Delight in this Coconut Cake recipe boasting a full on coconut flavor and luscious chocolate buttercream frosting that is like a Bounty bar in cake form. This easy-to-follow guide will show you how to create this delicious cake in the comfort of your own home to bake in only 30 minutes.
The light coconut milk cake with desiccated coconut and milk infusing the sponge-like texture all topped with a light American chocolate buttercream.
Table of Contents
Why you’ll love this
Moist and Fluffy Texture
This Coconut Cake recipe guarantees a moist and fluffy texture. The tender crumb and coconut-infused batter creates a delightful, light, and airy cake that is simply delightful.
Creamy Chocolate Frosting
This Coconut Cake is not complete without the creamy chocolate buttercream frosting. This recipe features a luscious frosting made with chocolate, butter, and powdered sugar. It adds the perfect balance of sweetness and richness, enhancing the coconut flavor in every bite.
Ingredients and substitutions for Coconut Cake
- Plain flour: Plain flour or all purpose is best to give the cake it’s light texture and nice crumb. You also don’t want to overwork the batter so you don’t end up with a firm cake texture.
- Butter: Unsalted butter is used here though salted could easily be substituted in place. Room temperature is essential to create a nice fluffy foundation and is essential to our nice frosting.
- Sugar: Superfine or caster sugar dissolves into our cake and add sweetness without additional flavors to the cake.
- Eggs: The eggs add structure and bind everything together and are the core to our cake.
- Desiccated coconut: Desiccated coconut is finer and adds a nice texture. You could substitute with shredded coconut, if you prefer.
- Coconut milk: This gives our cake a nice undertone of coconut flavor that works well alongside the desiccated coconut.
- Cocoa Powder: The star ingredient in the frosting, you’ll want a nice high quality cocoa powder for a truly chocolate packed flavor. It is not recommended substituting melted chocolate in equal measure here.
See recipe card for quantities.
How to make Coconut Cake:
Cream the butter and sugar: Cream those two until pale
1
Yolks a do: Add the yolks and combine.
Coconut time: Add the coconut milk and desiccated coconut and combine.
Dry ingredients: Sift into the coconut mixture and mix until just combined.
2
Whip those whites: Whip the egg whites until soft peaks form.
Fold in half: Add half the coconut cake to the egg whites and fold. Repeat until well combined.
3
Into the cake tin: Spoon the batter into the cake tin, smooth out the top and bake until golden.
4
Allow to cool: Remove the cake from the tin and set aside to cool fully.
Buttercream: Beat the sugar and butter in a bowl until pale.
Cocoa powder: Add the cocoa powder and stir to combine.
5
Buttercream topping: Spoon or pipe on top to the very edges, swooshing a little.
Serve: Slice, serve and enjoy!
Equipment needed to make this
Hand or stand mixer: To whip the cake batter into a nice and fluffy texture, it is best done with an electric beater, though this can be done by hand.
Mixing bowls: Two medium mixing bowl’s are perfect to mix your cake batter and that frosting.
Greaseproof paper: To line your cake tin, it will make things easiest to line the base with paper.
Square tin: A 18×18 cm or 7×7 inch square baking tin works well here, though a rectangle tin or round spring form tin that is 20 cm or 8 inches would also work.
FAQ's for the best Coconut Cake
While it's best to use coconut milk for an full coconut flavor, you can substitute it with regular milk, if needed. However, this may slightly alter the taste and texture of the cake.
When stored properly in an airtight container, this cake can stay fresh for up to 3-4 days at room temperature. However, if you want it to last longer, refrigerating it will extend its shelf life.
More coconut recipes you’ll love
Coconut Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 150 grams / 5.3 ounces butter room temperature
- 250 grams / 1 ¼ cups superfine/caster sugar
- 165 grams / 3 large eggs separated
- 200 milliliters / 1 cup - 2 tablespoons coconut milk
- 200 grams / 2 cups desiccated coconut
- 240 grams / 1 ½ cups plain flour
- 3 grams / ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 6 grams / 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
Frosting
- 370 grams / 3 cups + 3 tablespoons confectioner’s/icing sugar
- 73 grams / ⅔ cup cocoa powder
- 45 grams / 3 tablespoons hot water
- ¼ teaspoon sea or kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 180 grams / 6.3 ounces butter softened
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350F and greaseproof a large cake tin with butter and lightly sprinkle with flour to coat the inside of the tin.
- Place the butter and sugar into a bowl and beat on medium until pale and well combined, approximately 3 minutes.
- Add in one egg yolk and whip until well combined, a further 1 minute, repeat with each egg yolk until fully combined.
- Add the coconut milk and desiccated coconut, and beat until combined.
- Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into the bowl and beat on low until just combined.
- In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites until soft peaks form.
- Add half the cake batter to the whipped egg whites and gently fold the until it is a smooth mixture and fully incorporated, continue with the remaining coconut mixture until the cake is nicely combine and smooth.
- Spoon into the prepared cake tin and tap a few times to release any air bubbles.
- Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes until golden or a skewer comes out clean.
- Remove and allow to cool for 10 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack. Set aside to cool completely.
Frosting
- Place ⅓ of the confectioner’s sugar and cocoa powder into a bowl and stir together.
- Pour in the boiling water and stir together.
- Add the remaining sugar, salt, vanilla extract and butter and beat with an electric mixer on medium until fluffy and smooth.
- Spoon ?’s of the frosting onto the top of your cake and smooth out.
- Place the remaining ? of the frosting into a piping bag and pipe a border around the edge of your cake. You can alternatively smear the entire frosting over the cake.
- Top with a little sifted cocoa powder and sprinkle over.
- Slice up and serve.
- Dig in!
Notes
- Desiccated coconut: Desiccated coconut is finer and adds a nice texture. You could substitute with shredded coconut, if you prefer.
- Cocoa Powder: The star ingredient in the frosting, you’ll want a nice high quality cocoa powder for a truly chocolate packed flavor. It is not recommended substituting melted chocolate in equal measure here.
- You can replace the coconut milk with regular milk: While it's best to use coconut milk for an full coconut flavor, you can substitute it with regular milk, if needed. However, this may slightly alter the taste and texture of the cake.
- Square tin: A 18×18 cm or 7×7 inch square baking tin works well here, though a rectangle tin or round spring form tin that is 20 cm or 8 inches would also work.
- Keeping the cake: When stored properly in an airtight container, this cake can stay fresh for up to 3-4 days at room temperature. However, if you want it to last longer, refrigerating it will extend its shelf life.
Nutrition
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