• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • Recipes
  • About Me
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • Youtube
Sugar Spun Run
  • All Recipes
  • Desserts
    • Cookies
    • Candy
    • Bars & Brownies
    • Cake
    • Pies
  • Breads
  • Savory
  • Breakfast
    • Muffins
    • Scones
  • Seasonal
    • Cozy Winter / Holiday Treats
    • Easter / Spring
    • Fall Recipes
    • Summer Recipes
  • Shop
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Home
  • About Me
  • All Recipes
  • Contact/Work with Me
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • Youtube
  • ×
    You are here: Home / Desserts / Cake / Coconut Cake

    Coconut Cake

    November 18, 2019 Updated February 20, 2020 BySam 125 Comments

    This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure policy.
    Jump to Recipe Jump to Video Print Recipe
    Coconut cake slice on white plate

    An old-fashioned coconut cake recipe, made with a soft, 2-layer vanilla cake and iced with an old-fashioned frosting straight from my grandmother’s cookbook, and covered in sweet coconut shavings.

    A classic, staple cake recipe, file this one away with other favorites like my tried & true Pound Cake, Tres Leches Cake, and German Chocolate Cake!

    Slice of layered coconut cake on white plate on pink backdrop

    The Softest Coconut Cake

    Those of you who follow the blog regularly are familiar with a lot of my grandmother’s recipes. Maybe you’ve tried her hot milk cake, potato candy, or apple dumplings (to name just a few!). She also makes a killer Coconut Cake with a unique, silky white frosting. While she was just as happy to share that recipe with me as all of the others, I was a little surprised to learn that she actually doesn’t make her coconut cake from scratch.

    What! I had to double-check with her, but nope, my grandmother’s beloved, amazing coconut cake recipe actually starts with a box of yellow cake mix. The icing is from-scratch, yes, but not the base.

    While I still look forward to that cake when she has dinner, you know I couldn’t start a recipe with cake mix and feel good about myself. So, after years of testing cake recipes, I finally developed a super soft, super moist, sturdy and stable cake with a tender, melt-in-your-mouth crumb that works as the perfect base for this coconut cake recipe.

    (If it seems familiar to you, it’s because it first debuted as my gender reveal cupcakes.)

    "Ingredients

    How to assemble coconut cake: covering layers with frosting and shredded coconut

    Frosting

    So, the coconut cake portion might be my invention, but the crowning glory is still my grandmother’s frosting.

    This frosting is quite different from your standard buttercream or (my personal favorite) cream cheese frosting. It’s not the same as ermine frosting, though it is similar. This coconut cake frosting is made with shortening in addition to butter (which gives it that beautiful, stark white color), flour (I recommend heat treating your flour to be safe), and granulated sugar.  It requires being beaten for at least twelve minutes to ensure that all of the grittiness from the sugar has been dissolved.  It’s a light and delicate frosting with a very smooth texture that pairs perfectly with the coarse outside coating of shredded coconut.

    Quite simply, it is absolutely delicious.

    For those of you not completely convinced, I did include some other frosting options at the bottom of the recipe card below!

    Frosted and coconut-covered coconut cake on crystal platter

    How Do You Cover a Cake with Coconut?

    See my photo above or my video in the recipe below for a visual! Sprinkle your cake with coconut shreds first, and then take a large handful of shredded coconut in your hands. Press this coconut gently but firmly up the sides of your cake to press it into your frosting. Repeat until the cake is completely covered in shredded coconut.

    How Long is Coconut Cake Good For?

    This recipe will keep for several days in an airtight container at room temperature or up to a week in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Do store in an airtight container to keep the cake from drying out!

    Can You Freeze Coconut Cake?

    Absolutely! Be sure to cover completely and securely and your cake will keep in the freezer for several months.

    Slice of frosted coconut cake on a white plate with a forkful out of it to show soft interior

    Enjoy!

    More Classic Cakes You Might Like:

    • Hummingbird Cake
    • Angel Food Cake
    • Marble Cake
    • Pound Cake

    Let’s bake together! Follow me on my YouTube channel to be the first to see when I share new videos! I’ve already uploaded over 200 recipe videos that you can watch for free!

    Slice of coconut cake on white plate with bite taken

    Coconut Cake Recipe

    You'll LOVE this super soft and moist coconut cake! Made with a simple vanilla cake and covered in an old-fashioned frosting recipe handed down from my grandmother!
    Be sure to check out the how-to VIDEO below the recipe!
    4.84 from 24 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Cake, Dessert
    Cuisine: American
    Prep Time: 1 hour
    Cook Time: 30 minutes
    Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
    Servings: 12 slices
    Calories: 889kcal
    Author: Sam Merritt

    Ingredients

    • 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter softened to room temperature
    • ⅔ cup canola oil or vegetable oil (160ml)
    • 2 cup granulated sugar (400g)
    • 1 cup sour cream (240g)
    • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
    • ½ tsp coconut extract optional, if not using then use 1 Tbsp vanilla
    • 2 ¾ cup all-purpose flour (344g)
    • 1 teaspoon baking powder
    • ½ teaspoon baking soda
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • 6 large egg whites room temperature (½ cup or 122g), make sure there is not so much as a teeny tiny bit of yolk in with the egg whites or they will not whip properly.

    FROSTING

    • ¾ cup salted butter softened (170g)
    • 9 Tablespoons shortening I use Crisco
    • 1 ½ cups granulated sugar (300g)
    • 4 Tablespoons all-purpose flour because of recent risk of flour contamination, I recommend heat-treating your flour before using (make sure to let it cool completely before using
    • 1 cup coconut milk or you can use regular whole milk which is what my grandmother uses (235ml)
    • ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 18 oz frozen fresh shredded coconut thawed I’ve not had a lot of luck finding frozen coconut recently. You can substitute dried sweetened coconut, found in the baking section, instead. I usually only need about 3-4 cups and sometimes I will briefly pulse the shreds in the food processor to make them a little less stringy, though this is not required.

    Recommended Equipment

    • Stand Mixer
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and grease and flour the sides of two 8” cake pans (or spray with baking spray) and line the bottom with parchment paper.
    • In a large bowl (or in stand mixer), use an electric mixer to beat together butter, oil, and sugar. Beat until ingredients are creamy and well-combined.
    • Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and then stir in sour cream, vanilla extract, and coconut extract.
    • In a separate bowl, whisk together your flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
    • Using a spatula and stirring by hand (I don’t recommend using an electric mixer here as you can accidentally over-mix your ingredients, resulting in a dense, dry cake), stir the dry ingredients into the wet (butter/sugar mixture) until completely combined. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure that all of your ingredients are well-combined. Set aside.
    • In a separate clean, dry, and completely grease-free bowl, place your egg whites in a completely clean, dry, and grease-free bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat on high-speed until stiff peaks form.
    • Using a spatula, gently fold your egg whites into your batter. While you do not want to over-mix this batter, it is important that the egg whites are completely combined. Use a gentle hand and stir until you can’t see any streaks of egg whites in the batter.
    • Divide batter evenly into prepared cake pans.
    • Bake on 350F (175C) for 27-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean or with a few moist crumbs (no wet batter).
    • Allow cakes to cool completely before frosting.

    Frosting

    • Combine butter, shortening, and granulated sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat on medium-speed until creamy and well-combined.
    • Add flour, one Tablespoon at a time, beating on medium speed for 15 seconds after each addition. Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl and beat again for 20 seconds.
    • Add coconut milk and vanilla extract and stir to combine
    • Turn mixer speed up to medium-high and beat for 6 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and beat again at least another 6 minutes.
    • Test the frosting by tasting or rubbing between your fingers, it should not be gritty or grainy at all. If it still is, carefully scrape the sides and bottom of your mixing bowl again and stir again on high speed until no longer grainy.
    • Once your cakes are cool, ice them by placing one layer on your serving dish and applying an even layer of frosting to the top. Sprinkle liberally with shredded coconut.
    • Place your second layer on top of the first and apply an even layer of frosting around the top and sides of the cake. Sprinkle coconut over the top of the cake, and then use your hands to press coconut all around the sides.

    Notes

    A Note on the Frosting:

    For me, coconut cake just wouldn't be coconut cake without this old-fashioned frosting. However, I know it's not for everyone. This cake could also be covered with any of these frostings below, just make sure to cover with coconut shavings!
    • Cream Cheese Frosting
    • Vanilla Frosting
    • Swiss Meringue Buttercream
    • Chocolate Frosting (of course the cake won't have that pristine white appearance outside, but I love the chocolate/coconut pairing!).

    What To Do With Those Leftover Egg Yolks?

    Here are some great recipes that use a lot of egg yolks!
    • Pound Cake
    • Creme Brulee
    • Cream Puffs (with Pastry Cream)
    • Chocolate Pie

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1slice | Calories: 889kcal | Carbohydrates: 89g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 58g | Saturated Fat: 31g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g | Monounsaturated Fat: 14g | Cholesterol: 46mg | Sodium: 431mg | Potassium: 231mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 63g | Vitamin A: 12IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 28mg | Iron: 6mg

    Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.

    Tried this recipe? Show me on Instagram!Mention @SugarSpun_Sam or tag #sugarspunrun!

    Frosted coconut cake on crystal cake stand

    I originally published this recipe 04/25/2019. I have updated the cake portion of the recipe and photos and added a video 10/18/2019. One of the original photos can be seen above (on my great great great grandmother’s crystal cake stand).

     

    « Ten Top Pie Recipes
    Gingersnap Cookies (Crisp, Snappy Cookies!) »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Leo

      January 26, 2023 at 8:41 pm

      4 stars
      Hi Sam! Just want to say that the cake turned out so amazing! And, I was able to use 3-6″ round x 2″ cake pans, and they cooked in like a matter of minutes! I thought to myself that usually when cake batter is really thick, like this one, which I don’t really mind at all, I thought it would need longer to bake, but, I was wrong; boy was I wrong… It only took 35-40 minutes. That was awesome! In addition, I also tweaked the recipe a bit by adding 2 large egg yolks to the batter just to give a more of a yellowish tint, and it also made the final product a bit more fluffier and moister. So, thanks for sharing and your recipes are great and just what I expected in a coconut cake. And, I also toasted a cup of sweetened shredded coconut flakes and folded that into the batter to give it a more coconutty flavor. All I have to do now is allow it to completely cool down and frost it later. Haha, I can’t wair to try it.

      Reply
    2. Maureen

      August 14, 2022 at 11:07 pm

      5 stars
      Made this cake for a friends birthday last weekend. It was a huge hit! The frosting was amazing! Sam, I’m wondering if you’ve ever used this frosting on your vanilla or chocolate cupcakes? I was thinking of piping it onto cupcakes for a party next weekend but I’m not sure how it would hold up. Thoughts?? Thanks for another great recipe!

      Reply
      • Sam

        August 15, 2022 at 10:08 am

        Hi Maureen! I’m so glad you enjoyed the cake so much! The frosting is a softer frosting so I’m not sure it would hold up really well to piping on cupcakes. You could try my ermine frosting instead. It’s pretty similar but a bit more stable. 🙂

        Reply
    3. Carrie Welch

      May 02, 2022 at 11:37 am

      I have a customer wanting a coconut cake with a coconut pudding type filling. Do you have a recipe I could follow and maybe substitute flavoring to achieve that type of filling.

      Reply
      • Emily @ Sugar Spun Run

        May 03, 2022 at 9:58 am

        Hi Carrie! You could try substituting some of the vanilla extract for coconut in our pastry cream. Folding in some coconut flakes wouldn’t be a bad idea either! We’d recommend piping an icing dam to make sure the cream stays put when stacking though! Hope that helps 😊

        Reply
    4. Suzanne

      August 13, 2021 at 11:45 am

      Hello Sam, I am wondering… So, what about using coconut cream in place of some of the crisco (or combo of crisco/butter) in the icing? Have you tried anything like this? Do you think it could work and still have desired texture?

      Reply
      • Sam

        August 16, 2021 at 9:19 pm

        Hi Suzanne! I haven’t tried it and honestly I’m not familiar with using coconut cream. If you do try it I would love to know how it goes. I’m sorry I can’t be more helpful. 🙁

        Reply
    5. Maria Hancu

      June 17, 2021 at 12:05 pm

      5 stars
      Hi Sam! Thanks for the great recipe- I added pineapple curd as a filling for a pina-colada-style cake and everyone loved it!

      Reply
      • Sam

        June 17, 2021 at 12:38 pm

        That sounds so delicious, Maria! I am so glad everyone enjoyed it. 🙂

        Reply
      • Aisha

        November 08, 2021 at 6:56 pm

        Hi to my favourite site
        Just wanted to say you have the most amazing perfect recipe anyone can ever have.
        I will be making this coconut cake soon.I just want to know if we can moisten the layers of cake with sugar syrup or some evaporated milk to make it more moist and tastier.

        Reply
        • Sam

          November 08, 2021 at 9:05 pm

          Thank you so much, Aisha! This is a pretty moist cake but a simple syrup would work just fine on the top. I hope you love it! 🙂

        • Aisha

          November 09, 2021 at 1:17 am

          Also sam I wanted to know can u soak this cake like tres leches?Thanks again for your genius recipes.

        • Sam

          November 09, 2021 at 9:42 pm

          I would worry that soaking the cake would end up making it soggy.

      • Piper

        January 27, 2022 at 6:20 pm

        Hey Sam
        I was wondering if I can make it into cupcakes?
        Because everyone loves this recipe so much
        Lmk thank you

        Reply
        • Emily @ Sugar Spun Run

          January 28, 2022 at 10:07 am

          Hi Piper! We’re so happy you like this cake. Yes, you can definitely convert this recipe into cupcakes! Make sure to fill the liners no more than 3/4 of the way full, max. They’ll likely bake for around 17 minutes. Hope that helps! 🙂

    6. Lynne

      March 24, 2021 at 9:02 pm

      5 stars
      Wow! This coconut cake is so good. I love the icing as well. I used the egg yolks to make a custard filling. I mixed some of your icing and the custard. Definitely making this cake again!!

      Reply
      • Sam

        March 24, 2021 at 10:01 pm

        I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Lynne! 🙂

        Reply
      • Jennifer Voils

        December 16, 2021 at 5:52 am

        Sam,
        I want to divide this recipe into loaf pans for individual holiday gifts. Can you recommend # of pans (and size) that this recipe would yield and also any tips for altering the cook times? Thanks in advance!

        Reply
        • Emily @ Sugar Spun Run

          December 16, 2021 at 11:17 am

          Hi Jennifer! You can bake your cake in two 8×4″ loaf pans. We aren’t sure on bake time though (they’ll likely take longer than what is listed), so just keep an eye on them 😊

    7. Andres

      March 12, 2021 at 11:50 pm

      How many cups of cake batter does this make?

      Reply
      • Sam

        March 15, 2021 at 9:04 am

        About 8 cups of batter. 🙂

        Reply
        • CRISTINA CARDENAS

          April 04, 2021 at 1:29 am

          Hello thank you for this recipe. If I put the cake in the refrigerator over night will the cake be dense? I’m scared to leave it out with the frosting because the frosting contains milk. Please help.

        • Sam

          April 05, 2021 at 9:27 am

          Hi Cristina! If you want to refrigerate it I would just make sure it is covered so it won’t dry out. The refrigerator won’t make the cake dense.

    8. Blimey

      February 27, 2021 at 11:55 pm

      Has anyone tried this cake with Buttermilk instead of yogurt or Sour Cream? Does the Buttermilk work in this recipe?

      Reply
    « Older Comments

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    The author (Sam) in blue shirt holding donut Hi, I'm Sam! I'm dedicated to bringing you sweet, simple, and from-scratch dessert recipes. My life may or may not be controlled by my sweet tooth. Send help (or chocolate). Read more about me.

    Cozy Soup Recipes

    lasagna soup in white bowl

    Lasagna Soup

    Overhead of two bowls of corn chowder

    Summer Corn Chowder

    Bowl of turkey chili topped with sour cream, avocado, and shredded cheese.

    Turkey Chili (Great for leftover Turkey!)

    Two bowls of turkey chowder

    Turkey Chowder

    CHICKEN tortilla soup in white bowl

    Chicken Tortilla Soup

    Blue bowl of beef stew with chunks of beef, carrots, and potatoes.

    Beef Stew Recipe

    Most Popular

    flaky biscuit on white cloth

    Easy Homemade Biscuits

    Pizza dough in glass bowl, after rising

    The Best Pizza Dough Recipe

    one bite missing from a slice of vanilla cake with chocolate frosting

    The Best Vanilla Cake Recipe

    Slice of cheesecake

    The Best Cheesecake Recipe

    Stack of cookies made from this chocolate chip cookie recipe with melty chocolate chips and a bite missing from the top cookie

    The WORST Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

    Potato soup in bowl, with toppings

    The Ultimate Creamy Potato Soup

    places sugar spun run has been featured (Women's Day, Redbook, Good Housekeeping, Country Living, the huffington post, People, Delish, MSN, TLC, Parade, Better Homes & Gardens, Buzzfeed)
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • Youtube

    Privacy Policy|Accessibility Statement

    Footer

    Subscribe To My Newsletter!

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    ABOUT

    • About Me
    • Policies, Disclosure & Privacy
    • Terms of Use

    CONTACT

    • Contact
    • Work with Me!

    [widget id="simple-social-icons-3"]

    © 2020 Sugar Spun Run. All Rights Reserved

    • 231