Coconut Layer Cake

Adapted by Melissa Clark

Total Time: 2 hours, plus cooling
Rating: 5(1,587)
Notes: Read community notes

This impressive and wonderfully moist layer cake is less sweet than the usual coconut affair, thanks to a tangy cream cheese frosting on top and dose of orange juice in the batter. This is a great dessert to make in advance. You can bake the cake layers up to 3 days ahead and store them, well-wrapped in plastic, in the refrigerator. The frosted cake will keep for 2 days in the fridge as well, either under a cake dome or overturned bowl, or loosely tented with foil. Just make sure to bring the cake to room temperature before serving.

Here are more layer cake recipes. —Melissa Clark

Featured in: A Sugar Rush, Not Crush

Learn: How to Frost a Cake

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Ingredients

Yield:8 to 12 servings

For the Cake

2sticks/226 grams unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pans
2cups/265 grams all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
½teaspoon/3 grams fine sea salt
2teaspoons/10 grams baking powder
¾cup/140 grams granulated sugar
3eggs, separated, plus 3 whites
1½cups/355 milliliters sweetened cream of coconut, such as Coco Lopez
1¼cups/295 milliliters unsweetened coconut milk
2tablespoons/30 milliliters coconut or dark rum
7tablespoons/104 milliliters freshly squeezed orange juice
3cups/370 grams unsweetened shredded coconut

For the Frosting

2sticks/226 grams unsalted butter, softened
2cups/454 grams cream cheese, at room temperature
2teaspoons/10 milliliters vanilla extract
7¼cups/2 pounds/907 grams confectioners’ sugar
2¾cups/340 grams unsweetened shredded or flaked coconut, toasted

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Make the Cake
1. Step 1
  Grease 3 8-inch cake pans and dust with flour. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Step 2
  Whisk together flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl and reserve. Place butter and sugar in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment and beat until fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add 3 egg yolks, 1 at a time, beating after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl with spatula. Lower speed and gradually add flour mixture. Batter will be thick and pasty.
3. Step 3
  Whisk together cream of coconut, coconut milk, rum and orange juice. Alternately add shredded coconut and the orange juice mixture to the batter.
4. Step 4
  In the clean bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip 6 egg whites until soft peaks form. Gently fold into batter.
5. Step 5
  Divide batter evenly among prepared pans. Bake for 45 to 60 minutes. Cool in pans on wire rack. Unmold cakes once cool.
Make the Frosting
1. Step 6
  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and cream cheese. Add vanilla extract. Gradually add confectioners’ sugar, scraping down sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Mix until combined and fluffy.
2. Step 7
  Spread ¼-inch-thick layer of frosting on top of the first layer of cake. Sprinkle with toasted coconut. Place next cake layer on top and repeat with frosting and coconut. Repeat with the third layer, spreading frosting on top and around sides of cake. Hold cake steadily in one hand and use other hand to pat remaining coconut onto edges of cake.

Ratings

5 out of 5

1,587 user ratings

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Private Notes

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Cooking Notes

Rich6 years ago

Can this just be simply adjusted to two 9 inch layers, rather than 3 8 inch pans, for those of us who just have sets of 2 pans rather than 3?

BeS6 years ago

Despite trawling through and cooking from a couple of dozen food-related sites and blogs weekly, I've never taken the time to write a single comment. Until now. I made this cake for a dear friend's birthday whose mother used to make him a coconut cake every year until she passed away 25 years ago. He tasted this and nearly cried with joy. "I didn't think I'd ever taste a cake again that I liked as much as mom's. This one surpasses it." Home run.

Robin6 years ago

My feedback to,the recipe writers is to,use helpful equivalents for home bakers
Such as 1- 2# pound bag of powdered sugar.
I- 15 oz. can of cream of coconut
1- 13.5 oz. can of coconut milk.
Makes shopping easier.

A. Miller6 years ago

If you are having 20+ people for Easter, and have out of town houseguests, and your husband is in the clergy, and you sing in the choir, and it is 1 am on Easter and you are finishing the icing and questioning your life choices and wondering whether this cake is worth it, it TOTALLY is. And I'm not just saying that because I gave up sweets for Lent; this is without a doubt one of the best cakes I have ever made. Thank you for yet another wonderful recipe!

HilaryKS6 years ago

Coconut or rum. If one did not want to use rum, would that be coconut extract?

Beth Massa6 years ago

7 1/4 cup powdered sugar for the icing? Is that correct? I stopped at 2 cups and it was plenty sweet.

Susan Edgerley6 years ago

This earned smiles at my house and in the newsroom of NYTCooking. I would recommend parchment paper in the bottom of the cake pans and going easy on the frosting -- don't be afraid to use, say, three-quarters of the frosting you make.

J Scrapple6 years ago

The cake is great. The only comment is that I cut the sugar in the frosting in half and it was just fine. More like a carrot cake frosting, but it works because the cake itself is actually pretty sweet from the Coco Loco. Definitely making this again.

Note: I also swirled raspberry preserves in the layers because its one of my favorite flavor combos. I imagine apricot, fig, or other swirls would be terrific too.

Genny6 years ago

Okay, can I just say how awesome this cake was??? The triple coconut hit of coconut milk, cream of coconut, and shredded coconut, plus the lovely scent of the fresh orange juice made this one of the most delicious cakes I have ever had. Often layer cakes are just a vehicle for frosting, but not this time! A lovely, perfumed stunner!

Laura K6 years ago

Truly worth the time and ingredients.
Test earlier than recommended as cake cooked much quicker than suggested. 35-40 minutes was sufficient.

Luther5 years ago

Just curious, why comment on a dynamic cake that you haven't baked?

Jennifer6 years ago

Beautiful, rich, and delicious but be warned it takes forever to make. I'm not a cake making expert but it worked out very well. I used two 9 inch pans, baked 30-35 min. Followed someone else's suggestion and swirled raspberry preserves in middle frosting layer, which was perfect. Used 6 c powdered sugar and only 1 c toasted coconut for frosting. Instead of actual rum, I used 1 Tablespoon rum extract. Would make this again for special occasion.

Mary6 years ago

Needed to make 2 cakes. From one recipe-- used 2 loaf pans and cut each in half to create 2 layers for each cake. Sliced thin pieces.
This has to be by far the most fantastic coconut cake on the planet!

Andy Gustafson6 years ago

I always make a little extra frosting, frequently scraping mixing bowl to cover the cake, but this recipe had adequate volume. Nice. I laughed at the technique suggested for adding remaining toasted unsweetened coconut to the sides of the cake. "Hold cake steadily in one hand?" What? Does Ms. Clark mean this cake with soft, cream cheese frosting on the sides? I just kind of tossed it at the sides and pressed whatever stuck.
A great cake, visually and taste.

Ibakeforfun6 years ago

I was rather disappointed with my cake. It turned out too heavy and doughy. What could i have done wrong?

Carolyn2 days ago

Amazingly moist and flavorful. I read the helpful notes and utilized most recommendations. I did use 3 extra egg whites for a lighter cake and also added coconut extract for a more intense flavor. I used less 10x sugar in the frosting and also added the remaining coconut milk. Delightful! All 10 guests thought it was amazing.

Chkp1 week ago

I’ve been reading this recipe for years. It was delicious. Exceeded expectations. I made adjustments- I didn’t put coconut in the frosting- only on sides of the cake. That was just right for us. I did 1/2 sugar in the frosting. That was great. Next time I’ll add more cream cheese and reduce the butter- just preference. It

Cherie J1 month ago

Has anyone tried freezing the cake layers for a few days before frosting? Would that change the flavor or texture?

giselle3 months ago

I was surprised at how dense it is-I almost started over. The weight measurement for the coconut seems wrong so i went with the cup measurement. Planning to fill it with creme patisserie and cut down on the sugar in the frosting….that can’t be right….

Shannon3 months ago

Made a few modifications. Used 3 9" pans as that was what I had. Turned out fine. Used 2 3/4 cups coconut milk (no cream of coconut) and simply added 1/4 cup sugar to replace some of the sweetness. I prefer things less sweet and figured the frosting would be plenty sweet. Added 1/4 tsp of coconut extract to the frosting. Cake was beautiful and tasted great!

kat3 months ago

This cake was delicious. I subbed key lime juice for orange juice and grated some zest into the frosting. Next time, I would heed others’ advice and use less sugar in the frosting. By the end of my slice it was too sweet. This recipe definitely makes more than enough frosting. I used the recommended quarter inch of frosting and had about two cups left over. Also, I used coconut flakes instead of shredded, and while I liked the look, it was too chewy. Definitely use shredded!

Shadi4 months ago

I used a whole 2 lb bag of powdered sugar. This was let about the sweetness and more about the structure from the cornstarch, especially given the amount of cream cheese and cake. Especially because the cake is not super sweet on its own, this worked great. I recommend adding a crumb coat of icing and fridging it before icing the cake with the rest of the frosting, just to make sure you have an even coat. Probably goes without saying: don’t store layers on top of one another before assembly.

CC4 months ago

I have a spouse who adores coconut desserts, but despises orange desserts. I’m trying to figure out if this is a viable birthday cake for him. Can anyone confirm if the orange juice flavor is quite noticeable?

Jennifer3 months ago

You don't even taste it, could swap out for other liquid if you are worried.

Erica4 months ago

Looking forward to making this recipe for Easter! Has anyone tried using a 1:1 gluten free baking flour (such as Bob's Red Mill)? One of the guests is gluten free and would love for them to be able to eat this (and for me not to make a second dessert!)

K L5 months ago

Agree that the cake was quite dense. Maybe because of the 3 cups of coconut? Next time would make do less coconut in the batter in hopes it would lighten up the cake. Plus, the cake gets plenty of coconut flavor from other ingredients. Still, a hit!!!

weight5 months ago

Total weight of batter is around 1840 grams

jimmy7 months ago

Made this several times. Delicious! However, as others noted, the weight stated for coconut cannot possibly be correct. Use the cup measurement. My cakes were done in <30 minutes, and my oven temperature is correct per oven thermometer.

kate degnan7 months ago

Another constructive comment for recipe writers: provide specifics for filling the 3 cake pans: approximately how many cups to pour into each pan so the layers turn out approximately the same size. I echo the comment requesting can sizes for coconut milk and cream.

kate degnan7 months ago

Convection bake 37-38 min ( oven set at 350 butt registers 325)

SuFre8 months ago

Lots of work, lots of big bowls, but extraordinary flavor! I used two 9" pans. If I make this again, I'll purchase three 8" pans. Hopefully there will be a second person to help out; it took me 1 1/2 hours to make just the batter.

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