This delicious Coconut Cake Recipe is made up of moist and fluffy layers of coconut cake that have been flavored with coconut extract, shredded coconut, and coconut milk then filled and coated with an easy coconut cream cheese frosting and topped with shredded coconut. It is a little taste of paradise that will satisfy your sweet craving or help celebrate your special occasion!
This Coconut Cake Recipe is going to be one of your new favorites. It has a simple but delicious flavor profile, one that can be amped up and made more tropical with the addition of pineapple, mango, or passionfruit. It's perfect for a family night at home or a celebratory gathering.
If you're looking for more simple and delicious cake recipes check out my Strawberry Pound Cake, White Forest Cake, or S'mores Sheet Cake.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- The tropical flavor of the coconut will bring the warm weather of the tropics right into your home. You can get more coconut in my Almond Joy Macarons.
- This cake is moist and tender and will have you coming back for more than one bite!
- The shredded coconut on the outside of the cake is a simple but beautiful decoration. Much like how poppy seeds effortlessly decorate this Lemon Poppy Seed Cake.
- This is a great dessert for your family to enjoy at home or to bring to a special occasion!
Ingredients
Ingredients Notes
- Coconut milk adds flavor and moisture to the cake. I used the Thai Kitchen brand.
- Shredded coconut adds flavor to the cake and texture to the frosting. If you don't like the texture of shredded coconut you can use desiccated coconut instead. It is much finer and will add flavor without the texture of shredded coconut.
- Coconut extract is used in the cake and frosting to add flavor, but you can leave it out if you don't like artificial flavoring.
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Substitutions and Variations
- Add fillings like fresh pineapple, mango, or passionfruit to make the cake even more tropical.
- You can add melted white chocolate to the cream cheese frosting or shaved white chocolate to the outside of the cake for more richness. Get more white chocolate in my White Chocolate Raspberry Blondies.
- Substitute the all purpose flour for gluten free flour. I use gluten free flour in my Gluten Free Blueberry Muffins.
- To make this cake even easier you can use a cake mix. I would add the coconut extract and shredded coconut to the cake mix for the coconut flavor.
- Toast the coconut for a deeper flavor. You can find more toasted coconut in my Toasted Coconut Bread Pudding!
This recipe has not been tested with other substitutions or variations. If you replace or add any ingredients, please let us know how it turned out in the comments below!
Step-By-Step Instructions
STEP 1: In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to remove any lumps.
STEP 2: In a separate bowl combine the granulated sugar, and butter. Beat until fully combined. Add in the eggs, egg whites, vanilla, and coconut extract. Mix until fully combined.
STEP 3: Add half of the dry ingredients, mix until almost combined, then add half of the coconut milk, mix until almost combined. Repeat with the remaining dry ingredients and coconut milk.
STEP 4: Fold the shredded coconut into the batter. Mix until just combined.
STEP 5: Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees (F) or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
STEP 6: In a medium bowl combine the cream cheese and butter. Beat until very soft and creamy. Add half of the powdered sugar and beat until combined. Add the rest of the powdered sugar, coconut extract and coconut milk. Beat for 5-6 minutes. Lay down a layer of the cake, add your desired amount of frosting, and repeat with the remaining cake layers and frosting. Press the shredded coconut into the frosting.
Expert Tips
- Use an oven thermometer. Most ovens run either hot or cold. Using an oven thermometer ensures that you are baking your cake at the perfect temperature.
- Don’t use cold ingredients. Ensure that all of your cold ingredients are at room temperature before making your cake batter. The ingredients will combine much easier and you won’t have chunks of cold butter in your batter.
- Weigh your ingredients. One of the most common baking mistakes that I see is measuring incorrectly, especially with flour. The best way to get accurate measurements every time is to weigh them with a kitchen scale.
- Don’t over mix. You need to mix your batter until all of the ingredients are JUST combined, otherwise, you will make too much gluten and your cake will be tough instead of fluffy.
Recipe FAQ's
You can! The cake can be baked in a 6 or 8-inch round pan, this will make the layers thicker. You can also make this in a 9x10 or 9x13-inch rectangular pan. Using any of these pans will change the baking time of the cake.
Yes, you can. You can make this into 12 cupcakes. The baking time will be different with cupcakes.
There are a couple of reasons why you cake is dense. The most likely is that the batter was over mixed. This creates too much gluten and a tough cake. You want to mix the ingredients until just combined. There also could have been too much flour added. This is why I recommend weighing your ingredients to get precise measurements.
Your cake may have been baked for too long! Every oven is different, some run hot and some run cold. I recommend using an oven thermometer to make sure you are baking at the perfect temperature every time.
Room Temperature: The cake can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Refrigerator: If stored correctly in an airtight container this Coconut Cake Recipe will last up to 1 week in the fridge.
Freezer: If stored correctly in an airtight container the cake will last up to a month in the freezer.
More Recipes You'll Love
If you tried this Coconut Cake Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I so appreciate hearing from you!
Recipe
Coconut Cake Recipe
Ingredients
For Coconut Cake:
- 2 ½ cups (300 grams) all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 sticks (226 grams) unsalted butter softened
- 1 ¾ cups (346 grams) granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 2 large egg whites
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon coconut extract
- 1 cup (241 grams) coconut milk
- 1 cup (85 grams) shredded sweetened coconut
For Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 1 ½ stick (170 grams) unsalted butter softened
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 4 cups (454 grams) powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon coconut extract
- 2 tablespoons coconut milk
- 2-3 cups shredded sweetened coconut
Instructions
For Coconut Cake:
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees (F). Spray three 9 inch cake pans with non stick spray or rub with butter and dust with flour.
- In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to remove any lumps.
- In a seperate bowl combine the granulated sugar, and butter. Beat until fully combined. Add in the eggs, egg whites, vanilla, and coconut extract. Mix until fully combined.
- Add half of the dry ingredients, mix until almost combined, then add half of the coconut milk, mix until almost combined. Repeat with the remaining dry ingredients and coconut milk.
- Fold the shredded coconut into the batter until just combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 20-25 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
For Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting:
- In a medium bowl combine the cream cheese and butter. Beat until very soft and creamy.
- Add half of the powdered sugar and beat until combined.
- Add the rest of the powdered sugar, coconut extract and coconut milk. Beat for 5-6 minutes.
- Lay down a layer of the cake, add your desired amount of frosting, and repeat with the remaining cake layers and frosting.
- Press the shredded coconut into the frosting.
Notes
- Don’t use cold ingredients. Ensure that all of your cold ingredients are at room temperature before making your cake batter. The ingredients will combine much easier and you won’t have chunks of cold butter in your batter.
- Don’t over mix. You need to mix your batter until all of the ingredients are JUST combined, otherwise, you will make too much gluten and your cake will be tough instead of fluffy.
- The provided nutrition information is an estimate. The calorie accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jenny says
Coconut cake mmmmm Must say your recipes are easy to follow, uses ingredients from my store cupboard with maybe a few additives and delirious. Plain and simple baking which us just up my street. Keep em coming thank you x
M Baier says
Can this recipe be baked in a Bundt pan? If so, would it require the same amount of frosting?
Ellie Haley says
I have never baked this in a bundt pan, so I can't tell you 100% but I don't see why you couldn't. Obviously the baking time will be different. If you like a lot of frosting then I'd keep it the same, but if you're more of a light frosting person you could probably cut the recipe in half and be okay.
M Baier says
Made the coconut cake in Bundt pan today. Doesn’t appear to be as “fluffy” as the one pictured, but taste still outstanding! Should have reduced amount of frosting slightly. First coconut cake I ever made and will definitely use this recipe again.
Ellie Haley says
So glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for reporting back on the bundt pan!
Timi Hen says
Absolutely The best cake ever!!!!!
Ellie Haley says
I'm blushing! I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
Barbara A Freeland says
OMG. I baked this coconut cake for my Thanksgiving Dinner with family and friends. They thought it came from a bakery. It was soooo moist and delicious. Thank you for sharing your recipe. I woyld gove this recipe 100 stars.