Old-Fashioned Coconut Cake

If you're a coconut lover, this old-fashioned coconut cake will steal your heart! It's a simple one-layer sheet cake that's soft, plush, and bursting with coconut flavor thanks to coconut milk and a splash of coconut extract. Topped with a fluffy coconut frosting and a generous sprinkle of toasted coconut, it's the nostalgic dessert that feels like it came straight from Grandma's kitchen-straightforward, unfussy, and irresistible.

We first made this coconut cake for an Easter party two years ago, and it turned out to be a massive hit! While we've made a coconut layer cake and coconut bundt cake, we had never made a simple one-layer coconut cake and wanted something simple and straightforward to serve at the party we were attending, but that was plush and had a distinct coconut taste.

This checked all of the boxes, and given everyone’s reactions, and multiple people approaching us to tell us it was a standby coconut cake they had ever had, we immediately made sure to jot down exactly how we made it so we could make it again and again!

A Speedy Overview

We adore the simplicity of this cake; A straightforward batter comes together and creates a wonderfully plush and fluffy cake. You’ll notice that there isn’t any shredded coconut in the actual batter; the coconut flavor comes from the coconut milk and coconut extract.

The frosting is a luscious coconut buttercream frosting made from butter, powdered sugar, coconut milk, and coconut extract. If you want to switch things up, you can make a coconut cream cheese frosting by preparing our cream cheese frosting and use 1 teaspoon coconut extract instead of the vanilla extract.

Gather Your Ingredients

In addition to the usuals like sugar, butter, eggs, and vanilla extract, here is what you’re going to need to make this rich cake:

• Cake Flour – Using cake flour gives this cake a light and tender crumb and keeps it wonderfully plush. You can substitute all-purpose flour if need be; the texture will be a little denser but it will work.
• Canned Coconut Milk – This should be unsweetened and make sure to give it a good shake before opening!
• Coconut Extract – This is found in most grocery stores’ baking sections.
• Powdered Sugar – Also known as confectioners’ sugar, we use this to make the frosting.
• Large Flake Coconut – we love the look of large flakes for garnishing the top of the cake, but you can use the more readily available sweetened shredded coconut if that’s all you have.

How to Make the Coconut Cake

This coconut cake recipe comes together easily:

Step 1: Prep the Pan and Dry Ingredients – Grease a 9×13-inch cake pan or baking dish and whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt in a medium bowl.

Step 2: Beat the Wet Ingredients – In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then add the egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla and coconut extracts, and mix to combine.

Step 3: Add the Dry Ingredients and Coconut Milk – On low speed, gradually add the flour mixture alternately with the coconut milk, beginning and ending with the flour, beating until just combined after each addition.

Step 4: Whip the Egg Whites and Fold Into Batter – In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites at medium-high speed until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter.

Step 5: Bake! – Pour the cake batter into the pan, smoothing the top if necessary. Baking until a toothpick comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.

Step 6: Frost and Garnish – Once the cake is completely cool, make the frosting by beating the butter until smooth and light, then adding the powdered sugar, coconut milk, and coconut extract. Mix on low until all of the powdered sugar has been incorporated, then increase to medium-high and whip for 2 minutes. Add a small amount more powdered sugar or coconut milk to achieve your desired consistency. Smooth onto the top of the cake and sprinkle with toasted coconut.

How to Toast Coconut

If you’ve never toasted coconut before, it’s incredibly straightforward! The most important part is to keep a close eye on it so it toasts but doesn’t burn.

You can do this in the oven, we prefer doing it on the stovetop, as it’s quicker and we can better watch how brown it’s getting.

Place the coconut in a large pan (we use our non-stick skillet for this) over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring frequently with a silicone spatula, until coconut is browned and toasted. Transfer the coconut to a clean plate to cool completely before using.

Storing and Freezing the Cake

This is a wonderfully plush cake that will keep well, covered tightly with plastic wrap, at room temperature for up to 3 days.

If you wish to freeze the cake, you have a couple of options. If you want to freeze the entire cake in advance of serving it, we would recommend freezing it before frosting it – cover tightly in plastic wrap and aluminum foil, then freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then frost and garnish with the toasted coconut.

If you want to freeze individual slices of frosted cake, wrap each well in plastic wrap, then place in a freezer-safe ziploc bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature.

Ingredients

For the Cake

• 3 cups ( 384 g ) cake flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup ( 227 g ) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1½ cups ( 297 g ) granulated sugar
• 4 eggs, separated
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon coconut extract
• 1¼ cups ( 301 g ) unsweetened coconut milk

For the Coconut Frosting

• 1 cup ( 227 g ) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 4 to 5 cups ( 454 to 568 g ) powdered sugar
• 4 tablespoons ( 60 g ) coconut milk
• 1 teaspoon coconut extract

To Garnish

• 1 cup ( 60 g ) large flake coconut, toasted

Method

1. Make the Cake: Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
3. In a stand mixer (or large bowl with hand mixer), beat butter and sugar at medium speed until fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add extracts, beating to combine. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with coconut milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture, beating just until combined after each addition.
4. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites at high speed until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing top if necessary. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.
5. Make the Frosting: With a handheld mixer or stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until smooth and light, about 3 minutes. Add 4½ cups of the powdered sugar, the coconut milk, and the coconut extract. Mix on low until all of the powdered sugar has been incorporated, then increase the speed to medium-high and beat for 2 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. If the frosting is too thin for your liking, beat in more powdered sugar 1 tablespoon at a time. Conversely, if you find the frosting too thick, you can beat in an additional 1 tablespoon of coconut milk to reach your desired consistency.
6. Spread the frosting over the cake, then top with the toasted coconut flakes.

Notes

Cake Flour - Using cake flour gives this cake a light and tender crumb and keeps it wonderfully plush. You can substitute all-purpose flour if need be; the texture will be a little denser but it will work.

Canned Coconut Milk - This should be unsweetened and make sure to give it a good shake before opening!

Coconut Extract - This is found in most grocery stores' baking sections.

Large Flake Coconut - we love the look of large flakes for garnishing the top of the cake, but you can use the more readily available sweetened shredded coconut if that's all you have.

Frosting – If you want to switch things up, you can make a coconut cream cheese frosting by preparing our cream cheese frosting and use 1 teaspoon coconut extract instead of the vanilla extract.

How To Toast Coconut – Place the coconut in a large pan (we use our non-stick skillet for this) over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring frequently with a silicone spatula, until coconut is browned and toasted. Transfer the coconut to a clean plate to cool completely before using.

Storage – Cover tightly with plastic wrap and store at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Freezing Whole Cake – we would recommend freezing it before frosting it - cover tightly in plastic wrap and aluminum foil, then freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then frost and garnish with the toasted coconut.

Freezing Individual Slices – Wrap each slice well in plastic wrap, then place in a freezer-safe ziploc bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature.

Photography by Dee Frances