Coconut Doughnuts with Salted Caramel Icing

Coconut and salted caramel are a flavor match made in heaven and you'll be obsessed with these Coconut Doughnuts with Salted Caramel Icing. They're baked, easy to make, and a fun breakfast treat or tasty dessert.

This post was originally published in May 2013, but has been updated with new photos in 2021.

There are certain foods that are just destined to be together: Bacon and eggs. Peanut butter and jelly. Burgers and fries. Chocolate and red wine.

But why is nobody talking about coconut and salted caramel? These two flavors are a match made in heaven and for some reason, they're not getting any attention when we should be throwing them a lavish wedding so they can express their commitment to each other and assure us they will stay together until death do them part.

Or you know, until we eat them.

Yes, I'm suggesting coconut and salted caramel get married. If you think I'm crazy, that's just because you haven't tried these coconut doughnuts with salted caramel icing yet. Once you try them, you'll be calling the wedding venues and booking the band right along with me.

How to Make Coconut Doughnuts

These coconut doughnuts are baked and so, so easy to make. All you need is a doughnut pan (I have that one and love it!) and a couple bowls. No stand mixer or hand mixer required!

To start, pre-heat oven to 325 degrees and spray a donut pan with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

In a separate small bowl, lightly whisk eggs. Whisk milk, coconut extract, and melted coconut oil or butter into the eggs, until combined.

I used to make these doughnuts with melted butter, but I recently started using melted coconut oil and it makes them even more coconut-y and delicious! You can use whatever you have on hand.

Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, taking care not to over-mix. Over-mixing will make your doughnuts more dense and cake-y instead of moist and light.

Gently fold in ½ cup coconut.

Fill each cavity in donut pan about ¾ of the way with batter.

I recommend putting the batter in a plastic bag and cutting off the corner to pipe it into the pan (you can also use a pastry bag).

Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the doughnuts are light and springy to the touch.

Let cool in the pan for a few minutes and then remove to cool completely on wire rack.

If you only have a 6-cavity donut pan, repeat with remaining batter.

How to Make Salted Caramel Icing

While the doughnuts are baking, make the salted caramel icing. It does require you to make your own super small batch of caramel (I promise it's easy!). But if you'd rather not, you can always use store-bought caramel.

For caramel making, in a small saucepan set over medium heat, stir together granulated sugar and water. Let mixture come to a simmer and let it simmer until it reaches a dark amber color (keep a close watch on the mixture so it doesn't burn or get too dark).

Remove from heat and immediately stir in the heavy cream, vanilla extract, and salt, until the mixture is smooth.

Remove to separate bowl and let cool completely.

In the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment (or in a large mixing bowl with an hand mixer), beat butter on medium speed until it's light and fluffy. Lower mixer speed and beat in confectioner's sugar, until fully combined.

Beat milk into mixture and pour in cooled caramel sauce. Beat until frosting is light and airy.

How to Frost Doughnuts

Now you're ready to finish the doughnuts!

Put the remaining ¼ cup coconut on a small baking sheet and toast for a few minutes, until it's lightly golden, stirring after a minute. Keep a close eye on the coconut as it will burn quickly. If you prefer, you can put it in the oven at 325 degrees for 5-10 minutes, checking frequently and stirring occasionally.

Frost the coconut doughnuts and immediately sprinkle with toasted coconut.

Take a bite and you will immediately see why I think coconut and salted caramel should get married.

These donuts are PACKED with coconut flavor and the creamy salted caramel flavor in the icing complements it so well.

In my personal opinion, these flavors are made even better when enjoyed with a nice cup of coffee. Which means, I'm pretty sure you can eat these coconut doughnuts for breakfast.

And now I'm kind of obsessed with the idea of food weddings. I love people weddings and they're tons of fun, but food weddings could also be very happy occasions.

Plus, you get the very best wedding favor at the end of it all: a delicious treat or meal with two made-for-each-other flavors involved.

And they all lived happily ever after. In my mouth. That sounds really weird, but you know what I mean.

More Coconut Recipes

While I really want coconut to marry salted caramel, I'm not going to pretend coconut wouldn't also make a really great match with many other foods.

And one of the magical things about coconut is that it can be incorporated into both sweet and savory foods. Here are some of my favorite coconut recipes:

• Raspberry Coconut French Toast Casserole
• Chile Lime Salmon Over Coconut Rice
• Ginger Coconut Whipped Sweet Potatoes
• Pumpkin Hot Coconut
• Coconut Cupcakes with Chocolate Mint Buttercream
• Basil Chicken in Coconut Curry Sauce
• Coconut Chia Dragon Fruit Smoothie Jars
• Strawberry Coconut Daiquiri
• Buttery Coconut Bars (from Kate the Baker)
• Chocolate Coconut Cream Pie (from The Marble Kitchen)

Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be over hear dreaming up my next coconut and salted caramel recipe and trying to figure out where they should go on their honeymoon.

And with that I'll see myself out.

What foods do you want to see in a wedding ceremony?

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