This moist and delicious coconut cake recipe is infused with natural flavor 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 flavored 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 flavors 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.
All Natural 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 Foods 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!
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
Coconut Tip!
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 Recipe
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 flavor 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 flavor 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 flavor 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 coconut milk powder in the frosting, not the cake, but I think it would be a great way to add more flavor 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.
Toasting coconut gives it a delicious nutty flavor. It’s really a step that you don’t want to skip! It also gives it a crispier texture and smells just heavenly.
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 flavor throughout without being overpowering or tasting artificial. Any coconut fan in your life is sure to love it!
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I convert this recipe?
- The recipe as-is will also work in two 8″ pans. For three 8″ pans, 1.5x the recipe. Baking time may need to be adjusted.
- To make cupcakes, all you need to do is reduce the baking time — start checking at 15mins or so. The recipe will make 18-24 cupcakes depending on size.
- For other conversions go here.
Can I make it in advance?
- The cooled cake layers can be baked ahead of time, double wrapped in plastic wrap, and frozen for up to 3 months. Take out 2-3 hours before assembly.
- The frosting can be placed in an airtight container and refrigerated for 1 week for frozen for 3 months. Bring to room temperature and rewhip before using.
- The finished cake (whole or sliced, stored airtight) can be frozen for up to 3 months.
Can I get the measurements by weight/grams?
- There is a Metric option in the recipe card. If you click it it will convert everything to grams.
- This conversion is done automatically and I cannot guarantee the accuracy but many readers have had success using the metric option for this recipe.
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 flavor 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 flavor 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.
- 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.
- I like to prepare my cake pans using Homemade Cake Release then line with parchment.
- 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 extract
- 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.
Sinead says
I tried this recipe for my aunt’s birthday and the cake was amazing. Would love to make it as cupcakes, on average how many cupcakes will this recipe yield?
Olivia says
Hi Sinead! So glad you loved it 🙂 The recipe should make 18-24 depending on size.
Sandra says
Hi Olivia,
I’m making this full cake today (I made a smaller version earlier to test and it was great!).
This was the first time I made SMBC, and it turned out ok. My question is when I assemble the full cake today, for a party tomorrow, can i refrigerate it or will that do something weird to the frosting? I would prefer to cool it as I don’t want the buttercream to get too soft during these warmer/more humid days in Vancouver, BC.
Thanks so much. Love your site.
Olivia says
Hi Sandra! You can totally do that no problem! Take it out of the fridge 2-3 hours before serving so that it can come to room temp 🙂
Anushka says
Hi! I was wondering if I can make this in 3 8” pans? Thanks and the recipe looks great!!
Olivia says
Hi Anushka! For three 8″ pans you should 1.5x the recipe.
Christy says
Can I use a hand mixer instead of a stand up mixer? Looks like a wonderful recipe!
Olivia says
Hi Christy! I hand mixer will work fine for the cake but could be a challenge for the frosting. See this post for tips. If you like, you can make an Ermine buttercream for the frosting instead and use canned coconut milk in place of milk. That one will be fine with a hand mixer.
Nelly says
Hi ,
I’m making this cake for my dad’s 80th birthday.
Your presentation is out of this world! I’m all about presentation.
Please, where did you get the cake stand?
Olivia says
Hi Nelly! It’s actually an acacia serving plate stacked on a bunch of rustic coasters. Not very stable, to say the least! If you search for “rustic acacia wood cake stand” you’ll find similar.
Gurit says
Hi,
Instead of 3 6inch pans, can i make this in a 9 inch pan? And i can’t get canned coconut milk where i am. Is it okay to use either fresh coconut milk or carton coconut milk?
TIA!
Olivia says
Hi Gurit! Converting pan sizes is always tricky. Here’s a site I use as a guideline: http://www.joyofbaking.com/PanSizes.html You will need to 2/3 the recipe to use one 9″ pan. Canned coconut milk is ideal but the others will work too, they just won’t give as strong a flavour.
jo says
Thank you for your coconut frosting recipe! I could never seem to get enough coconut flavor in my frosting and yours was the FIRST and only recipe I found (after scouring SO MANY) to suggest dried coconut milk! I found it at my local grocery store and it worked perfectly! Thank you thank you! 🙂
Olivia says
Yay! I’m so happy to hear that, Jo. Thank you! So glad you liked it 😀
Kaveeta says
Hi Liv I made the coconut cake today .. it was very tasty but it came out a little dense not light like a sponge cake.
Is it suppose to be like that ?
Olivia says
Hi Kaveeta! My recipes tend to be more on the dense side (vs light and fluffy) because that’s how I prefer them 🙂
Nina says
Hello what can I do to make it not as dense?
Olivia says
Hi Nina! My cakes tend to be more on the dense side rather than light and fluffy, but it shouldn’t be too dense. Overly dense cakes can be from overmixing the cake batter once the flour is added — it develops too much gluten. You can also try using cake flour instead.
Ann says
i use cake flour for this recipe. so it would be 1 and 2 tablespoon of cake flour per i cup of regular flour. or if you want it to be abit dense then you could use 3/4 cup of cake flour and 2 tablespoon of regular flour. Hopes this helps!
Courtney says
I can’t wait to try this cake! I had a question about the icing. I was wondering if you could use cream of coconut in the frosting instead of coconut milk powder, unfortunately stores where I live don’t carry it. Thanks!
Courtney says
I decided to go for it after with the cream of coconut and it turned out perfect!! You can add until you get your desired taste, mine was a bit less than 1/4 cup but it worked great and didn’t make the icing gritty or runny!
Olivia says
Oh yay! Thanks so much for the update! 🙂
Olivia says
Hi Courtney! I haven’t tried it myself but I think it should be ok. Just add it a little at a time.
Megan says
Hi! I really want to make this cake for Mother’s Day which doesn’t give me enough time to order coconut powder from amazon. Is there anything I can substitute the coconut powder with? (Like coconut Milk or coconut extract?) Your cake looks like a summer vacation we all need!
Olivia says
Hi Megan! You can use coconut extract or emulsion instead for the frosting. I find those to taste artificial though. Coconut milk will likely not add enough flavour but you could try it. It might be enough with all the other coconut in the recipe. Don’t add more than 1/4 cup though and add 1 Tbsp at a time.
Megan says
Awesome thanks for letting me know! I have one last question, I’ve never made Swiss buttercream but I see it uses raw egg whites. My mom is extremely scared of raw eggs & bacteria, do you use special pasteurized eggs for the whites or there isn’t much bacteria in egg whites that’ll upset someone’s stomach?? I’m just curious I’ve never had raw egg whites, but I’m also getting tired of regular American buttercream
Olivia says
Hi Megan! I don’t use pasteurized eggs, but you totally can! If you cook the eggs to 160F that kills off any bacteria. If you’re still worried about it though, I recommend giving my German buttercream a try. It’s as smooth as Swiss and way less sweet than American 🙂
Grace says
Five stars so far, I’m still in the process of making it.
I’m an avid baker and wanted to give a tentative warning to anyone thinking of using pastureised egg whites for meringue.
I’ve tried making meringue with pastureised egg whites three times and it failed/went flat. The only way that works for me is to use the real deal.
this may vary from recipie to recipie, I just wanted to share my experience 🙂
Olivia says
Hi Grace! Thank you! I hope you love it 🙂 And I totally agree if we’re talking carton whites. I’ve never had success with those. I assumed Megan mean pasteurized whole eggs and then separating the whites. Or have you not had success with those either?? Would love to know.
Rachel says
Almond goes amazing with coconut – hello mounds bars – I’m making this today with some amaretto in the icing.
Olivia says
Agreed!! It’s one of my fave combos too. I used it in this Raffaello Cake.
Sonia says
Liv, thank you thank you so much for such an awesome recipe! I made this to bring to a dinner party gathering and it was super successful! I followed the recipe to a T and it came out perfect. Thanks again. This is now my most favourite cake recipe <3
Olivia says
Hi Sonia! Thank you for the amazing feedback, I’m so glad you liked it 🙂
Cindi says
Thank you for this recipe and the past about tips and tricks for SMBC. This was my first time doing layers in a cake, my first meringue anything, and first buttercream. I made this for my best friend’s birthday. It was a hit! I’m in love with the frosting. Your recipe and posts are so easy to follow.
Olivia says
Hi Cindi! I am so thrilled to hear that! Yay for a successful first for everything 🙂 I hope it’s the first of many!
Rachel Tyler says
Would it affect the recipe to use coconut oil instead of butter in the cake? I’m making this cake tomorrow!
Olivia says
Hi Rachel! It will affect the texture and make the cake a bit softer at room temp, but it should be totally fine otherwise.
Rachel says
Finally coming back to rate this!
I ended up using butter 😉
But I did double the coconut in the cake and the coconut powder in the frosting — I am coconut crazy. It turned out great! Thanks for another awesome recipe.
Olivia says
Thanks so much for taking the time to follow up and rate! So happy you loved it 🙂
Heather says
This cake is delicious! I made it for cake pops and doubt it will make it that far—we keep pulling off chunks to eat straight from the cooling rack!
Olivia says
Hi Heather! Lol, so glad you like it 🙂
Katie B says
Hi! Thanks for an amazing coconut cake! I made it for my future mother in law and she loved it. I was wondering if I could freeze the cake? My moms birthday is today but she only wants like two layers. Thank you 🙂
Olivia says
Hi Katie! So happy you guys loved it 🙂 You can totally freeze the cake layers and the frosting (but not the filling, it doesn’t freeze well). Did you mean you only want to make two layers and freeze the third? Alternatively, you can just 2/3 the recipe by changing the Servings to 8.
Daniel says
Hi Liv, quick question. I’ve made this cake several times and it turns out wonderfully every time. I want to try to make cupcakes this time, but I’m not sure how to adjust the baking time. Can you help me out with this? Thanks.
Daniel
Olivia says
Hi Daniel! Cupcakes would work totally fine! Timing sort of depends on how big they are, but I always recommend taking a look at them 15mins into baking to see how they’re doing 🙂
Nikki says
Hi Liv. I’m a huge fan of the SMBC icing. Rather than toasting coconut for the outside, do you think it would work if I piped rosettes instead? I assume I would need a larger batch of icing.
Olivia says
Hi Nikki! For sure, I think that would work great. I would make the full batch of buttercream here and add coconut milk powder to it: https://livforcake.com/swiss-meringue-buttercream-recipe/
Apolline says
This is for Angela…: I live in Australia too and “Ayam” sell a coconut milk powder. It’s called Ayam Premium Coconut Milk Powder. I bought mine from Woolworths.
Olivia says
Hi Apolline! Thanks so much for your tips 🙂
Kathy Kiar says
Hi Liv can I put the coconut on the outside a day in advance? Does it soften if its in american butter cream?
Olivia says
Hi Kathy! That should be fine! I didn’t find it to soften much.
Chase L says
Hello,
I am sorry if this information is already posted. I may have missed it as reading, but what size pans did you use? As well as does this create a two or three layered cake? Lastly, can I use a dark cake pan?
Thank you so much!
Olivia says
Hi Chase! The pan size is listed in the recipe — here I used three 6″ pans that are 2″ tall each. You can use dark pans but it will result in darker edges and you may need to adjust baking time.
Jess says
Hi Olivia,
I’ve made several of your cakes and they have all been delicious! And your SMBC is my new go to recipe that I use for everything, so thank you for all your wonderful recipes! My nephew has requested coconut cake for his birthday party so this will be my next venture but I was wondering what would you suggest if I am using a square 16x16x2 pan? Should I double the recipe or 1.5x? Thanks again!
Olivia says
Hi Jess! I’m so happy to hear you like my recipes! 🙂 Converting pan sizes is always tricky. Here’s a site I use as a guideline: http://www.joyofbaking.com/PanSizes.html Based on that, I think 1.5x should be enough, but you could always just double the recipe and make cupcakes with any extra batter too 🙂