The Best Coconut Cake You’ll Ever Make

Ingredients

• White cake mix – I’ve always used white cake mix for this but I do use the egg yolks in the eggs so honestly a yellow cake mix works just as well. It will just but a little darker yellow.
• Sour cream – Make sure you use full fat sour cream for this!
• Vegetable oil – I’ve been asked if you can substitute butter for the vegetable oil and the answer is yes. You can do a 1:1 substitution of melted butter. I suggest unsalted butter so you don’t add any extra salt to the mixture.
• Eggs – You’ll be using 6 large eggs for the 3 layer version of this cake.
• Cream of coconut – See below for an explanation of the difference between cream of coconut vs coconut cream. They are different!
• Cream cheese – Use a block of full fat cream cheese not whipped cream cheese or reduced fat cream cheese.
• Milk – You could also use heavy cream if you prefer.
• Powdered sugar
• Vanilla extract or Coconut extract – My grandma always made this cake with vanilla extract in the frosting but I have started using coconut extract instead to give it just a little extra boost of flavor.
• Fresh frozen coconut – This is the star of the dish! The fresh coconut tastes so much different than dehydrated coconut and gives the cake a totally different texture. If you have trouble finding it in your area see the notes below about other options and where to find it.

What is Cream of Coconut vs. Coconut Cream?

Cream of Coconut is coconut cream that has been sweetened like sweetened condensed milk in coconut form. It is most often used in cocktails and has a super intense and sweet coconut flavor. This recipe calls for cream of coconut and you should not substitute coconut cream. You can find cream of coconut with the other drink mixers at the grocery store. The most common brand is Coco Lopez or Coco Real.

If you buy a little more than you need whip up a batch of our Pina Colada Tropical Fruit Salad or Pina Colada Cake Bites.

Coconut cream is the cream that rises to the top of coconut milk. You can make your own by simmering four parts shredded coconut in one part water.

Doctored Up Cake Mix

My grandma used to make it for Easter, Thanksgiving, and if I asked extra nice, Christmas! Everyone in my family loves it, even the ones who aren’t a big fan of coconut.

She wasn’t a from scratch baker (that was my other grandma) and this cake starts with a box of cake mix but you doctor it up by skipping the instructions and ingredients on the back of the box and instead adding eggs, oil, sour cream and cream of coconut.

Instructions for Coconut Cake

Step 1 – Prepare oven and pans. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare three 9″ inch cake pans by lightly greasing them and then dusting with flour. Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit in the bottom of each pan.

Step 2 – Make batter. Mix the cake mix, sour cream, vegetable oil, eggs, and cream of coconut in a large mixing bowl. I like to use my stand mixer with the paddle attachment on medium-high speed but you can also use an electric hand mixer or just mix it together by stirring with a spatula.

Step 3 – Fill pans. Divide cake batter evenly between the 3 prepared pans. Each pan should be filled to slightly higher than 1/2 to ensure that the cake does not overflow as it bakes. You may have extra batter.

Step 4 – Bake. Place the filled cake pans in the oven and bake for approximately 30 minutes at 350°F or until you can put a toothpick in the center and it comes out clean.

Step 5 – Make the frosting. While the cake bakes make the frosting by combining powdered sugar and cream cheese together in the bowl of your mixer. You will need an electric mixer with a whisk attachment for the frosting so you can whip everything together into light fluffy frosting.

Add the vanilla extract or coconut extract and keep whisking. If the frosting seems a little stiff you can add a little milk to help it reach a spreadable texture. This could mean you don’t need any milk at all. Just pay attention to the texture and add the milk in small amounts, then whisk thoroughly before adding any more.

Step 6 – Cool. Remove the cakes from the oven and let them cool for 10-15 minutes in the pan. Then gently remove the cake from the pans and let it finish cooling on a wire rack until the layers reach room temperature.

Make a Sheet Cake

This recipe makes a 3 layer cake but if you cut all of the ingredients in half it makes a 2 layer cake. We’ve included the instructions in the notes section of the recipe below.

If you want to make a sheet cake in a 9×13 inch pan instead of a layer cake we’ve got you covered. We’ve adapted this recipe to make an awesome Coconut Sheet Cake.

Assembling the Cake

1. Place one 9 inch round cake on a cake board (this will make it easier to move cake to the freezer. If you are not freezing it you can skip this step and instead place it on your cake stand or your cake carrier bottom.
2. Frost the top of the layer and place the next layer of cake on top. Frost the top of that layer and place the third and final layer on top. 
3. Frost the top and sides of the cake.
4. Press coconut into sides and onto top of cake.
5. Once cake is frosted wrap it in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil and place in the freezer. Take it out to thaw at least 4 hours before you are ready to serve.

What Fillings Can I Add?

If you’re thinking about adding a little extra flavor to your cake you can add a filling in between the layers. The flavors that go best with coconut are:

• Lemon (check out my how to make lemon curd)
• Lime
• Strawberry
• Orange
• Pineapple
• Mango – I’ve used a mango curd filling with this coconut cake recipe and with my coconut mango cupcakes and it was a huge hit!

How to Freeze Coconut Cake

You can make this cake up to 1 month ahead of time and store in the freezer. Actually, the thing that I love about this cake is that you should make it at least two days ahead of time and put it in the freezer. At least that’s what my grandma said and you really should always listen to grandma. It’s pretty great because for the holidays you can make it in advance and then pull it out a few hours before your party and have an amazing dessert.

1. Assemble the cake, frost it and add the fresh coconut on the outside.
2. Then you wrap it with two layers of plastic wrap to seal in the freshness.
3.  Cover it with a layer or two of aluminum foil to insulate the cake and keep it from getting freezer burn.
4. Place the coconut cake in the freezer until you are ready to use.
5. Remove the coconut cake at least 4 hours before you are ready to serve to give it time to thaw.

Equipment You’ll Need

• 3 9-inch cake pans – I like having 3 identical cake pans so I can divide up the batter and bake everything at one time.
• Cake Boards – Placing your cake on a cake board before frosting makes it much easier to wrap it up and store it in the freezer.
• Cake Carrier – You’re going to need to take this cake to all of your events from now on!