Coconut Cake

Moist, fluffy, and soft, this Coconut Cake recipe has the perfect amount of sweetness all topped with coconut cream cheese frosting.

Course Cake, Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword Coconut Cake, Coconut Cake Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Servings servings

Calories 857kcal

Author Lauren's Latest

Ingredients

For the Coconut Cake

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cups buttermilk
1 tablespoon real vanilla extract
1/2 cup salted butter softened
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 cups granulated sugar
2 whole large eggs
2 whole egg whites
1 cup sweetened, shredded desiccated coconut plus more for decoration

For the Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting

1 cup salted butter very soft but not melted
16 oz cream cheese at room temperature
2 pounds powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons coconut extract

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

For the Coconut Cake

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line baking pan with parchment paper and/or spray well with nonstick cooking spray and set aside. (See notes)
In a large bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together to combine. Set aside.
In a liquid measuring cup, stir buttermilk and vanilla together. Set aside.
In a separate large bowl, mix butter, oil, and sugar together until combined. Mix in eggs and egg whites, one at a time, until the mixture becomes very light and fluffy. This process should take at least 3 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix again briefly.
Alternate adding in flour mixture with buttermilk mixture, being sure to start and end with flour. Scrape the sides and mix again to ensure a smooth batter. Fold in coconut by hand. Divide evenly between baking pans and smooth the top. Bake 30-40 minutes in the lower two thirds of the oven. The cake will be done when a toothpick comes out clean or mostly clean with a few moist crumbs.
Cool 15-20 minutes in cake pans before trying to invert on cooling racks. Cool completely before frosting and decorating.

For the Frosting

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and cream cheese together with the paddle attachment until smooth. Scrape sides and mix again.
Add in powdered sugar with the extracts and mix very slowly until it starts to come together. Once the powdered sugar has worked in, increase the mixer speed and whip until completely smooth, about 1 minute. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure a completely smooth frosting. Stir again if needed.

For assembly

Using a bread knife, slice each completely cooled cake in half lengthwise to get four even layers.
Place one layer down on a cake stand and top with 3/4-1 cup of frosting. Spread evenly, pushing the frosting out towards the edges. Continue stacking the layers of cake with frosting together until all four layers are stacked up together with frosting in between.
With remaining frosting, complete frosting the cake. I like to add large dollops of frosting to the top and spread across to cover and then push excess down the sides. It's easier to pull frosting off with an offset spatula...less crumbs that way!
Once the cake is frosted, coat entirely with coconut, about 2 cups. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Notes

Recipe will make:

1- 9x13 cake (bake for 30-45 minutes)
2- 8 or 9-inch round cakes (30-40 minutes)
24 cupcakes (bake for 18-20 minutes)

Regardless of how you bake this cake recipe, be sure to use lighter-colored baking pans (or glass). Using a darker pan will give you darker, crispier edges that don't really have a place in coconut cake, in my humble opinion.

Nutrition