Say hello to my amazing Coconut Cake. Two layers of soft and tender coconut cake covered in coconut buttercream and crisp coconut flakes. Perfect for coconut lovers!
I’m obsessed 💕 Meet my Coconut Cake. A super tender cake made with coconut cream, all covered in a thick coconut buttercream. There’s toasted coconut IN the cake and plenty of flakes on top, making it a coconut lover’s dream dessert.
Hands down, this cake is one of the best things to come out the Sweetest Menu kitchen ALL year.
Why you will love this recipe
- Soft and fluffy: Thanks to the reverse creaming method, this cake has a beautifully soft and velvety texture.
- No hard-to-find ingredients: If you have a can of coconut cream (or milk) in the pantry, you probably have everything you need to make this cake.
- Coconut flavour: With toasted coconut and coconut cream in the cake and a rich coconut buttercream, there’s plenty of coconut flavour in every bite.
- Feeds a crowd: With two thick layers of cake, this stunning Coconut Cake is perfect for birthdays, celebrations and the like.
This is amazing, never even thought you could put coconut cream in a cake, but it works so well. It gives the cake a creamy sort of taste, just lovely.
– JuliaJump to:
I had so much fun developing this cake recipe. Before I started, I hadn’t used coconut cream or coconut milk in cake batter before but now I’m a big fan. I knew I wanted this cake to be light, fluffy and totally coconutty. And that’s what you have right here 👆🏻
She’s amazing. Two layers of coconut bliss, starting with that cake batter. Just like my favourite Lemon Blueberry Cake and my Lemon Coconut Cake, this recipe uses the reverse creaming method. That means we switch up the order of how the ingredients are added, resulting in a ridiculously soft and tender cake.
But I couldn’t wait to add coconut flavour to the cake, so instead of milk or buttermilk, we use coconut cream in this cake recipe. It helps make the cake soft and fluffy. And for added flavour, we add a whole CUP of shredded coconut that’s been toasted to a beautiful shade of golden brown.
And just when you thought you couldn’t get enough coconut, we slather the entire cake with a boatload of homemade coconut buttercream and handfuls of crisp coconut flakes. HEAVEN.
save this recipe
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Tips for making perfect Coconut Cake
- This Coconut Cake is made using two 8-inch cake pans. You will also need an electric mixer.
- The recipe starts by whisking together plain flour (or all-purpose flour), caster sugar and baking powder. You can use granulated sugar instead of caster sugar. Read more about caster sugar here.
- Next you add your butter. You’ll need to make sure your butter is softened or at room temperature.
- Start beating the butter, along with the dry ingredients, on a low speed. It will break up into small pieces and be coated by the flour mix. That’s good. Once the butter is broken up into pea-sized pieces, you can move on to the eggs.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, while continuing to beat on a low speed. It’s good if your eggs are also at room temperature.
- Then pour in the coconut cream and vanilla. I recommend using a tinned full fat coconut cream for this recipe.
- Mix on a medium speed until all ingredients are combined, and cake batter is smooth and creamy. It won’t take long for this to happen.
- The final step is adding a cup of toasted coconut. Toasting the coconut will really enhance the coconut flavour. To toast your coconut, simply add coconut to a shallow frying pan. Place on a low heat and gently mix occasionally until golden brown. Leave to cool completely before using in cake batter.
- Bake in a moderate oven until cake is golden brown and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Leave to cool completely before covered in coconut buttercream.
How to make Coconut Buttercream
The best way to enjoy this Coconut Cake is by making a delicious coconut buttercream. It’s very similar to a regular vanilla buttercream, but instead of adding milk or cream, we add coconut cream.
You will need just three ingredients: butter, icing or powdered sugar and coconut cream.
Start with room temperature or softened butter. Beat using an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Add half the sugar and half the coconut cream. Beat again, before adding the remaining sugar and coconut cream.
The frosting will be thick and creamy – and just perfect for this light and fluffy Coconut Cake.
More cake recipes to try
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. Hungry for more? Join me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter for more amazing recipe ideas.
Let’s Bake
Coconut Cake recipe
A two layer Coconut Cake covered in coconut buttercream.
Ingredients
Coconut cake
- 315 grams (2 and 1/4 cups) plain flour or all purpose flour
- 300 grams (1 and 1/2 cups) caster sugar or granulated sugar
- 2 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 230 grams (1 cup / 2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, roughly chopped
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 240 ml (1 cup) full fat coconut cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 60 grams (1 cup) shredded coconut (toasted)*
Coconut buttercream
- 230 grams (1 cup / 2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, roughly chopped
- 500 grams (4 cups) icing sugar or powdered sugar
- 4 tablespoons full fat coconut cream
- 180 grams (2 cups) coconut flakes, to decorate
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F) standard / 160 C (320 F) fan-forced. Grease and line two 8-inch round cake pans with baking or parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, add flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Whisk briefly. Add butter and beat with an electric mixer on low speed, until butter is broken into small pea-sized pieces and completely covered in flour.
- Next, add eggs, one at a time, while continuing to mix on low speed. Then, pour in the coconut cream and vanilla. Start to beat on low speed and then turn up to medium speed. Add shredded coconut. Mixture should be creamy and smooth.
- Divide cake batter between your two prepared pans. Bake for approximately 30-35 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Carefully transfer cakes to a wire rack to cool completely.
- To make the frosting, add butter to a large mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer for 2 minutes or until smooth and creamy.
- Add 2 cups of sugar, along with 2 tablespoons of coconut cream, and continue to beat. Add remaining 2 cups of sugar and 2 tablespoons of coconut cream and beat briefly until smooth.
- Spread frosting on one cake layer, add the remaining cake layer on top. Cover top and sides with frosting. Decorate with coconut flakes.
Notes
*Coconut: To toast your coconut, simply add coconut to a shallow frying pan. Place on a low heat and gently mix occasionally until golden brown. Leave to cool completely before using in cake batter.
Nutrition Information
Serving Size: 1 slice Calories: 708 Sugar: 59.5 g Sodium: 84.4 mg Fat: 38 g Carbohydrates: 80.7 g Protein: 5.2 g Cholesterol: 110.5 mg
Hi, I’m Jess, the creator of Sweetest Menu and the author of Something Sweet. A self-taught baker and published recipe writer who can’t stop making easy and delicious baking recipes.
Rose says
This cake is stunning! Toasting the coconut took it to the next level. For any other homesick kiwis, the edges of this cake taste exactly like Griffins Krispie biscuits, a dream.
I baked the full mixture in one 23 x 31 x 5cm tin and it cooked perfectly in 30 mins. One question – ideally how long should these cakes cool in their tins before turning out onto the cooling rack? I left mine for around 15 mins which seemed fine, but wasn’t sure if I should have left until it was cooler to help it firm up, or if residual heat might dry it out, etc.
Thanks so much for the recipe 🙂
Jessica Holmes says
Oh I love this so much Rose. I’m so pleased it worked out well for you – now I want to try one of the biscuits! I think you did exactly the right thing. I usually just let my cakes cool for 15 minutes or so until I can easily remove them without them collapsing. And I agree, I don’t like my cakes to cool completely in the pan as I do find it overbakes the outside. Another way around that if you do want to leave them in the pan is plunging the cake pan into an ice bath to help it cool down quickly.
Julia says
This is amazing, never even thought you could put coconut cream in a cake, but it works so well. It gives the cake a creamy sort of taste, just lovely. I think next time I might swap vanilla essence for coconut essence as I do love the coconut flavour.
Jessica Holmes says
That is so lovely to hear Julia! Thank you for your kind review. And using coconut essence is a lovely idea.
Bronwen Binfield says
Hi I like the look of this and wondered can it be frozen ?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Bronwen, absolutely. The cakes themselves freeze really well if you need to make them ahead of time.