and cream cheese frosting.

Prep Time: 15 minutes mins

Cook Time: 10 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Servings: 30 cupcakes

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Ingredients

• ▢ 1 box yellow cake mix. Do not follow directions on the box- use only the ingredients listed below. We used Duncan Hines Perfectly Moist Classic Yellow cake mix, 15.25 oz.
• ▢ 1 cup Cake flour (114g)
• ▢ 1 cup sugar (200g)
• ▢ ½ teaspoon baking powder (2g)
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt (3g)
• ▢ 1 cup sour cream (242g)
• ▢ ¼ cup Canola Oil (54g)
• ▢ 1 cup water (242g)
• ▢ 3 whole eggs
• ▢ 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (8g)
• ▢ 1 cup flaked sweetened coconut (75g)(We used Baker's Angel Flake Sweetened Coconut)
• ▢ ¾ cup chopped pecans (127g)

Cream Cheese Frosting

• ▢ 2 sticks unsalted butter,softened (226g)
• ▢ 16 oz Cream cheese, softened, full fat. We used two 8 oz blocks of full fat cream cheese.
• ▢ 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (8g)
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt (2g)
• ▢ 6 cups powdered sugar (690g) Adjust slightly up or down to your liking.

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin pans with cupcake liners. (This recipe makes about 30 cupcakes.)
• In the bowl of your mixer, add the cake mix, flour, sugar, salt and baking powder.  Whisk for 30 seconds to blend.
• Add the  sour cream, water, eggs, vegetable oil and vanilla extract. 
• With the mixer on low speed, blend for 30 seconds.  Increase to medium speed and mix for  2 minutes.  Stop after 1 minute to scrape the sides and bottom of bowl then continue to beat for for the second minute.
• Stir in the coconut and chopped pecans. Fill the cupcake liners. We use approximately ¼ cup of batter per cupcake.
• Bake for approximately 15-17 minutes. Bake times can vary and so peek in as the end time approaches. Cupcakes are done when they spring back when lightly touched, or when an inserted toothpick comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached.
• The recipe makes about 6 ½ cups batter. 

For the Cream Cheese Frosting

• Cut the butter into slices and add to the bowl of your mixer. Beat on low to medium speed until the butter is softened and smooth.
• Cut the softened cream cheese into pieces and add to the butter, beating at low to medium speed until incorporated. If you are using a hand mixer you may need to soften the cream cheese a bit more.
• Add the vanilla. Gradually add the powdered sugar beating on low speed until blended. Cover the bowl with a towel to keep down the cloud of powdered sugar.
• Increase mixing speed and beat until fluffy. Don't over beat or it will become too soft. If it becomes too soft, just refrigerate a short while to firm it up a bit.
• This frosting will pipe best if used while still chilled. You can make it in advance, refrigerate and when ready to use let it soften slightly (do not microwave) and remix.

Frosting the Cupcakes

• Decorate however you like, the cupcakes need to be completely cooled/ room temperature before applying the frosting. Apply frosting with a spatula or with a piping bag fitted with your piping tip of choice (for instance large star piping tips like 1M or 2D are always great for swirls.)

Storage

• Because of the cream cheese frosting, these cupcakes need to be refrigerated (in an airtight container or in a sealed bakery box, etc.) However, for best flavor and texture, it is best to remove the cupcakes 1-2 hours before serving, so that they have time to warm and soften.

Notes

These cupcakes should be refrigerated in an airtight container or sealed bakery box because of the cream cheese frosting. However, for the very best flavor and texture, it is best to remove them from the refrigerator 1-2 hours before serving.

 

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