Old-Fashioned Coconut Cake

If you’re a coconut lover, this old-fashioned coconut cake will steal your heart! It’s a simple one-layer sheet cake that’s soft, moist, and bursting with coconut flavor thanks to coconut milk and a splash of coconut extract. Topped with a fluffy coconut frosting and a generous sprinkle of toasted coconut, it’s the nostalgic dessert that feels like it came straight from Grandma’s kitchen—easy, unfussy, and irresistible.

I first made this coconut cake for an Easter party two years ago, and it turned out to be a massive hit! While I’ve made a coconut layer cake and coconut bundt cake, I had never made a simple one-layer coconut cake and wanted something simple and easy to serve at the party we were attending, but that was moist and had a distinct coconut taste. 

This checked all of the boxes, and given everyone’s reactions, and multiple people approaching me to tell me it was the best coconut cake they had ever had, I immediately made sure to jot down exactly how I made it so I could make it again and again!

A Quick Overview

I adore the simplicity of this cake; an easy batter comes together and creates a wonderfully moist and fluffy cake. You’ll notice that there isn’t any shredded coconut in the actual batter; the coconut flavor comes from the coconut milk and coconut extract. 

The frosting is a luscious coconut buttercream frosting made from butter, powdered sugar, coconut milk, and coconut extract. If you want to switch things up, you can make a coconut cream cheese frosting by preparing my cream cheese frosting and use 1 teaspoon coconut extract instead of the vanilla extract.

Gather Your Ingredients

In addition to the usuals like sugar, butter, eggs, and vanilla extract, here is what you’re going to need to make this delicious cake:

• Cake Flour – Using cake flour gives this cake a light and tender crumb and keeps it wonderfully moist. You can substitute all-purpose flour if need be; the texture will be a little denser but it will work.
• Canned Coconut Milk – This should be unsweetened and make sure to give it a good shake before opening!
• Coconut Extract – This is found in most grocery stores’ baking sections.
• Powdered Sugar – Also known as confectioners’ sugar, we use this to make the frosting.
• Large Flake Coconut – I love the look of large flakes for garnishing the top of the cake, but you can use the more readily available sweetened shredded coconut if that’s all you have.

How to Make the Coconut Cake

This coconut cake recipe comes together easily:

Step 1: Prep the Pan and Dry Ingredients – Grease a 9×13-inch cake pan or baking dish and whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt in a medium bowl. 

Step 2: Beat the Wet Ingredients – In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then add the egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla and coconut extracts, and mix to combine.

Step 3: Add the Dry Ingredients and Coconut Milk – On low speed, gradually add the flour mixture alternately with the coconut milk, beginning and ending with the flour, beating until just combined after each addition.

Step 4: Whip the Egg Whites and Fold Into Batter – In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites at medium-high speed until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter.

Step 5: Bake! – Pour the cake batter into the pan, smoothing the top if necessary. Baking until a toothpick comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.

Step 6: Frost and Garnish – Once the cake is completely cool, make the frosting by beating the butter until smooth and light, then adding the powdered sugar, coconut milk, and coconut extract. Mix on low until all of the powdered sugar has been incorporated, then increase to medium-high and whip for 2 minutes. Add a small amount more powdered sugar or coconut milk to achieve your desired consistency. Smooth onto the top of the cake and sprinkle with toasted coconut.

How to Toast Coconut

If you’ve never toasted coconut before, it’s incredibly easy! The most important part is to keep a close eye on it so it toasts but doesn’t burn. 

You can do this in the oven, I prefer doing it on the stovetop, as it’s quicker and I can better watch how brown it’s getting. 

Place the coconut in a large pan (I use my non-stick skillet for this) over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring frequently with a silicone spatula, until coconut is browned and toasted. Transfer the coconut to a clean plate to cool completely before using.

Storing and Freezing the Cake

This is a wonderfully moist cake that will keep well, covered tightly with plastic wrap, at room temperature for up to 3 days. 

If you wish to freeze the cake, you have a couple of options. If you want to freeze the entire cake in advance of serving it, I would recommend freezing it before frosting it – cover tightly in plastic wrap and aluminum foil, then freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then frost and garnish with the toasted coconut.

If you want to freeze individual slices of frosted cake, wrap each well in plastic wrap, then place in a freezer-safe ziploc bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature.

More Fabulous Coconut Desserts

• Coconut Cupcakes with Toasted Coconut Frosting
• Homemade Coconut Cream Pie
• Chocolate-Dipped Coconut Macaroons
• Dark Chocolate Coconut Cups

If you make this coconut cake recipe and love it, remember to stop back and give the recipe a 5-star rating – it helps others find the recipe! ❤️️