Old-Fashioned Coconut Cake
I’ve finally found the best homemade coconut cake recipe. It doesn’t use white cake mix (with it’s sickly-sweet taste and gummy texture). It does use all-natural ingredients, with no artificial flavors or colors, so you can feel good about serving it to your family. And I found it to be an easy coconut cake recipe, once I worked out the right proportions.
Servings: 12 servings
Calories: 349kcal
Ingredients
- 2 2/3 cups Flour (370 g) 1/2 all-purpose, 1/2 cake flour
- 2 cups Sugar (432 g)
- 2 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 5 lg Egg Whites
- 1/2 cup Milk (118 ml)
- 1 tbsp Natural Coconut Extract See below if your store doesn't carry this.
- 1/2 cup Unsalted Butter, room temperature (57 g)
- 3/4 cup Unsweetened Coconut Milk, 15% fat content (177 ml) Use the canned, not boxed version. It must be at least 15% fat.
Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting and Whipped Filling
- 8 oz. Cream Cheese, room temperature
- 1/2 cup Butter, room temperature
- 4 cups Powdered Sugar (452 g)
- 1 tsp Natural Coconut Extract
- 10 oz Shredded Coconut sweetened or unsweetened
Filling between Layers
- 1 cup Frosting from above
- 1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour two 8 or 9-inch cake pans. (Lining with parchment can make removing the cakes easier, but I never have a problem in this dry climate. See how to create a cake pan liner here.)
- Whisk the egg whites, milk and coconut EXTRACT until frothy. (We will use these bubbles for the leavening to expand as the cake bakes). Set aside.
- In a mixer bowl, add the flours, sugar, baking powder and salt. Mix with a whisk. Add the butter and coconut MILK and mix on low with a paddle attachment until the flour is nicely coated and blended, then beat on medium for two minutes.
- Add the egg white mixture in a few additions, mixing just until incorporated.
- Pour the thick batter into the prepared pans. I use a small postal scale to weigh them out so that I divide it evenly. Bake for 36 to 40 minutes, then test with a toothpick to see if it comes out clean. Add two minutes more if it comes out wet.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for about 10 minutes, then remove from pans and cool completely on a rack.
- While the cakes are cooling, use the warm oven to toast your coconut (optional). Simply sprinkle the coconut on a cookie sheet in a thin layer and set it in the oven at 350 F for about two minutes. Stir the flakes and watch them for another minute or so. When they’ve toasted to golden, remove and cool.
Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting and Whipped Filling
- Cream together the cream cheese and butter. Add the coconut flavor. Then add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time. I cover my mixer with a very light tea towel to avoid sugar powder spreading all over the kitchen! Once it’s smooth, add a tablespoon of the coconut milk or regular milk to achieve a spreadable consistency (I didn’t have to add any).
- For the filling, simply whip 1 cup of heavy whipping cream until medium peaks form, then gently blend in 1 cup of the cream cheese icing.
Assembly
- I divided my cake layers into four pieces, using a cake leveler. I used the whipped cream between each layer, then iced the outside of the cake with the cream cheese frosting. Lastly, I sprinkled the toasted coconut, using my palm to “bounce” the flakes onto the sides of the cake.
Notes
I divided my cake layers into four pieces, using a cake leveler. I used the whipped cream between each layer, then iced the outside of the cake with the cream cheese frosting. Lastly, I sprinkled the toasted coconut, using my palm to “bounce” the flakes onto the sides of the cake.