This moist and delicious coconut cake recipe is infused with natural coconut flavour throughout and decorated with giant toasted coconut flakes.
Today’s post is a revamp of one of my oldest recipes. All the way back to 2015! It was one of those recipes that was good, but could have been better.
My main issue with the original coconut cake recipe was that it used coconut extract. I don’t often like to use flavoured extracts in my baking, as I find them to taste artificial and generally unpleasant.
Some are better than others, mind you, but I mostly stick to vanilla or try to infuse the flavours in some other way.
Coconut extract, not unlike almond extract, is very easy to overdo. It’s strong, often overpowering, and can make your baked goods taste like you’re eating suntan lotion if you’re not careful.
Natural Coconut Ingredients
I was on a mission to redo this Coconut Cake recipe using coconut in its pure form. There is a slew of coconut products out there, so the possibilities are endless.
I’m not kidding when I say I bought every single coconut product I could find to test and experiment with. This included the following:
- Canned coconut milk
- Coconut milk powder
- Pure creamed coconut
- Coconut sugar
- Fine shredded coconut
- Medium shredded coconut
- Coconut flakes
- And some whole coconuts for good measure
All of these ingredients (except for the coconut flakes) were super easy to find in the grocery store.
For me, the first three were found in the Ethnic section, the rest in the baking section. The only thing that was harder to find was the large coconut flakes, which I picked up at Whole Foods.
I didn’t end up using elements of the whole coconuts other than for the pics, but I was surprised at how easy they were to crack!
How do you Crack a Coconut?
There are a bunch of videos on how to do this, and I recommend watching one to see how it’s done, but basically all you need to do is:
- Poke out one or more of the “eyes” with a screwdriver (I was able to poke through without using a hammer)
- Drain the coconut water into a bowl
- Hammer around the axis of the coconut while turning it, and eventually a crack will start to form (this didn’t take long)
- Keep hammering until the crack is big enough that you can pry the coconut open
One thing I should note is that if you’re cracking more than one coconut and want to keep the water, drain them into separate bowls. I didn’t know at the time, but the second coconut I cracked was a bit rotten on the inside, and I didn’t want to use the water after I saw that.
How to Make this Coconut Cake
For the actual cake recipe, I ended up using the canned coconut milk in place of regular milk, and I added medium shredded coconut to the batter.
I would have preferred to use fine shredded coconut, because I don’t love the texture of coconut, but the stuff I had was unsweetened and I wanted to add a bit more sweetness to the cake. Either combination will work though — sweetened/unsweetened, fine/medium/coarse. It’s just a matter of preference!
I didn’t end up using the coconut sugar in the final version of the recipe, because it colored the cake batter too much and I wanted a nice, white/yellow cake.
So you can use coconut sugar and it will work totally fine, the cake will just have a slightly different flavour and color. But it’s important to note that coconut sugar doesn’t actually taste like coconut at all. It’s made from the sap of the flower buds of the coconut palms, not the coconut itself. It tastes and looks similar to brown sugar.
The coconut milk powder worked extremely well in the frosting. It added an amazing flavour without affecting the texture. If you were to use canned coconut milk instead, you’d have to use a lot more of it for the flavour to come through, and it could make the frosting too soft. I highly recommend using the milk powder if you can find it!
I only used the the coconut milk powder in the frosting, not the cake, but I think it would be a great way to add more flavour to the cake if you wanted to. I’d probably add a couple of Tbsp to the dry ingredients.
This pretty Coconut Cake is finished off with a simple decoration of some giant toasted coconut flakes, and I just love the look of them. I was able to buy mine already toasted, but I popped them into the oven for a bit more to enhance the color.
How do you Toast Coconut?
Toasting coconut is super easy and can be done in no time. Preheat your oven to 350F and spread the coconut in a thin, even layer on a large baking sheet. Pop it in the oven for 5mins, stir it around, and keep toasting until the desired color is reached.
It’s important to note that it can go from beautiful golden brown to burnt very quickly, so watch it like a hawk and stir it around often. Make sure the coconut is cooled completely before using it on the cake.
This Coconut Cake recipe has the perfect hit of coconut flavour throughout without being overpowering or tasting artificial. Any coconut fan in your life is sure to love it!
Looking for more Tropical Desserts?
Tips for this Coconut Cake recipe:
- Be sure to use canned coconut milk, not the stuff in the carton, and shake it well before use. Mine was quite smooth, but it can separate a bit, so be sure to shake it!
- I would have used very fine shredded coconut in the cake batter if I had it available, but you can use any kind you like. I used sweetened, but unsweetened will work too.
- The coconut milk powder worked extremely well in the frosting, adding great flavour without affecting the texture.
- If you like, you can add a couple of Tbsps of coconut milk powder into the dry ingredients in the cake batter to enhance the flavour even more.
- I love the large coconut flakes on the outside of this cake, but if you can’t find them you can use any kind of shredded coconut.
- This recipe, originally posted on March 1st, 2015, has been revised and updated. If you prefer to use an American buttercream, like my original coconut cake recipe used, you can use my Simple Vanilla Buttercream recipe and add coconut milk powder to it.
- Be sure to check my Swiss Meringue Buttercream post for tips and troubleshooting.
- See my post on Simple Syrup for tips on how to make sure your cakes stay moist.
- To help ensure your cake layers bake up nice and flat, see my Flat Top Cakes post.
Coconut Cake
Ingredients
Coconut Cake:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup canned coconut milk room temperature
- 1/2 cup shredded coconut sweetened, any size (I used medium)
Coconut Swiss Meringue Buttercream:
- 6 large egg whites
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter cubed, room temperature
- 1/4 cup coconut milk powder
Assembly:
Instructions
Coconut Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour three 6" cake rounds and line with parchment.
- In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt until well combined. Set aside.
- Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar on med-high until pale and fluffy (approx 3mins). Reduce speed and add eggs one at a time fully incorporating after each addition. Add vanilla.
- Alternate adding flour mixture and coconut milk, beginning and ending with flour (3 additions of flour and 2 of milk). Fully incorporating after each addition.
- Gently fold in shredded coconut.
- Bake for 35-40mins or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean.
- Place cakes on wire rack to cool for 10mins then turn out onto wire rack.
Coconut Swiss Meringue Buttercream:
- Place egg whites and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk until combined.*
- Place bowl over a double boiler on the stove and whisk constantly until the mixture is hot and no longer grainy to the touch (approx. 3mins). Or registers 160F on a candy thermometer.
- Place bowl on your stand mixer and whisk on med-high until the meringue is stiff and cooled (the bowl is no longer warm to the touch (approx. 5-10mins)).
- Switch to paddle attachment. Slowly add cubed butter and mix until smooth.**
- Add coconut milk powder and whip until smooth.
Assembly:
- Place one layer of cake on a cake stand or serving plate. Top with approximately 2/3 cup of buttercream. Repeat with remaining layer and crumb coat the cake. Chill for 20mins.
- Frost the top and sides of the cake and smooth with a bench scraper. Do a swirl on the top.
- Gently press toasted coconut flakes into the sides of the cake.
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Notes
** The buttercream may look like it's curdled at some point. Keep mixing until it is completely smooth.
Originally published on March 1st, 2015
Mar says
Hi Olivia,
Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe! I halved the recipe, used a 6.5” tin and baked for 35 minutes at 175 degrees Celsius (skewer came out clean and top was turning brown). The taste is great, however the inside of the cake is a bit soggy (but not raw) and the cake barely rose; did I perhaps not bake it long enough or should I change the ratio dry/wet ingredients when only using half the recipe?
Olivia says
Hi Mar! If the recipe was properly halved then there shouldn’t be an issue. The cake should not be soggy though, and should rise, but it wouldn’t be as tall in 6.5″ pans as they are bigger than the ones I used. Have you checked to make sure your baking powder is fresh?
Jessica says
Hi ! My cakes look lovely but they did not rise as much as your other recipes (e.g. white mocha cakes). Is this normal? Maybe because the ingredients are heavier than in other recipes? Thank you so much ! Obsessed with your site x
Olivia says
Hi Jessica! Thank you! It should rise just as much as any of my “white” cakes, maybe slightly less as there is a bit less flour. The chocolate ones rise a lot more.
Hannah says
Does this come out as quite a sturdy sponge? I’m looking for a coconut cake recipe to make for a client as a celebration cake.
Olivia says
Hi Hannah! Yes, it should. My cakes are more on the dense side rather than light and fluffy.
Shweta says
Hi
Can I substitute shredded coconut with dessicated coconut ? If so , what other changes I hv to make in the recipe
Olivia says
Hi Shweta! Yes, that should be fine, no changes needed.
Lynne says
This cake is absolutely delicious. Very, very moist. I love the fact that you only use 3 eggs in the cake. I made a simple buttercream with butter and shortening icing sugar and coconut milk. I will definitely be making this cake again!!
Olivia says
Hi Lynne! Thank you, I’m so happy you loved it.
Brandy says
I rarely bake coconut cakes mainly because of the coconut extract that most recipes call for. I think the extract adds an artificial taste to it with a lingering strange aftertaste. So this recipe- is absolutely AH-Mazing!!! I found this recipe about two months ago and I’ve made it about a half dozen times already- yes its THAT GOOD!! This cake is SOOO light and moist with the perfect balance of natural coconut flavor! The Swiss meringue butter cream is to die for!!! And the coconut milk powder really does wonders to the flavor! I used it in both the batter and in the buttercream. I adjusted the measurements to make a 9-inch 3 layer cake and looked incredible!! THANK YOU for sharing this recipe!! It is a coconut lovers dream!! I’m excited to try your Lemon cake recipe next! 🤗
Olivia says
Hi Brandy! I totally agree with you on the coconut extract. It tastes like I’m eating suntan lotion! So happy you love this recipe and thank you for your tips!
Sara says
Just a story to share with you. A year ago, my then-fiance and I were coming to terms with the near certainty that our June wedding was going to be canceled by Covid. We decided to get a license as quickly as we could, as those offices were preparing to shut down too, and marry right away in a tiny socially distanced backyard ceremony so we could start sheltering in place together. We planned to pick up a meal from our favorite restaurant to stand in for our reception, but I really wanted us to have a wedding cake too. I took stock of my pantry, then combed the Internet for a cake recipe I could make without needing to face the mayhem the grocery stores had become, and hit upon your recipe. I though it was going to have to be a naked cake due to a lack of icing ingredients, but I found a different icing recipe and had just enough butter to make half a batch, so the top and middle layer got thin coats of icing and a sprinkle of coconut flakes. In the end, it was delicious, and I’m planning to make a batch of cupcakes to celebrate our first anniversary this weekend.
Olivia says
Hi Sara! I am so sorry your June wedding didn’t happen but glad you were able to do a quick backyard ceremony instead! I’m so happy you liked this recipe are celebrating with a cupcake version. Happy Anniversary!
Sandi says
I want to make this recipe for two 10 inch pans. How do I adjust the recipe?
Olivia says
Hi Sandi! Converting pan sizes is always tricky. Here are some sites I use as a guideline:
http://www.joyofbaking.com/PanSizes.html
https://www.cookipedia.co.uk/recipes_wiki/Cake_tin_conversion_charts
Based on that I would 1.5x the recipe.
kat says
Hi!
I want to make only one cake, should I do the measurements in half?
Thank you!
Kat says
Hi! i’m only trying to make one cake. should I only do half of the measurements? Thank you!
Olivia says
Hi Kat! If you only want one 6″ cake then you should 1/3 the recipe (change the Servings to 4).
Michelle Ackermann says
Hello!
Is there any way that I could substitute the coconut powder for coconut cream?
We don’t have coconut powder in Portugal 😢
Olivia says
Hi Michelle! I think coconut cream should be fine to add to the frosting instead. Add it 1 Tbsp at a time and mix well. Taste as you go to see how much to add. Be careful about adding too much as it can change the texture of the buttercream, but if you’re adding small amounts slowly you’ll be able to see if it’s changing.
Oriana says
Can I use coconut cream powder instead and how long do I bake of I am doing 2 8 inch cakes?
Olivia says
Hi Oriana! I think that should work. Baking time will be similar, maybe a little less 🙂
Michelle says
I do not have coconut powder. Would that be a problem? Can I use something else?
Olivia says
Hi Michelle! Coconut milk powder is ideal for best flavour without affecting the texture, but you could also use a coconut extract.
Angela says
Hi there!! I’m so excited to try this recipe!! For the canned coconut milk did you use sweetened or unsweetened? Thanks so much!!
Olivia says
Hi Angela! I didn’t know you could get sweetened! I believe mine is all unsweetened.
Halimah says
I absolutely love your recipes! This is my favourite 😍 I wanted to ask is there a way I can change your recipes to accomadate 4 x 6″ tins instead of 3 – I would prefer to have 4 layers of cake if possible. Thank you x
Olivia says
Hi Halimah! technically you could bake this recipe in 4 pans but the layers would be thinner so you’d need to reduce the baking time. To increase the recipe for four 6″ pans you’d change the Servings to 16 and use those amounts.
Tori says
Today was the second time I’ve made this recipe and it is now my go to coconut cake recipe! I make a couple of changes (1 stick of butter + 1/4 cup of coconut oil, 1tsp vanilla + 1 1/4 tsp coconut extract) to suit my tastes and I love it. The cake turns out to be shockingly pale in color considering we are issuing whole eggs! I have only used my bundtlette pan with this recipe so far and it yields about 11 bundtlettes. I have not made the coconut buttercream yet but I’m sure it is delicious. Liv For Cake is one of my favorite baking blogs! Thank you for sharing!!
Olivia says
Hi Tori! Thank you so much for your amazing review, sweet comment, and tips! I’m so glad you like it 🙂
Sandi says
Hi, I love this recipe and have been making it in cupcake form. How do I need to adjust the recipe to make it in a 13×9 inch pan?
Olivia says
Hi Sandi! I think the recipe as-is should work for one 9×13 pan. It might bake up slightly thinner though so you could increase the recipe slightly if you like.
Converting pan sizes is always tricky. Here are some sites I use as a guideline:
http://www.joyofbaking.com/PanSizes.html
https://www.cookipedia.co.uk/recipes_wiki/Cake_tin_conversion_charts
Baking temperature should stay the same but baking time may need to be adjusted.
Lori says
Approximately, how much batter does this cake make?
Olivia says
Hi Lori! I’ve never measured out the batter myself. What size cake are you trying to make?