Coconut Loaf Cake

A buttery Coconut Loaf Cake made with toasted coconut, coconut cream and fresh lime zest. This easy pound cake boasts a tight but tender crumb and is topped with a luscious lime cream cheese frosting.

Oh Coconut Loaf Cake, you delicious thing, you.

I first discovered the wonder of using coconut in my bakes when I worked on my Coconut Layer Cake, Lemon Coconut Cake and my Caramel Coconut Cookies.

But recently, I’ve fallen more and more in love with loaf cakes, specifically pound cakes. Give me a slice of my Orange Pound Cake and I’ll be happy for the rest of the day.

So I decided to take all the buttery goodness of my Vanilla Pound Cake and transform it into a coconut and lime version – and boy is it good.

This soft cake boasts a tight, but tender crumb, and is filled with toasted coconut, coconut cream and fresh lime zest. It is at once hearty and buttery, yet light and zesty.

WHY YOU WILL LOVE THIS RECIPE

• The cake itself is soft, buttery and tender
• It is paired with an easy but oh-so-creamy cream cheese frosting
• It freezes really well
• It’ll easily feed a hungry crowd

Loved this recipe – taste, texture, everything was spot on! Recipe instructions and tips were also very helpful and clear. Think this is a recipe I will be making again and again!!

– Emily

recipe testing

One of my lovely readers (hi Sarah!) who I connected with on Instagram regularly makes my recipes. But she often makes her own twists, and more often than not, there’s lime and coconut involved.

So I’ve taken inspiration from her delightful bakes to make my own Coconut Lime Cake.

I know how to make a good pound cake, after we tested 9 versions last year. So it was just a matter of adding some fresh lime zest, toasted desiccated coconut and using coconut cream instead of milk.

The results were incredible. This is now easily one of my favourite cakes of all time.

The finishing touch, optional of course, is a super thick and zesty cream cheese frosting. It takes this simple Coconut Pound Cake from great to life-changing. Trust me ❤️

ingredients you will need

The ingredients you will need for this Coconut Loaf Cake include common pantry staples, plus a few specialty items like coconut cream and desiccated coconut.

Here’s a breakdown of everything you will need for both the cake and the frosting, including any substitutions you can make:

COCONUT LIME CAKE

• Butter
• Caster sugar: Or granulated sugar.
• Lime zest: If you are not a fan of lime, you can leave this out. But I do encourage you to try it because coconut and lime are a surprisingly perfect match.
• Eggs
• Plain flour: Or all purpose flour.
• Baking powder
• Salt
• Coconut cream: I tested this recipe using full fat coconut cream, which can usually be found in the Asian aisle of your local supermarket. If you do not have access to coconut cream, you can use coconut milk in this recipe. They are not quite the same – coconut cream has a higher fat content – but coconut milk will work.
• Desiccated coconut: You can use desiccated coconut as is, or you can toast it. More on that below.

LIME CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

• Cream cheese: I recommend using a block or brick-style full fat cream cheese. If you don’t have access to this kind of cream cheese, you can use spreadable cream cheese. You just may need to reduce or omit the milk, as this type of cream cheese is less stable and more runny.
• Icing sugar: Or powdered sugar.
• Lime zest
• Fresh lime juice
• Full fat milk: Or whole milk.

how to make it

You will need an electric mixer to make this Coconut Loaf Cake, but the cake batter takes only minutes to come together. Here’s a snapshot of how to make it. Detailed instructions are included in the recipe card below:

1. Beat together butter, sugar and lime zest using an electric mixer on medium speed, until it’s pale, creamy and almost a little fluffy.
2. Add eggs, one at a time, and continue to mix on low speed.
3. Add flour, baking powder, salt, coconut milk and desiccated coconut and mix until combined. Batter will be thick and creamy.
4. Bake cake until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.

how to toast coconut

In addition to using coconut cream, we also add a handful of desiccated coconut in the cake batter for more coconut goodness. You can use it straight from the packet or you can lightly toast it first for extra coconut flavour. Both ways work! Here’s how to toast it:

1. Add desiccated coconut to a large shallow frying pan.
2. Place on medium heat, stirring occasionally, until coconut turns light golden brown.
3. Remove from heat immediately and let it cool completely before adding to your cake batter.

lime cream cheese frosting

The finishing touch to this beautiful Coconut Loaf Cake is a thick layer of cream cheese frosting. Trust me, it elevates this cake to the next level. It’s a super simple frosting to make – all you need to do is throw all the ingredients into a bowl and mix until smooth and creamy.

I recommend using a block or brick-style full fat cream cheese. If you don’t have access to it, you can use the spreadable kind but you may want to reduce or omit the milk so it’s not too runny.

Make it as you like it: if your frosting is too thick, add a little more lime juice or milk.

frequently asked questions

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Let’s Bake

Coconut Loaf Cake Recipe

Yield Serves 8–10 1x

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

4.8 from 4 reviews

Prep: 50 minutesCook: 70 minutesTotal: 2 hours

A buttery Coconut Pound Cake topped with cream cheese lime frosting.

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Ingredients

Coconut lime cake

• 230 grams (1 cup or 2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 200 grams (1 cup) caster sugar or granulated sugar
• Zest of 1 lime
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 280 grams (2 cups) plain flour or all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 120 ml (1/2 cup) full fat coconut cream, room temperature (see notes)
• 50 grams (1/2 cup) desiccated coconut, lightly toasted (see notes)

Lime cream cheese frosting

• 250 grams (1 and 1/4 cups) full fat block cream cheese, room temperature
• 2 level tablespoons icing sugar or powdered sugar, sifted
• Zest of 1 lime
• 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
• 1 tablespoon full fat or whole milk

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Instructions

1. Coconut lime cake
   Preheat oven to 170 C (340 F) standard / 150 C (300 F) fan-forced. Grease and line a 9 by 5 inch loaf pan with baking or parchment paper.
2. In a large mixing bowl, add butter, sugar and lime zest. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed until combined and then turn speed up to medium and beat for a further 1-2 minutes or until butter turns pale, creamy and almost fluffy.
3. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat briefly to combine – don’t worry if the mixture goes a little bit lumpy at this stage – then scrape down the sides of the bowl.
4. Add flour, baking powder, salt, coconut cream and desiccated coconut. Mix on a low speed until cake batter is smooth and creamy (but try not to over mix). It will be very thick.
5. Transfer cake batter to your prepared cake pan and smooth the top. Bake for approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. If your cake is very brown after 50-60 minutes, loosely cover the top with aluminium foil.
6. Leave cake to cool for 5 minutes, then gently remove cake from pan and place it on a wire rack to cool completely.
7. Lime cream cheese frosting
   In a large mixing bowl, add cream cheese, sugar, half of the lime zest (reserve the other half for decorating), lime juice and milk. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed for 2-3 minutes until smooth and creamy.
8. Generously frost the top of the cake. Sprinkle over remaining lime zest.

Notes

Butter: Creaming your butter and sugar correctly will result in a soft, buttery cake. You need to mix together your butter and sugar with an electric mixer, until the butter turns pale, light and fluffy. If your butter is soft to begin with, it won’t take long – just a few minutes on medium speed.

Coconut cream: I tested this recipe using full fat coconut cream, which can usually be found in the Asian aisle of your local supermarket. If you do not have access to coconut cream, you can use coconut milk in this recipe. They are not quite the same – coconut cream has a higher fat content – but coconut milk will work.

Desiccated coconut: You can use desiccated coconut as is, or you can lightly toasted it for a little more coconut flavour. To do this, simply place coconut in a flat-bottomed frying pan on medium heat. Stir occasionally until coconut turns a light golden brown. Leave to cool completely before adding to your cake batter.

Cream cheese: I recommend using a block or brick-style full fat cream cheese. If you don’t have access to it, you can use the spreadable kind but you may want to reduce or omit the milk as this type of cream cheese is less stable and more runny.

Cracking: Pound Cakes do generally crack – it’s normal don’t worry! The cake batter is very thick and dense, so it takes a long time to bake. The top of the cake cooks first, causing the remaining batter to rise up and burst through the crust as it bakes.

Dry cake: Make sure you don’t over-measure your flour – I highly recommend using gram measurements over cups – as too much flour will result in a dry cake. Same goes for the desiccated coconut. Try not to over-mix your cake batter and (perhaps the most important thing) don’t over-bake your cake.

Storage: Pound Cake is best eaten on the day it’s made, however it will keep well in an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 days. Once you add the cream cheese frosting, you can keep it in the fridge, but let it come back to room temperature before serving. Personally I recommend freezing any leftovers to maintain maximum freshness.

Nutrition Information

Serving Size: 1 slice Calories: 607 Sugar: 45.2 g Sodium: 168.3 mg Fat: 32.3 g Carbohydrates: 68.8 g Protein: 7.1 g Cholesterol: 130.7 mg

Nutrition information is a guide only.

Author: Jessica HolmesCategory: CakeCuisine: Australian

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