“Who in the world likes to eat Coconut Cake?”
I’m not gonna lie, before I decided to make this coconut cake recipe I said to myself:
It’s terribly sweet and even I am not sure I want all that dang coconut in one bite!
UPDATE: I ATE THE WHOLE PIECE and still wanted more.
The Classic Coconut Layer Cake with just two simple recipes you can have this rustic yet elegant cake
By adding shredded coconut to the cake batter I have transformed my white cake recipe into something completely new and awesome!
This cake is not too sweet at all!
And I even used sweetened flake coconut for the outside coating!
Of course you can opt for unsweetened coconut in both the cake and the batter for a less sweet version
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Notes for Success:
7″ Cake Pans for a classic 3 layer cake is typically my choice
But by baking all the batter into a 9″ x 13″ cake pan you can have one single sheet cake layer of Coconut Cake!
When measuring cornstarch I cannot stress enough that a kitchen scale is the best way to go.
Cornstarch is a very difficult ingredient to measure consistently with a volume spoons measure
So while I list both measures below I cannot stress enough how the grams measure with a scale is going to give you the best results.
A heavy hand in measuring cornstarch could result in a dry cake.
I am using aquafaba as the egg replacer here
But you can use your favorite egg replacer instead in the amount of 2 eggs
Be sure to turn the oven temperature down to 300°F as noted below in the recipes
Or you could have a dry over baked cake before the center is even baked through
For the most coconut flavor in this cake, coconut milk is the plant milk of choice
Specifically Drinkable Coconut milk NOT canned coconut milk which has an obscene amount of fat
And will throw off the balance of fat in this recipe, although any plant milk will work just fine here
Surprisingly the sweetened flake coconut was not a bad idea here
I thought the cake would be too sweet but it was perfect!
Of course it is your option to use unsweetened if you prefer
Classic Coconut Layer Cake
Be sure to read the Notes for Success section in the text of the article above this recipe!
This recipe is for 2-8" cake layers or 3-7" layers
Ingredients
- Vegan Butter 8 tablespoons (113g)
- Coconut Oil 8 Tablespoons (113g)
- Granulated Sugar 1½ cup (300g)
- Plant Milk 1 cup (237ml)
- Coconut Extract 2 teaspoons (10ml)
- All Purpose Flour 5 Tablespoons (40g)
- Cake Flour 3 cups (360g)
- Baking Powder 3½ teaspoons
- Salt ¾ teaspoon
- Cornstarch 1 Tablespoon (8g)
- Aquafaba ¾ cup (177ml)
- Shredded Flakes Coconut * sweetened or unsweetened your option 1½ cups
for the icing
- 1 recipe your favorite buttercream
- 2 teaspoons coconut extract
for the garnish
- 2 cups shredded coconut
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and grease & parchment line your cake pan(s)
- Combine the softened vegan butter with the granulated sugar and mix on high speed with the paddle attachment for 2 minutes until light and fluffy, then add the coconut oil and mix for another 2 minutes.
- Be sure to scrape the bottom & sides of the bowl from time to time.
- Combine the extract and plant milk set it aside.
- Combine the aquafaba with the cornstarch and whisk together so there are no lumps, it will get slightly frothy too, this is good.
- Once the butter mixture is creamed, add the aquafaba/cornstarch to it and change the attachment to the whisk attachment, whip on high speed to emulsify & the mixture will get very silky and smooth
- Meanwhile sift the flour with the salt and baking powder and add 1/3 of that to the creamed mixture, blend just until combined then add half of the plant milk
- Blend just until combined then add another 1/3 of the dry ingredients and then the remaining liquid and last the remaining dry ingredients.
- Be sure to scrape the sides & bottom of the bowl and whip it on high for 10 seconds to blend well
- Add the coconut and mix to combine.
- Divide the batter evenly between your pans and bake immediately in the preheated oven that has been set to 350°F
- After the first 10 minutes lower the temperature to 300° and bake for another 20-25 minutes or when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean
- The total bake time should be about 25-35 minutes
- Cool in the pans and the turn them out onto a cooling rack to cool completely
- Meanwhile prepare the buttercream icing of your choice and add the coconut extract at the last stage of mixing
- Assemble the cake with the coconut buttercream filling & icing then add flaked coconut all over the cake for garnish or decorate as you wish
Notes
Coconut Cake is best served at room temperature and can be stored at room temperature in a cool area for up to 3 days.
For longer storage keep refrigerated for up to 1 week wrapped to prevent drying
Bring to room temperature before serving by leaving the cake out on the counter for at least 1 hour before serving.
How do I. Hangs it for only two layers? Is it a straight 2/3 of the recipe fir cake and frosting?
Oops, how do I “change” it for only two layers? Siri!!!
Yes you would have to do some math- HOWEVER I usually recommend to just make the whole recipe as it is written, there is too much room for error when converting recipes to weird amounts, specifically with small measures like baking powder and baking soda etc…. it’s just better to make the whole recipe and then just bake some cupcakes with the extra batter
Would this work without coconut extract? I’ve had bad experience with it, it always tastes like perfume
Hi, when you use all purpose flour is it plain or self raising? (Asking from the UK) thanks xx
Hi Sam, I never use self raising flour, I actually wrote a whole article about it!
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO!
🙂
Can the sponge be frozen if wrapped well to use at a later date?
yes
Hey, Gretchen, do you keep the whisk attachment on when adding the dry ingredients and coconut?
HI Martha, I’m sorry for the late reply, I seem to NOT be getting notifications on comments lately.
But yes you can keep the whisk on throughout
What is the coconut milk here? I still tend to think of coconut milk in a can if all I hear is coconut milk (like you would use in a curry), but if any plant milk can be substituted, perhaps it’s the thinner, drinkable coconut milk in the dairy case or shelf-stable paper containers. I can imagine it would make a big difference in the bake to guess wrong.
Ah yes excellent! Very good point I will update this post! Since canned coconut milk is extremely high in fat, you are correct it WOULD make a big difference! I am using coconut milk (in a carton) and yes any plant milk will do fine here.
If I was to bake it as a 9×13 sheet cake. Would baking instructions be the same?