Perfect for any occasion, this coconut cake is simple to make but looks impressive with its layers. It comes together in only a few simple steps, and it’ll quickly become your new favorite cake. Want another easy cake recipe? Try my strawberry cake recipe, red velvet cake recipe, and lemon cake recipe.
What You Need to Make This Recipe
Cake flour — for the most tender cake, cake flour is required. If you use regular all-purpose flour, the coconut cake’s texture will turn out different. Leavening agents — always double-check that your baking powder and baking soda are fresh and not expired to ensure light and tender cake layers. Butter — always use unsalted butter as salt is added to the batter. Be sure to bring the butter to room temperature. It needs to be soft enough so your finger leaves a dent when you press into it but not too soft that it is greasy. Egg whites — using just egg whites will leave your cake super soft and tender. Save your egg yolks for this homemade crème brûlée recipe! Milk — whole milk will give you the best flavor and add moisture to the cake. Shredded coconut — for the best flavor and texture, make sure to get the sweetened coconut flakes and not the unsweetened ones. Cream cheese — make sure you use full-fat blocks of cream cheese and not the version in a tub to make this frosting.
How to Make Coconut Cake
Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Add the butter, and with the paddle attachment on, mix for 1 minute or until the mixture is crumbly.
Add the egg whites, milk, vanilla, and coconut extract. Mix at low speed until the mixture is well combined. Then, increase the speed to medium and beat until fluffy.
Fold in the shredded coconut.
Divide the batter among three 9-inch round prepared cake pans and smooth out to the sides with a spatula. Bake for 30 minutes, rotating the pans after 15 minutes. Let the cakes cool in the pan for 20 minutes before cooling completely on a wire rack.
In the mixing bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, beat the butter until creamy and fluffy. Add the cream cheese, vanilla extract, coconut extract, and salt. Beat until well combined and fluffy. With the mixer on low, add the sugar 1 cup at a time, scraping down the bowl in-between.
Place one cake layer on a cake stand. Spread about 1 cup of frosting evenly over the top. Top with another cake layer and repeat with more frosting. Top with the remaining cake layer. Spread the remaining frosting all over the outside of the cake.
Press the coconut to the frosting all over the top and sides of the cake. Chill the coconut cake for 30 minutes for easy slicing.
Pro Tips for Making This Recipe
For the milk in this coconut cake recipe, you actually have a few options. You can use regular milk, canned coconut milk, or buttermilk. The buttermilk will give a lighter crumb, and the coconut milk will give a little extra coconut flavor, but regular milk will still result in a very delicious cake, so use what you have or prefer! If your extract is particularly strong, use less. Or, if you don’t like the flavor of coconut extract, you can leave it out altogether! Give the cake pans a few gentle taps on the counter to burst any air bubbles in the batter. It’s best to bring refrigerated ingredients, such as the eggs, milk, and butter, to room temperature before using them to prevent overmixing the batter. Overmixing the batter will lead to a tough coconut cake. Make sure you measure the flour correctly. Using a scale is the most accurate method of measuring flour and will prevent you from ending up with dense cake layers. If you don’t have a scale, fluff your flour with a spoon and spoon it into your cups before leveling it off with a knife. This method prevents you from overpacking the measuring cup. If the tops of the layers are domed, use a serrated knife to cut off the top of the domes, so they don’t topple over. For perfectly even layers, you can use cake strips. Cake strips work by keeping the outside edge of the pan cooler to ensure that the entire cake rises at the same rate, preventing a dome from forming in the middle. If you don’t want to purchase cake strips, see my guide on how to DIY cake strips.
How do I store the cake?
Cover leftover coconut cake tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Can I make this ahead of time?
You can make the entire cake ahead of time or components ahead of time and assemble the cake right before serving. The cake layers can be baked, cooled, and covered tightly with plastic wrap, then left at room temperature overnight, or frozen for up to 3 months. You can make the frosting a week ahead of time and store it in an airtight container for 1 week in the fridge.
How do I freeze this cake?
You can freeze the assembled coconut cake or individual slices. Wrap the cake or slices in a couple of layers of plastic before freezing for up to 3 months. Simply bring the cake or slice to room temperature before serving. If you’ve tried this Coconut Cake recipe, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
