A beautiful layered Lemon Coconut Cake complete with lemon coconut buttercream.
Ingredients
Lemon 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
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Zest of 2 large lemons, finely grated
- 230 grams unsalted butter, softened
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 240 ml (1 cup) full fat coconut cream, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 45 grams (3/4 cup) shredded coconut, toasted (see notes)
Lemon coconut buttercream
- 230 grams unsalted butter, softened
- 250 grams (2 cups) icing sugar or powdered sugar, sifted
- Zest of 2 large lemons, finely grated
- 2-3 tablespoons coconut cream, room temperature
- 45 grams (3/4 cup) shredded coconut, toasted (see notes)
Instructions
- Lemon coconut cake
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, salt and fresh grated lemon zest. 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. Pour in coconut cream and vanilla. Start to beat on low speed and then turn up to medium speed. Add toasted coconut. Mixture should be creamy and smooth.
- Divide cake batter between your two prepared pans. Bake for approximately 30-33 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Carefully transfer cakes to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Lemon buttercream
In a large mixing bowl, add butter, half the icing sugar and freshly grated lemon zest. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute or until just combined. - Add remaining icing sugar and 2 tablespoons of coconut cream and continue to beat on low speed.
- If the frosting it too thick, add an extra tablespoon of coconut cream. Turn mixer to medium-high and beat for another 1-2 minutes or until buttercream is pale, light and creamy.
- Spread half of the frosting on top of one cake layer, then carefully add the remaining cake layer on top. Cover top of the cake with the remaining frosting. Decorate with extra toasted coconut flakes.
Notes
Coconut cream: I tested this recipe using both coconut cream and coconut milk. I prefer coconut cream since it has a slightly higher fat content, but coconut milk works too. Be sure to shake the can before opening in case it’s separated.
Shredded coconut: For extra coconut flavour, I’ve added toasted shredded coconut into the cake batter. Desiccated coconut will work too if you prefer a shorter strand. Just choose an unsweetened coconut and I’ll show you how to freshly toast it below.
Toasting shredded coconut: Place a large shallow frying pan on medium heat. Add coconut and spread out into one even layer. Stir occasionally until coconut is light golden brown. Remove coconut from heat and let it cool completely before adding to your cake.
Reverse creaming method: By mixing together softened butter and the dry ingredients FIRST, you are coating the butter in flour, and essentially the flour in butter. This creates a barrier which slows down the development of gluten once you add the wet ingredients. In other words, it’s a more foolproof way of creating a soft, tender crumb. However, if you prefer the traditional creaming method, you can absolutely do that instead. See instructions below.
Traditional creaming method: If you prefer to make this cake using the traditional creaming method you can. Simply add softened butter and caster to a large mixing bowl. Beat together using an electric mixer on medium speed for 1 minute or until pale and creamy. Add vanilla and eggs and mix on medium speed until combined. Finally, add flour, baking powder, salt, milk and yogurt. Mix briefly until you have a thick and creamy cake batter. Then continue with the recipe above from step 6 onwards.
Cake size: This recipe will make two 8-inch round cakes, three 6-inch round cakes or one layer 9 by 13 inch sheet cake. Baking temperature and times will be around the same. Check all at the 30 minute mark.
Storage instructions: Unfrosted, you can keep this cover this cake in plastic wrap and store it at room temperature. If you are making it ahead of time (even one day in advance) I recommend freezing it to lock in the freshness. Simply defrost at room temperature to then frost and serve. Once frosted, store this cake in an airtight container at room temperature. You can also freeze leftover slices to enjoy at a later date. Defrost at room temperature to enjoy.
