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!
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.)
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!
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.
Enjoy!
More Classic Cakes You Might Like:
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Coconut Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 2/3 cup canola oil or vegetable oil 80ml
- 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 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 344g
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 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
- 3/4 cup salted butter softened (170g)
- 9 Tablespoons shortening I use Crisco
- 1 1/2 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)
- 3/4 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
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!Nutrition
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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).
Jose says
i love anything with coconut, i was wondering if i can use cream of coconut instead of milk.
Sugar Spun Run says
Hi, Jose! I am not sure how the cream of coconut will do as it is a different consistency; it may alter the texture quite a bit. Coconut milk has the liquid consistency of cow’s milk and will probably be a better alternative. I have not tried either so if you do, please keep me posted on how it turns out. 🙂
Yvette says
Hi! I am wondering if I could incorporate using canned coconut milk in place of the sour cream in the cake portion of the recipe? If so, would the measurement differ? Thanks in advance! Love all of your recipes!
Sugar Spun Run says
Thank you so much, Yvette! I have not tried using coconut milk as a substitute in this recipe so I can not provide you with any personal recommendations. If you try it, I’d love to know how it turns out for you. 🙂
Renuka atthi says
What can I use instead of eggs?
Sugar Spun Run says
Hi, Renuka! Unfortunately, I have not tried making this recipe egg-free so I can not provide you with any personal recommendations. If you are looking for a cake that is egg-free, I just published a Crazy Cake that does not require butter, milk, or eggs that you could give a try instead. 🙂
Denis says
Hello Sam,
I am trying to find a recipe for coconut cake icing my Grandmother use to make. The icing was none of the normal white cake icings. It was an opaque slightly transparent icing. My guess is some type of melted sugar and egg whites. I am not really sure. She would mix the coconut into the icing and then spread it on the cake. When the icing set/dried it had a slight crust on the surface kind of like the crust on the dry glaze of a donut. Any help you could give me would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. Denis
Sam says
Hi Denis, I am going to ask my grandmother if she knows what you might be talking about. I am not familiar with this icing you are describing, unfortunately 🙁
If my grandmother has an idea I will certainly report back!
Denis says
Okay.
Thanks for your help.
Denis
Nancy says
Denis, about the icing your grandmother used to make…I have an old Rumford Complete Cookbook that was my grandmothers. There is a recipe for Boiled Frosting that sounds like what you describe. The orig copyright was 1908.
Boiled Frosting
1 Cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup hot water
1 egg white
1/6 level teaspoon cream of tartar
1 tsp flavoring
Boil the sugar and water together, without stirring, till they form a thread when a little is lifted from the pan; beat the white of the egg, add the cream of tartar and pour the hot syrup over them, beating while doing so. Add the flavoring and beat till thick enough to spread.
I hope that this might be what your grandmother used to make. I have never made it, so don’t know if it would get a dry glaze on top.
Carol Crowson says
This was the first time I made a coconut cake from scratch and it turned out so wonderful!! I loved the icing recipe and it just set the cake off. I promised my mom I would make a coconut cake for her over the holidays. She is 90 yrs. old and cooking is really hard for her now. Coconut cake was my dad’s favorite cake and mom made him one every December 21 which was his birthday. She would make it using a fresh coconut starting with it in the shell. Holidays bring many memories back for my whole family but especially my mom who celebrated anniversary and dad’s birthday a few days before Christmas. Thanks for sharing the recipe and helping me to make my mom’s wish for a coconut cake come true.
Sugar Spun Run says
What a sweet comment and I am happy that my recipe was able to bring back such sweet memories for your mom, Carol. Thank you for trying my recipe and for commenting. I am so glad that everyone enjoyed the cake. 🙂
Mable Oler says
Very good, thanks.
Sugar Spun Run says
I am so glad that you enjoyed the coconut cake, Mable! 🙂
Wayne says
Do u think it would it be possible to make this cake in a 9×13 pan???
Sugar Spun Run says
Hello, Wayne! Yes, it should be fine. The bake time will be different, so I recommend keeping an eye on it. I hope that you enjoy the cake. Let me know how it turns out. 🙂
Marina says
Love this cake it’s my favorite 🥰
Sam says
I’m so happy to hear it, Marina! Thank you for letting me know how you liked the coconut cake! 🙂
Michele Near says
I am a home baker and have found that you consistently have the best recipes I can find anywhere. I read cookbooks for pleasure but rarely find any baked goods that are as wonderful as yours. So, thank you! I had combined a few coconut cake recipes a few years ago but am always fine tuning. I am anxious to try this one! I often substitute coconut oil for the oil portion of the cake. Wondering your thoughts on that:) Is there any way to do that for the frosting? I don’t really use shortening anymore.
Sam says
Thank you so much for the kind comment, Michele! That really means a lot to me <3
I hope you love this coconut cake as much as you love the other recipes. I have not tried substituting coconut oil for the other oil and honestly am not very familiar with baking with coconut oil, so while in theory it sounds like it should work I am hesitant to advise for sure one way or another in the cake. If you try it would you please let me know how it works out for you?
I also haven't tried in the frosting but I feel like that should work and now want to try that out for myself!
Donna says
I have been baking since third grade. My first cake contest was an elephant shaped pink coconut cake by Betty C. Cookbook, and won 1st prize (the yr was 1976)
This cake was a true prize to find as an adult. I have been addicted to your baked goods recipes since I made your version of the Pineapple-Upside-Down cake, which is perfection!!! You won me over with the perfect vanilla cake!
It is rare to find a website regarding baking that is enjoyable, is knowledgeable, offers the most “fail-proof ” and delicious versions of sweets while being well worded and easy to follow. Your site offers it all and I am not easily impressed. Congratulations on your stellar recipes and beautifully executed website. All around success!!
Thank you for sharing it all, and blessings to and yours throughout the Holidays!
Sugar Spun Run says
Donna, your comment made my day, THANK YOU! I am so happy that you have had such great success with my recipes and that you find my site enjoyable. Thank you for your sweet comment. Happy Holidays to you! 🙂
CHERYL FERRARA says
Hi Sam,
This frosting is very similar to a cooked version my mom always made and I’ve used. ..so I think I’ll give it a go.
Question- do u think that the frosting can be made a day ahead? Making this for my grandson’s b’day- who LOVES coconut- but need to travel an hour with the cake. So thinking of taking cake and frosting separate to put together there.
Thanks!
Sugar Spun Run says
Hello, Cheryl! I think the icing will be fine if you made it a day ahead of time. I recommend storing it in an airtight container until ready to use. I hope that your grandson has a wonderful birthday and enjoys the coconut cake. 🙂
Elaine C. says
Old fashioned coconut cake
Where do you buy frozen coconut? . I just saw frozen avocado in with frozen fruits , but never coconut.
Thank you,
Elainw
Sam says
Hi Elaine! I’ve always been able to buy it in the frozen section near the other frozen fruits.
macrae says
for your cakes do you use cake pans like for example 9 x 2 or 9 x 1 inch cake pans,and same with the 8 inch pans for example 8 x 2 or 8 x 1 inch pans. Thanks.
Sam says
I always use a standard 2 inch tall cake pan. 🙂
Jessica says
I love this frosting! It is perfectly sweet and so simple to put together. But what would it be called? It’s not an ermine because the milk and flour aren’t cooked. Not quite a buttercream, but it sort of is. What IS it?!?!
Sam says
You know, I think my grandmother does have a name for it but it’s slipping my memory right now, I’m going to have to ask her and get back to you!
Jim says
That’s not a Seven Minute Frosting, is it?
I’m searching for the “completely from scratch” coconut cake my mother made.
She cracked open her own coconuts, poked holes in the cake with her finger and poured in coconut milk. I seem to remember she called it a seven minute frosting on her cake can anyone help me find my Mom’s recipe
Sam says
Hi Jim! Yes, this is a seven minute frosting. Enjoy 🙂
Jackie says
do you think I could substitute coconut extract for the vanilla in the cake? BTW I’ve tried both you vanilla cake and carrot cake and both were absolutely delicious, loved by everyone!
Sam says
You can definitely use coconut extract, BUT I wouldn’t substitute the whole amount. Coconut extract seems to me to be stronger than vanilla extract, so maybe I’d start with 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and just 1 – 1 1/2 teaspoon of coconut unless you’re looking for a very strong coconut flavor. I’m so glad you have enjoyed the other cakes, and hope that you love this one just as much!! 🙂