It wasn’t very long ago that I posted a coconut cake recipe, I know. But that was a coconut and lime cake, it was totally different. This cake was a special request for Sunday dinner a few weeks ago, hand-picked from one of my favorite cookbooks, Sky High Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes. And it’s all about the coconut.
My sister-in-law looked at the cake and asked,
“What’s under the coconut?”
“More coconut.”
“And under that?”
“Cake that tastes like coconut.”
She brings up a good point, though. Most things that you see covered in coconut have nothing else coconutty about them (Is coconutty even a word? Did I just make that up? Oh well.). It is often used only as a garnish or to add texture. Not on this cake, however. It hints at what lies underneath- a moist white cake packed with the flavor of coconut.
If you like coconut, you have got to try this cake. It’s unbelievable. It’s delicious.
Enough said.
Southern Coconut Cake
From Sky High Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes
Makes one 8-inch layered cake
5 egg whites
1/2 cup milk
1-2 tablespoons coconut flavoring or extract*
3 cups cake flour
2 1/3 cups sugar
4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1 1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut
For the Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting:
12 ounces cream cheese, slightly chilled
1/2 cup plus 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
3 egg whites
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour two 8-inch cake pans and line with parchment paper (The original recipe is for a triple layer cake, but I only have two 8-inch pans and so I adjusted the cooking time for two thicker layers instead of three thinner layers.)
Put the egg whites in a bowl and whisk slightly. Add the 1/2 cup milk and coconut flavoring and mix thoroughly. Set aside.
In the mixing bowl of an electric mixer, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the butter and coconut milk and combine on low speed. Increase speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Add the egg white mixture in 3 additions, scraping down the sides of the bowl and mixing just long enough to incorporate between additions. Divide the batter among the prepared pans and bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool in their pans for 10 minutes, then turn them out onto cooling racks to cool completely.
To make the frosting, put the cream cheese in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat on medium speed until fluffy and smooth. Add the butter 1-2 tablespoons at a time, mixing until smooth. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla and mix until creamy. Set aside.
Combine the granulated sugar and water in a small heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Continue to cook, without stirring, until the syrup reaches the soft-ball stage, 238 degrees F on a candy thermometer.
Meanwhile, have the egg white in the bowl of an electric mixer, ready for when the syrup is at the proper temperature. Slowly add the hot syrup to the egg whites, while mixing on medium-low. Take care not to cause the hot syrup to splash. When all of the syrup is incorporated, raise the speed to medium-high and beat until the mixture has cooled to body-temperature and it forms stiff peaks.
With the mixer on medium-low, add the cream cheese and butter mixture one spoonful at a time. When all is incorporated, raise the speed to medium and whip until the frosting is smooth and fluffy.
Frost the cooled cakes and cover with shredded coconut.
*Add the amount of coconut flavoring depending on how coconutty you want the cake to taste. Add 3 tablespoons even, if you want. Or, if you’d rather tone down the coconut flavor, substitute for 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract.
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32 Responses to Southern Coconut Cake
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about me
Hi, I'm Annalise and I love to bake. Welcome to my blog! Follow along as I try new recipes, share baking tips and tricks, and overindulge my sweet tooth.Current Favorites
Clementine Buttermilk Scones
Chocolate Mint Brownies
Lemon Olive Oil Cake
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Oh My, Oh My – I LOVE coconut! This looks unbelievable! I really need to get that cookbook…. One question – Under the title (of the recipe), it says makes One 8-inch cake, so did you double this to make a layer cake? Or did it mean 1 "whole" cake, including the layers? This is on my must make list now!
I LOVE anything coconut, so the idea of coconut on top of coconut… mmmm…
Wendy- good question! I've clarified my post. The original recipe makes a three layer cake, but I only wanted two so my layers were thicker and required a longer baking time.
Sounds great! I'm trying to find a New Orleans wedding cake recipe. Think they use almond as the flavoring. You wouldn't happen to have a recipe like that?
Scott is in love with coconut! I might just have to make this for his birthday! Or maybe before…
Hi, I'm new here, and am excited to try this cake. However, I'm not sure where I can get coconut flavoring. Is it like coconut extract? Can I get it in a normal grocery store? Thanks!
Your cake is gorgeous. There is something special about a white cake-very elegant!
Beautiful! I love coconut and I'm obsessed with Sky High, too
LOVELY LOKKING CAKE..MOUTH WATERING
Coconut cake is one of my most favorites! Yours looks divine.
That looks, well, delicious! And I love the name of your blog.
Your cake looks yummy. I'm not crazy about coconut, but I have a bunch of coconut flakes leftover from a Daring Baker's challenge that I need to use. I will try out this recipe.
What a beautiful cake! How do you get the layers so even? When I try to layer a cake they always seem to lop to one side or another!
jessyburke88@gmail.com
Coconut extract will work fine. All my grocery store had was "coconut flavoring" and while I'm not exactly sure what the difference is, it got the job done.
And Jessy, there are many tricks to getting even layers. You can cut off the domed tops once the layers have cooled, or if you don't want to waste any cake (although those scraps are scrumptious!), turn down the oven to 300 degrees F and increase the baking time until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Also, Wilton sells strips that you soak in water and wrap around the pans that are supposed to produce flat layers, although I haven't used them myself.
Good luck!
if coconutty isn't a word, it should be. coconut rules, and this cake is pure and lovely and undoubtedly delicious. you do good work.
Have made this cake 3 times now…My family and friends love it…moist and tastes great! Thanks for sharing!
DELICIOUS!!! Thank you for sharing! Was easy to make. Used two 9" round because I didn't have 8" rounds and baked for 33 min. Love it and will make again.
Thanks for sharing this recipe…I halved it and made a mini cake using 6 inch round pans. I didn't have time to work with the frosting so I used a basic cream cheese frosting, subbing coconut milk and extract for the regular milk and vanilla extract. It turned out delish!!! Thanks again!
extremely yummy coconut cake! thanks for making my husband's birthday cake such a delicious and happy surprise. Our frosting, though, had a bit of a runny marshmallow-like consistency. Is that the way it's supposed to be or did I do something incorrectly? thanks!
I made this cake for my husband's birthday last weekend and it was a hit. This cake is delicious and beautiful. And thanks for the tip about how to make it all level – I enjoyed eating the cake scraps, and it made the cake look so nice once it was frosted.
I made a whipped cream frosting with a little coconut extract in it, and topped it with toasted, unsweetened coconut flakes. But it was the cake that wowed. Thanks for such an amazing recipe! ~leslie
I made this cake yesterday for my family and oh my God!!! it was a big hit. This is a real coconut cake from beginning to end. The only thing i did differently is I added both coconut and vanilla flavoring to the cake and the frosting and yes..I added a little coconut milk to the frosting as well…This is my go to coconut cake. Thank you…Thank you..thank you for this recipe.
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I am not understanding why you would grease and flour the pans and then line with parchment paper. Do you mean to do one or the other? I also assume I am using the frosting as the filling, too? Thanks. It looks great and I am wanting to make this as a birthday cake for someone who really loves coconut through and through.
It’s my experience that merely greasing the pan is not enough to ensure that a cake will come away from the pan intact, and so I like to use parchment paper as well. And greasing the parchment paper ensures that it too will come away from the cake without taking any of the cake with it. And yes, the icing should be used as the filling. Good luck with the birthday cake, I’m sure the coconut lover will enjoy it!
I just wanted to say that if you grease the pan, then swirl flour to cover the entire pan, this is a guaranteed way for the cake to not stick. Make sure to dump any ‘un-stuck’ flour. My mom used to make and sell cakes, and this was her trick. Hope that helps too
What a fabulous recipe! I used this recipe over the weekend to make my boyfriends Birthday cake. I searched quite a bit for one with ingredients that I felt would make a spectacular cake, and found them in yours! Instead of the frosting that goes with this, I made my own coconut whipped buttercream frosting; not a big fan of the eggwhite frostings.
Just wanted to say thank you for sharing and to let you know I credited your site on my blog for your fabulously sweet recipe.
Thanks
FabulouslySweet.com
I don’t know what I did wrong, but the icing would just not firm up. The cakes look great, but the icing is runny and liquefied. I guess I will just go with a regular cream cheese frosting.
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