Southern coconut cake made with toasted coconut and coconut cream cheese frosting!
This southern coconut cake is full of delicious coconut flavor thanks to toasted coconut, buttermilk and a dash of extract. It pairs perfectly with coconut cream cheese frosting!
I recently went on a trip to Memphis, TN with some of my favorite bloggers with the pure intention to eat our way through the city. Every single day was planned around where we were going to eat.
Now, of course, I had my share of some amazing Memphis style BBQ from Central BBQ. Some epic fried pickles from BB Kings, and the most amazing fried chicken I have ever had from Gus’s Famous Fried Chicken.
But there was one place that REALLY stood out for me and that was the Commissary BBQ in Germantown. This was a good 20-minute drive from our air BnB on Main street but boy was it worth it!
This place is KNOWN for its cakes and pies so we did the logical thing and ordered one of each.
To my great surprise, I fell in love with the coconut cake! Previously I always paired my coconut cake with regular buttercream but this cake was covered in a sweet cream cheese frosting and more coconut on the outside.
This cake was moist, not too sweet and just delicious! We were all fighting over the last bite!
I was inspired to adapt my old coconut cake recipe to this one so I can have this delicious southern coconut cake whenever I want!
Start by toasting your coconut flakes
To make my coconut cake, start by toasting your coconut first. It’s easy to burn so do this before you do anything else!
- Spread your coconut flakes evenly on a baking sheet.
- Bake 3 minutes in the oven at 350ºF and then stir. The edges always brown faster!
- Another 1-2 minutes should do it. I don’t like to make mine TOO brown, just enough to crisp the coconut up. Toasting coconut brings out the flavor of the coconut and actually has a better mouthfeel and adds a deeper coconut flavor to the cake.
How to make the coconut cake batter
Now you can make your cake batter. Make sure you’re cold ingredients (milk, butter, eggs) are all softened to room temp or even a little warm to prevent the batter from curdling.
- Whisk together your flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set aside.
- Whisk together your buttermilk, coconut and vanilla extract and set aside
- Cream the softened butter until smooth, then sprinkle in your sugar and then the oil. Whip on high until light and fluffy. It should look white.
- Add in your egg yolks one at a time, letting each combine fully before adding the next.
- Add in 1/3 of your dry ingredients mixture, then 1/2 of the liquids, then dry, then liquid, ending with the last bit of dry. Mix only until combined. Do not over-mix.
How to fold the meringue into the cake batter
After your batter is made, you can whip up your egg whites to firm but moist peaks. This meringue is going to add some extra lift and fluffiness to our coconut cake. Make sure you don’t over-whip the egg whites. If they look dry and crumbly, you’ve gone too far.
- Add about 1/3 of the whites to the batter and fold it in gently by moving your spatula around the outside edge of the bowl, between the batter and the egg whites.
- Lift the cake batter from the bottom and fold it over onto itself. This is how you fold.
- Rotate the bowl a quarter turn after each fold.
- Add in the rest of your meringue and continue folding until just combined. Do not over-mix.
- Fold in your toasted coconut and divide into three 8″ cake pans prepared with cake goop or another preferred pan release.
Now bake your cakes at 350ºF for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely before frosting
How to make a coconut layer cake
If you need more info on how to make a layer cake, I highly suggest my video on how to make your first cake.
- Torte (cut in half length-wise) if desired.
- Spread about 1/4″ frosting on top of your cake layer
- Repeat with remaining layers.
- Frost entire cake with a thin layer of frosting and freeze or chill 15 minutes.
- Finish cake with a final coat of frosting. I used a bench scraper to make the sides straight and spoon to add a nice swirl to the top of the cake.
- Coat the sides of the coconut cake with fresh coconut flakes (I preferred not to toast them for the outside of the cake).
A good recipe for coconut cupcakes?
This recipe works great for cupcakes and is very light! This recipe makes approximately 24 cupcakes. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes until set in the middle. It can be easy to burn these cupcakes because of the sugar content so watch them closely. If they are over-baked they can taste dry.
Best filling for coconut cake?
The best thing about coconut cake is that it pairs with SO many different flavors. The traditional filling for coconut cake is something light and creamy like this coconut cream cheese frosting.
If you’re feeling extra adventurous you can fill your coconut cake with some coconut custard which is basically like a pudding, lemon curd or even raspberry filling.
Cake Batter and Frosting Calculator
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Cups of Batter Needed
8 cups
Cups of Frosting Needed
5 cups
Note: measurements are estimated based off the vanilla cake recipe using standard US cake pans and sizes. Measurements used are for 2" tall cake pans only. Your results may vary. Do not overfill cake pans above manufacturer's recommended guidelines.
Southern Coconut Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Coconut Cake Ingredients
- 11 oz (312 g) AP flour (all purpose)
- 1 tsp (1 teaspoon) baking powder
- 1/2 tsp (1/2 tsp) baking soda
- 1/2 tsp (1/2 tsp) salt
- 4 oz (114 g) unsalted butter room temperature
- 14 oz (397 g) granulated sugar
- 4 oz (113 g) vegetable oil
- 5 large (5 large) egg yolks room temperature
- 5 large (5 large) egg whites room temperature
- 1/4 tsp (1/4 teaspoon) cream of tartar
- 1 tsp (1 tsp) vanilla extract
- 2 tsp (2 teaspoon) coconut extract
- 8 oz (227 g) buttermilk room temperature
- 6 oz (170 g) sweetened flaked coconut toasted until lightly browned
- 1 oz (28 g) sweetened flaked coconut toasted (for garnish)
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 16 ounces (454 g) cream cheese cut into cubes and softened
- 8 ounces (227 g) unsalted butter softened
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) coconut extract
- 1/2 teaspoon (1/2 teaspoon) salt
- 36 ounces (1020 g) powdered sugar sifted
Equipment
- Stand mixer with whisk and paddle attachment
Instructions
Coconut Cake Instructions
- NOTE: It is SUPER IMPORTANT that all the room temperature ingredients listed above are room temperature and not cold so that the ingredients mix and incorporate correctly.
- Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat to 350ºF/176ºC. Prepare three 8"x2" round cake pans with cake goop or another preferred pan release.
- Spread your coconut flakes evenly onto a cookie sheet pan and bake for 2-3 minutes or until they JUST start to turn brown around the edges. Stir the coconut and bake for 1-2 minutes more until lightly golden. Watch closely or it could burn. Remove from the oven and let cool.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Add the oil, coconut extract and vanilla extracts to your buttermilk
- Place egg whites in a mixing bowl with the whip attachment. Whip on med-high. Add in cream of tartar. Whip until firm but moist peaks form. Set aside
- Add butter to stand mixer with the paddle attachment and beat at medium-high speed until smooth and shiny, about 30 seconds. Gradually sprinkle in the sugar, beat until mixture is fluffy and almost white, about 3-5 minutes.
- Add egg yolks, one at a time to the mixture, beating well after each until combined.
- With the mixer at the lowest speed, add about a third of the dry ingredients to the batter, followed immediately by about a third of the milk, mix until ingredients are almost incorporated into the batter. Repeat the process 2 more times. When the batter appears blended, stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
- Fold in your whipped egg whites and toasted coconut gently.
- Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Smooth the tops with a rubber spatula. Bake cakes until they feel firm in the center and a toothpick comes out clean or with just a few crumbs on it, about 25-30 minutes.
- Transfer pans to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes. Invert cakes onto the rack and pop cakes out of pans. Cool completely before frosting.
Cream cheese frosting
- Place softened butter in the bowl of your stand mixer with whisk attachment and cream on low until smooth. Or you can use a hand mixer!
- Place softened cream cheese in the bowl with butter in small chunks and blend on low until smooth and combined
- Add in sifted powdered sugar one cup at a time until combined
- Add your coconut extract and salt, blend on low until smooth
- Scrape the mixture into a bowl and whisk in coconut and vanilla extract. Whisk to combine. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold, at least 2 hours.
Notes
Cake flour sources: UK - Shipton Mills Cake & Pastry Flour
Nutrition
Hi LIz !!! Blessings to you yo urban Family.
Im Making This cake this week and I’m very excited!!!! I love all your recipes i have made a few of them I’m very thankful Liz you are AMAZING 😉 Thank you so much for sharing with me this delicious Coconut Cake ❤️❣️♥️
** I have a question can I doble or triple this recipe to make it in a sheet cake? Thank you again
For a 1/4 sheet cake you do not need to do anything, for a half sheet cake you would triple the recipe
Love this recipe but I would like to make enough servings for 30 people ????
You would have to use larger cake pans, probably 9″.
Wow so good!!! I’ve tried ina garten ‘s and some others… but this is the best! So moist and holds great in fridge. Because of cream cheese in frosting, I can eat it right out of the fridge and it’s still soft and delicious!!!
This cake is absolutely incredible! Thank you very much for sharing your special brand of genius with the world!
I just made it for Father’s Day 2020. It made two full 9” rounds plus a few cupcakes. Do you have any idea what happened to one of the cupcakes? You guessed it…..baker’s treat! Yummy!
I’m really surprised that some people found the amount of frosting to be insufficient. I iced the cake and cupcakes very generously and had some leftover. I put it in the freezer, hoping it holds up. I wasn’t about to waste a drop of this deliciousness!
Thanks, again!!
Hi Liz, I made this cake yesterday and it was a load of deliciousness. Thank you for always sharing
I don’t know what I did or didn’t do. When I whipped the egg whites, there was liquid at the bottom. I just kind of poured it out the best I could and kept on.
I hope it turns out. I just put it in the Oven! 🤪
Recipe looks great. I would like to make 3 6″ cakes. Should I half the recipe? Thanks in advance!
You can use the cake and frosting calculator to adjust the amount of batter the recipe makes.
I wanted to thank you for this recipe! I have made this 4 times in the last 2 weeks for cake orders I’ve had. It is such a hit and so very easy to make. Thank you for such a fantastic recipe. Wish I could post some pictures of how beautiful it turned out!
This coconut cake is so amazing, it’s ridiculous, and I only tasted my garbage pieces from leveling!! LOL I mean, I don’t even like coconut and I could devour the cake! Thank you for sharing such a fantastic recipe! I do have a question…I’d like to make it a bit boozy by adding rum. Would you recommend adding the rum to the batter or applying a rum based simple syrup?
The simple syrup sounds like a great idea! Will keep it extra moist.
can I mKe this ahead of time.
Sure can, I like to wrap my cakes in plastic wrap and chill them before decorating. And make sure to refrigerate this cake if you use cream cheese frosting 🙂
I made this cake for my friends birthday and it was amazing! Everyone loved it. I was eating the leftovers until day 4 and it was still just as good. I only have a hand mixer so it was a huge pain for me. But if you have a standing it would have been a lot less time consuming. Plus I made it after a 12 hour shift I won’t do that again! I cooked mine a little longer than listed. I checked it and the outside was brown and the inside was super giggly – I was a little worried. Put 5 more minutes on it and it was done! Keep an eye on it! Thank you I will be making this again!
Hey, what can I use instead of cream for tartar as I can’t find any near me
You can leave out the cream of tartar if needed, it is just there to help the egg whites whip up better.
You have done it again, Liz! I only expand my cake repertoire when I find a fantastic recipe that I am proud to share. This is THE coconut cake for me. Thank you!
I want to make this Coconut Cake but want to add some walnuts into the batter. I’ve read that since walnuts have a high oil content it may be best to reduce a little of the butter to equal out the fat. Problem is nothing seems to explain just how much I need to reduce based on how many walnuts I am adding. Any suggestions on how to figure this out? Looking to add 1-1.5 cups of roasted walnuts to the batter.
I don’t know for sure, you’ll just have to do some experimenting. I’m guessing not much
Delicious! I appreciate that the instructions are so clear and straightforward that a newbie baker like myself can make this cake and have it come out tasting and looking like perfection. This cake has (erroneously) convinced my family that I’m a star baker 😂 Thank you!
I have made this cake about 5 times now since I found the recepue about 3 months ago. This is one of the best cakes I’ve had in a long time, so easy to make, moist and delicious.
I have made one little change though, I’ve added less sugar in mine, the cake and the frosting, still absolutely delicious.
I baked my cakes in a small and old turkey oven since I don’t have an oven and I’ve only had to adjust the time.
Very happy I found this recipe, has become one of my favorites to bake, eat and gift.