Easy Coconut Cake

About This Easy Coconut Cake Recipe

This easy coconut cake comes together in just 5 minutes, using two bowls and a whisk. That’s right! You don’t need a stand mixer to make the cake batter (although you will need one for the frosting). The cake is made in an 8-inch square pan and contains shredded coconut AND coconut milk to make it extra flavorful. The cake is then topped filled with lemon curd and topped with a silky, creamy American coconut buttercream frosting.

Why You Should Make The Recipe

Here are all the reasons to make this easy coconut cake recipe:

The recipe comes together quickly.

The cake batter comes together in just 10 minutes, with just two bowls and a whisk and/or rubber spatula. No stand mixer required! Simply whisk together the dry ingredients, then the wet ingredients. Then, combine everything together. That’s it!

The cake stores well.

Because of both coconut milk AND coconut oil in the batter, the cake contains a lot of moisture. That means it stays fresh and moist for days! In fact, I think that the cake even tastes better the day after it’s made. Why? The coconut flavors become more pronounced and obvious!

Ingredients and Substitutions

Now that I’ve convinced you to make this coconut cake, here’s everything you need to make the recipe:

Shopping List For Easy Coconut Cake

• all-purpose flour
• unsweetened shredded coconut
• baking powder
• baking soda
• kosher salt
• large eggs
• granulated sugar
• canned coconut milk
• coconut oil
• lemon curd
• confectioners’ sugar
• unsalted butter

And let’s talk about some key ingredients and potential substitutions:

Canned Coconut Milk

You need ¾ cup canned coconut milk to make the cake batter, plus another 1 to 2 Tablespoons to make the cake’s frosting.

What is coconut milk?

Coconut milk is made by pureeing shredded coconut flesh with water. The puree is then strained multiple times to create the rich and thick coconut milk.

That being said, there are many types of coconut milk available in grocery stores. You can buy shelf-stable coconut milk in cans, or perishable coconut milk in cartons in the refrigerated aisle. For baking and cooking, it’s best to stick with canned coconut milk—that’s usually what recipes mean when they call for “coconut milk”.

Where to buy canned coconut milk

Canned coconut milk is now available in most major grocery stores in the United States. Canned coconut milk is typically found in the “Asian” aisle. However, “fancier” grocery stores like Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods even offer their own generic versions of coconut milk! Look for them in either the baking or canned goods aisle.

What’s the best canned coconut milk?

While you can probably get away with using any brand of canned coconut milk you have on hand, it’s true. Not all canned coconut milks are created equal. Why? Some manufacturers add sweeteners and stabilizers to thicken the coconut milk and skimp on the real stuff. A quality can of coconut milk should o have only two ingredients (coconut and water), with have a layer of solid white stuff when unshaken. This layer is the “coconut cream” and naturally occurs as the fat and protein in the coconut milk separate from the water.

So what’s the best canned coconut milk? My personal favorite is Arroy-D coconut milk. But I highly encourage you to try different brands and figure out which you like best. 

Can I use fresh coconut milk instead?

Sure, go for it! Especially if you live in a place like the Philippines where fresh coconut milk is cheap, abundant, and easy to get.

Is coconut cream the same as coconut milk? Can I use coconut cream instead of coconut milk instead?

No, coconut cream is NOT the same as coconut milk. Remember when I mentioned earlier that coconut milk separates into two layers of coconut cream and coconut water? A can of coconut cream is literally just a can full of that layer of white stuff!

Because coconut cream is a lot thicker and contains less water than coconut milk, you cannot easily substitute it for the coconut milk in this recipe. Doing so may result in a cake that might sink in the middle! Let’s avoid that, please.

What’s the difference between coconut water and coconut milk? Can I use coconut water instead?

Coconut water is coconut milk that’s been separated from the coconut cream. All that’s left is the water, which tastes slightly fatty and coconutty. While it’s delicious to drink on its own (in fact, it’s my post-workout drink of choice—I’m looking at you, Harmless Harvest!), do not use coconut water in this recipe.

Because coconut water lacks the fat and protein of coconut cream, it’s likely that using it in this recipe will result in a cake that has a hard time setting and holding its shape. Again, you may end up with a cake that sinks in the middle.

How To Make Easy Coconut Cake

Here are the basic steps to make coconut cake from scratch:

1. Prep the ingredients. (Prep Time: 10 minutes)
   
   
2. Make the coconut cake batter. (Work Time: 5 minutes)
   The cake comes together very quickly with just a bowl, whisk, and a spatula. No stand mixer required!
   
   
3. Bake the coconut cake. (Bake Time: 30 minutes)
   
   
4. Fill the coconut cake with lemon curd. (Work Time: 5 minutes)
   You can use as much or as little lemon curd as you like. If you were sparing with your holes, I recommend using more curd. If you were generous with them, I recommend doing tiny dollops of curd.
   
   
5. Make the coconut frosting. (Work Time: 5 minutes)
   Wait for the cake to cool completely, then make the frosting and frost it. If you frost the cake when it’s still warm, the frosting will melt!
   
   
6. Frost the cake. (Work Time: 5 minutes)

Customizing The Recipe

Here are the different ways you can customize this coconut cake with different flavors and techniques:

• Use toasted coconut and different flavored curds, jams, and jellies. Customize its flavors by using toasted coconut instead of regular coconut, and different flavored fruit curds and jams and jellies for the lemon curd. And of course, you can always use homemade versions of curd and jam!
  
  
• Make it extra zesty. If you want to make the cake extra citrusy, you can zest one lemon or lime over the sugar. Use your hands to rub the zest into the sugar—this will help release oils from the zest, making the sugar extra flavorful! Use the zested sugar in the recipe as instructed.
  
  
• Use different pan sizes:
  
  • You can bake the cake as is in a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan instead. Bake Time will increase to 45 to 50 minutes. You probably won’t need as much frosting if you go the loaf cake route. I would halve the frosting recipe, or even make a coconut glaze instead by whisking together 1 cup confectioners’ sugar and 1 to 2 Tablespoons of coconut milk!
    
    
  • You can double the recipe and bake the batter in two 8- OR 9-inch round cake pan to make a simple layer cake. Bake Time shouldn’t change that much, but I would test for doneness a few minutes earlier at 28 minutes instead of 30. A instead of poking holes in the cake and filling them with the curd, you can use it as a filling between the two layers! You’ll need more lemon curd though. Depending on how zesty you like your cake, I’d estimate needing ¼ cup to ⅓ cup of lemon curd.

More Simple Cake Recipes on Hummingbird High

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• Chocolate Strawberry Snack Cake
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• Traditional Filipino Cassava Cake