Coconut Bundt Cake with White Chocolate-Coconut Glaze
Last week flew by and before I knew it, it was time to plan the menu for Sunday dinner. Sundays have been a perfect opportunity for me to experiment with new dessert recipes, especially those that serve tons of people, since we have help polishing it all off and don’t have it sitting around the house, tempting us for days.
I love anything with coconut during the spring and summertime, and Bundt cakes are not only easy but they’re pretty and are perfect for serving a crowd. When I started flipping through a couple of my newer cookbooks and saw a recipe for a coconut Bundt cake, dessert was immediately decided.
This cake comes pretty darn close to a coconut pound cake, as there is quite a bit of butter, sugar and eggs that help to create a wonderfully rich and moist cake. The coconut flavor is derived from a large amount of coconut milk in both the cake and glaze, as well as a healthy dose of coconut extract. I also added toasted shredded coconut on top of the glaze because, well, I feel like any type of coconut dessert needs to be topped with toasted coconut.
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A couple of years ago, a coconut cake would have never ranked high on my list of cake options, but between the coconut cupcakes I made last year, as well as the coconut layer cake, old-fashioned coconut sheet cake, and this cake, I am a total coconut convert.
Plus, after everyone went home yesterday, we were only left with two small pieces of cake. Win-win!
Three years ago: Homemade Butterscotch Sauce
Four years ago: S’mores Cupcakes
Coconut Bundt Cake with White Chocolate-Coconut Glaze
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) kosher salt
- 1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2½ cups (500 g) granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 tablespoons coconut extract
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1⅓ cups (320 ml) unsweetened coconut milk
For the Glaze:
- 4 to 6 tablespoons coconut milk
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) coconut extract
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) vanilla extract
- 2 cups (240 g) powdered sugar, sifted
- 6 ounces (170.1 g) white chocolate, melted and still warm
To garnish
- Shredded coconut, toasted
Instructions
- Make the Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10-cup or 12-cup Bundt pan.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
- Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then add the eggs and the yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the bowl again, add the coconut and vanilla extracts, and beat until just incorporated.
- Add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the coconut milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, mixing after each addition until just combined; do not overmix.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top into an even layer. Bake until a sharp knife or toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out with just a few moist crumbs, 50 to 55 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Gently loosen the sides of the cake from the pan and turn it out onto the rack.
- Make the Glaze: In a large bowl, whisk together 4 tablespoons of the coconut milk, the coconut extract and vanilla extract. Add the powdered sugar and whisk until incorporated and smooth. Slowly stir in the white chocolate. The glaze should be thick yet pourable; if the glaze appears too thick, thin it out with addition coconut milk, a tablespoon at a time, until you reach the desired consistency.
- Pour the glaze in large, thick ribbons over the crown of the cake, allowing the glaze to spread and drip down the sides of the cake. Top with the toasted shredded coconut immediately and allow the glaze to set before serving, about 5 minutes. The cake can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
Good thing you specify nutritional values for one serving. I could eat the whole (well maybe half) cake in one sitting. DELICIOUS!! And so easy to.make. I’ve made it at least a half dozen times.
This cake is delicious and the recipe is a keeper!
Sugar free works too!!! This is a terrific recipe. I made it by swapping out Splenda granulated sugar, Swerve confectioners sugar, and Lilys white chocolate baking chips, respectively, but followed everything else exactly the same. Came out terrific!
I use a Witon nonstick bundt pan that has a dark surface so the cake was done in 35 minutes.
Thank you!
Baked this cake for a work event yesterday. The flavor was amazing and it smelled divine. However, the cake was dry. It was also baked in 35 minutes. Not sure if my bundt pan had anything to do with that? Can’t imagine what it would’ve been like if I’d left it in for 50 minutes! Have never had issues like this with other recipes.
I have a 6 cup Bundt pan, could I half the recipe?
Hi – is it possible to use margarine and have the same results to make it dairy-free? If so, which brand do you recommend?
This is my favorite Coconut Cake! It’s light and very flavorful. I follow the directions the way it’s written! Perfect and my family loves it ❤️
Hi can I use milk chocolate instead of white choclate for the glaze? If so do I need to change the recipe in any way? Searching for a cake that will taste similar to an almond joy candy bar. Thanks!
Hi Anita, You can definitely do that, sounds delicious! You wouldn’t need to make any modifications to the recipe.
I have a quick question. Would you be able to use this recipe for mini bundt cakes?
Yes, absolutely!
Hi Michelle I’m Lisa I’ve tried your coconut bundt cake it was delicious I had no problems with it but my question to you is can this be made into cake layers?
Thank you
The flavor was DELICIOUS. However, I would’ve given it 5 stars if not for the fact that not only could I not get the cake out of the pan, it also collapsed in the center and was all gooey. I even stuck a toothpick in the center multiple times and it came out clean. I followed the recipe to a tee and I’ve never had a cake stick to my Bundt cake pan. I had to throw the entire thing out. Such a shame because I was trying to make it for a coworker’s birthday, not to mention just wasted time and ingredients. ☹️
I just made this cake and the taste is delicious however half the cake remained stuck to the bunt pan. Any tips on how to easily remove the cake for better success in the future? i ended up discarding half the cake
I have tried this recipe twice with the recipe sinking each time… Any idea what I might be doing wrong? Does baking powder go bad? I can literally see big bubbles come up to just under the surface and go back down then when the cake is about done cooking it sinks. If you email meI can send you a video of it happening
Oh no! Baking powder DOES go bad, if yours has been around for awhile, try using fresh and see if that helps.
If I make the coconut bunt cake a day ahead- should I put the glaze on thennor wait til day I am serving it
Hi Becki, You can put the glaze on the day before, it will stay just fine.
The cake looks wonderful! My mouth is watering. I wanted to make sure that the measurement for the coconut extract is correct. 2 Tablespoons? That seems to be a lot. Thank you!!!
Hi Lu, Yes, it’s a lot, but it’s correct!
When you use canned coconut milk there is a thick layer on top do you use that also. How do u measure it out? If it calls for tablespoon do u just use the liquid?
Hi Donna, You want to either shake that can really well before opening, or be sure that you stir it once you open it so it’s a homogenous mixture before measuring.