This easy Coconut Cake recipe has moist layers of soft coconut cake, pineapple filling, and topped with coconut cream cheese frosting. It’s one of my favorite cakes of all time!
![A slice of homemade Coconut Cake with delicious pineapple filling on a plate ready to enjoy.](https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Coconut-Cake-1.jpg)
I’ve reached food nerd status with how happy this Pineapple Coconut Cake makes me. It’s incredible! Dare I say it–it’s on the same level as my Mom’s ridiculously amazing German Chocolate Cake. It’s that good!
The cake is incredibly moist (hate that word, but it must be used here), and the flavor combination of pineapple, coconut and buttercream are magical.
I also love that the cake, filling and frostings can be made ahead, and even the fully assembled cake tastes better made ahead of time.
The original recipe was from Utah State Fair Winner Lisa Blodget, and was shared by Si from A Bountiful Kitchen, and I adapted this version! I added a cream cheese buttercream frosting with a splash of coconut milk for extra creaminess and hints of coconut flavor.
It really is the best coconut cake recipe!
How to make Coconut Cake:
Combine Dry Ingredients: Mix flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl.
![A glass bowl filled with flour, baking powder, and salt.](https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Coconut-Cake-2.jpg)
Cream Butter and Sugar: In a separate mixing bowl, beat the butter on medium speed with electric mixers until light and fluffy. Add sugar and mix 1 minute. Add coconut extract and 1 ¼ cups of coconut milk.
![Two images showing creamed butter and sugar and then coconut milk being added to make the best Coconut Cake recipe.](https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Coconut-Cake-3-1.jpg)
Finish Batter: Gradually add flour mixture and mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. In another bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold the egg whites into the batter until incorporated.
![Two images showing whipped egg whites being folded into coconut cake batter, then the cake batter finished and ready to pour in the cake pans.](https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Coconut-Cake-4-1.jpg)
Bake Cakes: Line bottom of 8” cake pans with parchment paper and spray bottom and sides of pan lightly with non-stick cooking spray. Divide batter evenly between the pans. Bake at 350 degrees F 25-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
![Two round cake pans filled with easy Coconut Cake batter.](https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Coconut-Cake-5.jpg)
Cool and Slice: Remove the pans from the oven and allow them to cool for 5 minutes before inverting them onto a cooling rack to cool completely. Use a sharp serrated knife to cut each cake round in half horizontally, so that you end up with four thin cake rounds.
![Two Coconut Cake rounds sliced in half to make four layers of cake.](https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Coconut-Cake-6.jpg)
Make Filling and Frosting: Meanwhile, make the pineapple filling and coconut cream cheese frosting, and then you’re ready to assemble the cake.
![A delicious pineapple filling in a glass bowl to make homemade Coconut Cake with pineapple filling.](https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Coconut-Cake-7.jpg)
Assemble Coconut Cake:
Place one cake layer on a serving plate and spread half of the pineapple filling over it. Top with second cake layer, and smooth some of the coconut cream cheese frosting on top.
![Two images with pineapple filling being spread on top of a layer of coconut cake, then frosting being spread on top of the second layer of cake.](https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Coconut-Cake-8.jpg)
Top with third layer of cake. Spread remaining pineapple filling on top. Top with the last later of cake. Frost the sides and top of the cake. Sprinkle with shredded coconut flakes, if desired. For best results, refrigerate the coconut pineapple cake for a few hours before serving.
![An easy Coconut Cake on a cake stand, ready to slice and enjoy.](https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Coconut-Cake-9.jpg)
Make Ahead and Freezing Instructions:
The coconut cake can be fully assembled 1-2 days ahead of time, stored in the fridge before serving. The pineapple filling and coconut frosting can be made up to a week in advance, or frozen for several weeks. Allow the frosting to come to room temperature before using. Cool the baked cakes completely. Torte in half, then wrap each layer really well in plastic wrap and place in a ziplock freezer bag. Freeze for up to one month. Frozen cakes are easier to work with, and to frost.
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Recipe
![A slice of homemade Coconut Cake with pineapple filling on a plate ready to serve.](https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Coconut-Cake-1-500x500.jpg)
Coconut Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
Coconut Cake:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter , room temperature
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 13.5 ounces canned unsweetened coconut milk , divided
- 1 1/2 teaspoons coconut extract
- 5 large egg whites
Pineapple Filling:
- 20 ounce can crushed pineapple
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
For the Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 1/2 cup butter , room temperature
- 8 ounces cream cheese , room temperature
- 4-5 cups powdered sugar
- 1 – 2 Tablespoons leftover coconut milk , regular milk
- 1 cup shredded sweetened coconut
Instructions
Coconut Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line the bottom of two 8 inch cake pans with parchment paper and spray the bottom and sides of the pan lightly with cooking spray.
- Mix dry ingredients In a mixing bowl; flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- In a separate mixing bowl beat the butter on medium speed with an electric hand mixer or stand mixer for 1 minute, until light and fluffy. Add sugar and mix until well creamed together. Add 1 ¼ cups canned coconut milk and coconut extract and mix.
- Gradually add flour mixture and mix on medium speed for 2 minutes.
- Beat egg whites in a separate bowl until stiff peaks form. Fold the egg whites into the batter until incorporated.
- Bake: Divide cake batter evenly between prepared cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, or with few moist crumbs.
- Cool: Remove the pans from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before inverting them onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Torte Cakes: Once cakes have cooled, use a sharp serrated knife to torte/cut each cake round in half horizontally, so that you end up with four thin cake rounds.
Pineapple Filling:
- Add all ingredients to medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir well to combine. Cook, stirring frequently, until mixture thickens and looks "glossy", about 5-8 minutes.
- Cool: Pour filling into a container and place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the filling. Once cooled, cover container and refrigerate until ready to use, up to one week.
Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting:
- Beat butter and cream cheese together until smooth. Add powdered sugar and a splash of the remaining coconut milk and mix until smooth and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add a little more milk, to thin, or powdered sugar to stiffen, if needed, until you reach your desired frosting consistency.
- Stir in coconut flakes, saving some for sprinkling on the sides and top of the cake, if desired.
Assemble:
- Place one cake layer on serving plate. Spread half of the pineapple filling over it. Top with another cake layer, and smooth a layer of cream cheese frosting over it. Top with third cake layer. Spread remaining half of the pineapple filling over it. Top with last (4th) cake layer. Frost the sides and top of the cake with coconut cream cheese frosting. Sprinkle outsides of cake with shredded coconut, if desired.
- Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, before serving. (Tastes even better the next day!)
Notes
Nutrition
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I originally shared this recipe February 2018. Updated March 2021 and April 2023.
Some process photos by Nikole from The Travel Palate
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This is my forever BIRTHDAY CAKE !!!
OMG unbelievable deliciousness! If you don’t try this you don’t have a sweet tooth in your mouth!!
Hugs Lauren for the best cake recipe!!!!!!!!
Thank You!
OMG, this cake is delicious! My icing was a tad runny, but otherwise, this is a keeper!
Whoever says this cake is bad had to be making it wrong. This was a delicious cake. I did cut just a little sugar in the filling and did more cornstarch bc I wanted it really sticky and thick, but other than that followed the recipe and it was great. My entire family and extended family loved it.
Reminds me of one of my mother’s favorite recipe
Not very Good, Way too Much sugar in the cake, frosting, pineapple filling. Cake was BAD. will never make this again.
If you read the recipe before you started baking, you should have realized that each element of this cake was sweet. IF this wasn’t your type of recipe why waste the time and ingredients to make it. All this should have been obvious to you as a baker.
Delicious cake! I submitted with my gluten free flour mix and still came out amazing. I added less sugar to the pineapple filling and was delicious. Highly recommend.
Made this cake yesterday as per the recipe and it is outstanding! Everyone wanted a second slice! The taste kind of reminded me of the ambrosia salad my mom made when I was a kid. Will definitely make it again.
The best cake I’ve made so far!! Instead of adding the coconut to the frosting I toasted it and sprinkled it on the top and sides. Gave it great texture!!! Definitely 5 star recipe!!! 🌟
Can’t wait to try this recipe
Fabulous and delicious! I was told this is bakery quality and everyone loved it! I made it exactly as recipe read.
Any tips on making this with vegan butter and vegan cream cheese?? I made this and the flavors are great but the consistency of the cake and the frosting was off. I am ok with eggs. The frosting was suuuuuuuper runny and I’m assuming it’s the oil content in the vegan butter. Thanks!
Batter doesn’t fit in 2 8in pans. It completely overflowed the pans, burned on the element in the stove and nearly caught fire. I followed the recipe exactly. I thought 2 8in pans sounded small but I trusted the recipe. Should have followed my gut.
Definitely a 5 Star cake. Super moist. I did make a few modifications… I omitted the sugar in the pineapple filling and cut the icing sugar back to 3 cups. Making the changes, the cake was still very sweet. I’ve made 3 in 1 month…so good!!!
I have a question if i needed to make this a sugar free cake for someone can i just substitute the sugar and use cake flour instead? Please help!
Thanks for the recipe! I followed it to a tee. The cake itself baked up beautifully and tastes wonderful, but the pineapple filling and cream cheese frosting made the end result a super sweet disaster. I refrigerated the pineapple filling for close to 6 hours and it seemed to thicken up appropriately but when I added it (very sparingly, I had most of the mixture left over) it became super thin and runny! I tried the tip someone suggested of piping some frosting to create a dam for the pineapple but it didn’t hold for me. I’m wondering if I should have drained the pineapple but since there was no mention of it and the corn starch should have thickened it up, I didn’t. My icing needed the sugar to thicken it up but it was way too sweet for our taste. I was able to clean up the mess enough to serve it to family but it wasn’t presentable to company. I had to eat around the frosted parts myself due to the sweetness. I might have to try again with drained, less sweetened pineapple and just a whipped cream frosting? If you can think of what might have gone wrong, I’d love to know!
Please tell me. Do i drain the can of crushed pineapple for the coconut pineapple 4 layer iced cake?
I have made this cake multiple times and it’s a big hit. Can I turn this into a lemon cake and substitute lemon extract instead of coconut extract and use lemon curd instead of pineapple?
Question that I need an answer to quickly. If I frost this cake frozen, how long before the cake is thawed if it’s left sitting out or will it thaw in the refrigerator and about how long will that take?
A standard 8-inch or 9-inch layer cake might take 3-5 hours to thaw fully if left out at room temperature.If you leave the frosted cake in the refrigerator, it will take longer to thaw, perhaps 12-24 hours for a standard layer cake.
I made this for a friend’s birthday. It has instantly become my favorite cake of all time. I’m a former pastry chef. From NYC. The only thing I did differently was to pipe a dam of slightly stiffer buttercream around the edge of the layers that contain the pineapple filling. This insures that the pineapple filling stays where you want it. Chill for a few minutes after piping on the dam & after filling. Thanks for this amazing recipe.
Can I make this in a 9×13 pan with no layers? I just want an easy cake bottom with frosting. What would I need to adjust with baking time?
Yes, sure!
I’ve made it his cake several times and love it. Several people have told me it’s the best thing they’ve ever put in their mouth! Thanks for sharing it. I wonder if you’ve ever tried making a cupcake version of this recipe?
I’d like to make this cake for an event in a couple weeks, but I’ve got a question…..
I live in Colorado….. every baked good is affected by our high altitudes, so everything needs an adjustment…
Any idea how much extra flour I’d need for the cake???
you don’t know how much i love cocunut,but this is evan better!!!!!
Great texture and tasting cake.
Thanks for the tip about freezing the cake before frosting.
I used the filling, half the frosting on top with less sugar, and fresh pineapple.
I cheated and used Delmonte PIneapple box cake mix, and substituted it for 1 c water, 1/2 c heavy cream + 3/8 capple sauce, + pineapple juice.
Hi! Could this cake be used under fondant and stacked (with proper stability/dowels). Thanks!
I’m going to give this a try this week but wondering if anyone has tried substituting the butter with coconut oil? I’m curious to try for two reasons: 1) it could intensify the coconut flavour and 2) one of my guests can’t have dairy and I was hoping to have some un-iced cake for her to try 🤔
Sorry, I must be more specific, I did stiffen the egg whites, but did not fold, instead used the standard mix to blend in the contents. Could this effect the height of the cake?
This cake is so delicious! I made it for an a Easter birthday and it was such a hit! It is very rich, but the pineapple filling makes it refreshing. (The only adjustment that I would make is to perhaps use half of the liquid in the can of crushed pineapple and add accordingly.) Definitely a keeper recipe for the coconut lover!
My first try at this recipe and the cake didn’t rise properly. What could have gone wrong? I was sure to add the baking pot& salt to the flour. I was wondering how stiff the egg whites needed to be and if this could have caused the cake not to rise properly?
Robin, I’m so sorry it didn’t turn out for you. Yes, the egg whites need to be beaten until they hold a stiff peak. Meaning when you pull the beaters away, the egg whites form a point that doesn’t droop over.
Robin consider rating this recipe after you have followed the directions, exactly as written. It is unfair to give something a one star and do damage to someones business when you haven’t done your part. Next time consider asking a question without rating the recipe.
Made this for Easter. Everyone loved it! My grandma said it was the best cake she’s ever had & she eats a ton of sweets! I didn’t have coconut milk so substituted evaporated milk. Next time I will ,ale sure to use the coconut. Thank you so much for the recipe!
Has been a hit for years! What would be the bake time for cupcakes?
Any thoughts on using fresh strawberries instead of pineapple? Would that work?
Delicious! This cake had an amazing crumb and we added extra powdered sugar to the frosting to stiffen it. Just beware that when you double the recipe it only doubles it in the ingredients not the instructions
I made this cake for my mom’s 75th birthday and she loved it! The only things i changed was a little coconut extract in the icing and I toasted some coconut to coat the sides(which was her favorite part)!
Had so.e time invested but totally worth it!!
This was absolutely delicious. I made it for my daughter’s 17th birthday and it was a hit. The only difference I made was instead of adding shredded coconut to the frosting, because I wanted to decorate the cake, I added coconut extract to it and then did put shredded coconut between the layers. I also doubled the recipe and then put all the batter into two 10″ cake pans.
Would like to try this recipe, how can I convert to either 2 or 3 – 6×2 round pans? What would the measurement be for each ingredient? Thank you!
I made this for my dad’s birthday and ALL of the guests raved about it! It was such a hit that I’m making it a second week in a row by request for another family event.
I’ve made this cake it’s my family and friends favorite Special Occasions Cake From birthdays to Holidays it’s always the favorite of all cakes baked
I’ve made this cake for 2 different occasions and it was a hit both times. It’s definitely worth the extra time to make. Has anyone tried cupcakes?
I have a Dolly Parton Coconut Cake Mix do you think it would work? I thought I could use coconut milk instead of water and add the extract also.
I have the Dolly Parton mix too! I’m going to use it for this recipe. It’s a really good cake mix!
Hello.
Is coconut milk the same as coconut cream?
No, they are different.
Hello,
Making this tonight but have to cheat.
Do you think a white cake mix with coconut extract will work?
I think that will work great! Please come back and let us know.
I made this for a shower and EVERYONE was raving about it! It’s so delicious.
This recipe is one you’re going to want to keep! I made the cake in 3 layers with pineapple filling using just 1/2 c of sugar. Frosting was made with 2 c sugar and unsweetened coconut and it was perfect. Just a slight drizzle of coconut milk was needed in the frosting. I could eat that filling just with a spoon! I’d love to try it on a freshly baked scone.
This cake was absolutely delicious. Day 1 the coconut extract was a touch too strong for me, but day 2 it was perfect. I’m wondering how 1 tsp of coconut and 1/2 tsp of vanilla would work. This was a perfect bday cake and tastes like a lovely pina colada on holiday.
Yes, I made this cake and people raved about it so much, I had to make one the following week for someone else. Thanks for sharing your recipes.
Can the cake be made with cake flour?
Hi! Thank you so much for this recipe! It looks delish. Can I use cake flour instead of AP?
Thank you, Lauren. I am currently making this cake for the fourth year in a row for my husband’s birthday. I don’t change a thing about the recipe except for how I decorate the top. It seems like a tradition we are happy to hold onto!
If I freeze the layers to assemble the cake a different day. Should I assemble and frost the cake with the layers directly out of the freezer or let them thaw first ?
Let them thaw a little bit (not completely) and keep your frosting at room temperature and it will be easy to frost!
Can you recommend a different filling?
Lemon curd, berry jam, or you can leave out the pineapple filling and just use the cream cheese coconut frosting.
I made this cake and we enjoyed it very much. I love an icebox cake. Stays so moist. Next time I may add more cream cheese and reduce powdered sugar in frosting. Just a tad too sweet.
I really love this recipe for the coconut cake and filling, I tend to put my own twist on it. One thing I noticed though is that I seem to taste a hint of baking powder. I wonder if lowering the baking powder content would work. No one else has said anything about it, so it’s hard to determine if it’s just me. I make this all the time though and really do love it
This is awesome. I have been requested to make this cake on several occasions. I keep it just two layers but still tastes just as good. Definitely my go to recipe for pineapple coconut cake!
Could I make this as a simple coconut cake in a bundt pan?
I made your filling recipe and it was DELICIOUS!!!!!! Thank you!
Delicious. I made this for my husbands birthday and he loved it. Thank you. The hardest part was cutting the cakes in half, so I think I will make the cake twice and follow the instructions for frosting. Thank you,
Made this cake for a friend does it have to be refrigerated if not eaten the same day
I have a question – I only have one 8 inch cake pan, will the egg whites loose their peak if I bake one half, and then the other?
For Pineapple filling can I Make frozen pineapple?
Can you use frozen pineapple? Yes that would work fine.
Coconut pineapple cake was heavenly.Been cooking for 60 years..My son in laws grandmother made this cake for one of their bridal showers,29 years ago.When she passed,the recipe was lost,been trying for many years to make it like hers.EUREKA!!!!I I think it must have been the coconut milk..THANK YOU SO MUCH.MERRY CHRISTMAS!!
This recipe was a hit! Moist and flavourful, I made this for my friends birthday as coconut and pineapple are her favourite flavours.
Excellent instructions can not wait to make it for the holidays
Came out scrumptious!
i use low fat cream cheese instead of regular and everyone loves it. Thank you for such a quick easy recipe.
That was one of the best coconut cakes I’ve put in my mouth.
Hi Lauren!
I was hoping to mail this cake to a friend for her birthday. Provided I cushion and pack the cake well and use a coconut buttercream rather than a cream cheese frosting, do you think this cake would hold up at room temp for a few days or would it get mouldy/fall apart?
Thanks for the help!
Taylor
Super moist and hit every note. I recommend doubling the frosting if you want to crumb coat it and have extra for decoration.
This was by far the most perfect, delicious cake I’ve ever made! For fear of it falling apart, I used three eight inch pans and did some rearranging with layers. Everyone said it was the best cake that they’ve ever eaten…and I’ve been baking for 60 years. Thank you, thank you!! Am going to try the same cake next week, but making it raspberry. Should be interesting.
I have made this cake for a cake auction and it has made a great deal of money! I just got asked to bring it to a potluck!
Delicious recipe!!! Turned out fantastic! Now I want to try to make it with a 10″ round mold. But don’t know what the measurements for each ingredient would be. Can you help me?
Hi,
Can I put rum into the pineapple filling before cooking?
Sure!
Thank you 😊
Is there any down side to baking 4 thinner cakes rather than splitting 2 cakes into 4 thinner cakes?
No, that would be fine–just watch the bake time as they will cook faster.
Hi,
I would like this cake for my daughter’s birthday. Can you please tell the amount of sugar in grams. If 1 cup is 250 gr that makes 1 kg sugar for the cream cheese frosting. This amount would be enough for 4- 5 cakes. Can I reduce the sugar without affecting structursl change?
Thank you in advance
1 cup of granulated sugar is 200 g
This cake is so so good it taste like it came from a bakery. This it s is a cake you would be proud to make for any occasion and also make it to give for a birthday. The older it got the better it tasted. I kept it in the refrigerator and left it get room temperature. I shared it and everyone loved it. OMG!! so moist. It’s my favorite.
This cake is so moist and delicious. My family loved it. There’s a little work to it but it is well worth it.
I’ve made this amazing cake in the 8 inch rounds & it’s amazing! Have you ever multiplied the recipe for a larger cake? I need to do a 12″ square with an 8″ round on top. A bit nervous, it’s for a 70th birthday party. Thank you, Kim
Love this cake! Do you know what I would need to substitute to make it gluten free?
Fantastic Recipe. Definitely a keeper.
Amazing recipe!!! Everyone in my house loves when I make it! I even made cupcakes with this recipe and they were amazing.
This is the ABSOLUTE BEST RECIPE EVER!! I LOVE this cake!! Thank you for sharing!!! God Bless!!😇
Can I use whole eggs instead of only egg whites? How do I adjust the amount? Thank you.
Yes, you can. I use two whole eggs (separated) plus one white. I add the yolks in one at a time after creaming the butter and sugar and later add the whites in as instructed in the recipe. It comes out perfect!!
I decided to use only one cup of sugar in the recipe and it was still sweet because of the frosting. I had a lot of frosting left over.
I made this recipe for Easter Sunday dessert 2021. It is very light and sweet. I love that it is made with egg whites, eliminating a lot of cholesterol from whole eggs.
This is one of the BEST cakes I have ever made and everyone loved it as well. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
Can you use vanilla extract? Can’t find coconut extract anywhere!
You could, but you will miss out on the coconut flavor it adds to the cake. I know Amazon sells it!
I also put some coconut extract in the frosting.
My family, friends, and co-workers loved this recipe! I made a cake for my grandmothers birthday then made mini cupcakes with the leftover filling and cream cheese icing! Super moist and FULL of flavor!
Está delicioso, solo que el pan no esponja nada, no se que me falta… gracias
Great cake but making the frosting with the rest of the coconut milk in can made it too runny and no amount of added powder sugar would stiffen it! I suggest adding the coconut milk last as needed to get the right consistency.
I made this delicious cake for my daughter’s birthday and it was a big hit with the whole family!! I had fun making it and really love that it can be made ahead of time. Even my son-in-law raved about this cake. Thanks for making me a rock star.
Hello, I am just so excited to bake and eat this cake 😀
I just baked the cake using the recipe as is. The cake turned out a bit dense (it just sunk after cooling down 🙁 ), but it still tastes great.
I cut it into slices and put it in the freezer as per your advice. But the cake slices seem to be very hard. Just wondering if that is how it should be while I am assembling it. Should I thaw the frozen cake? Will it be ok?
Scared to use up my pineapple filling and frosting in case I have messed up the cake.
My family and friends absolutely love this cake! A friend said, ” I don’t like coconut but this is the best cake I’ve ever had.” I will definitely be making this again. Everything blends together perfectly. Thanks for sharing your masterpiece!
Delicious! My family loved it!
I absolutely love this recipe and have been making it for years from this site – thanks for a recipe that everyone enjoys!
Perfection, loved by all I’ve served it to! I use fresh pureed pineapple, even better than the canned. And add less powdered sugar to the cream cheese icing. Thank you!
I can’t get started on this little jewel soon enough. I love fruity cakes and this sounds like a home run. My daddy used to make delicious pineapple coconut pies that tasted, to me at least, like Juicy Fruit chewing gum. I’m just so sorry he and Mama aren’t around to enjoy this heavenly sounding creation and a cup of coffee with me.
I need this recipe in a gluten free dairy free cupcake version help!! This cake is amazing!
I haven’t assembled the cake yet, but I’m curious….how deep are the 8″ pans you use? My layers ran over the top while baking. Sure hope I can salvage my cake.
Wow, This is a terrific cake. …my official favorite. I made a few adjustments based on the reviews: I used 1/2 cup of sugar for the pineapple filling and 2 cups in the coconut frosting. Perfect balance of sweet and fruit. My husband is a tough critic, and a pretty talented cook in his own right. My adjustments met his seal of approval. Of course, the vanilla bean ice cream was the “grand finale”. I will definitely repeat this recipe for my own birthday In August.
One of the best cakes I’e made!!! It was so easy, yet sooo delicious! I’m definitely making this cake again because my entire family has been asking me to make it for them again! 10/10!!
This cake is phenomenal! I did however make a few tweaks to the recipe. I cut down the amount of sugar in the cake batter by half a cup and used cake flour instead of AP. I also substituted the coconut extract with coconut rum and after baking, drizzled each cake layer with a shot of coconut rum as well. The result was a tender, fluffy, and moist cake! I doubled the recipe and made this into a beautiful, tall, 4 layer cake. A HUGE hit!
I have made this several times and it is amazing. It is great to make for company as it is actually better after a day or 2 in the refrigerator. I have also made it gluten free with success using this gluten free flour. https://www.cup4cup.com/. I made no changes to the recipe except to switch flour. I will have to try some of your other recipes
Amazing. The best cake ever. I’ve made it over and over. My daughter requested I make for her birthday this week. A friend asked me to make just for her after enjoying the first one she asked me to make for an event that was shared by all. Freezing the cake before frosting is brilliant. I changed up how I assemble the cake. I layer each cake with both frosting and pineapple filling. Also, I haven’t figured out how to properly cut the cake to get all the layers, so I make a three layers cake. The fourth layer I freeze for a rainy day.
If I could give 10 stars, I would! Made this cake twice and I’m already getting requests from people to make one for them. I was nervous at first because I have always struggled to make cakes from scratch that didn’t fall. I followed the directions exactly and it came out perfect. It tastes like a professional cake made for fine dining or a cake they would serve at a formal wedding or something. Unbelievably tasty! You won’t be able to stop yourself from eating it all!
Delicious! I added no sugar in the pineapple filling and only 3/4 cup powdered sugar in the frosting. Cake was amazing! I’ve made it 6 times in the last month because everyone loves it!
Perfect recipe! I just tried it yesterday for my husband’s birthday and it came out amazing. The recipe was easy to follow and tasted yum! So soft and moist. I don’t kike my cakes very sweet and reduced the sugar in the cake to 1.25 cups and also in the filling. The final result was just perfect. Thank you for this amazing recipe. It is a keeper. <3
Delicious! I made this cake for my husband for our anniversary and it turned out even better than expected. He said it’s the best cake’s ever had!
This cake was amazing, everyone loved it.
Omg! Love this recipe! I didn’t want it to be too rich so I used 2/3 of the sugar the recipe calls for and didn’t put too much frosting on the cake. Everything about it was delicious!!!
Can I replace the coconut milk with regular milk ?
Loved this cake!! So moist, so flavorful!! I want to make this same cake only w/ o the coconut milk and make it a lemon cake using lemon extract and zest. Do I just substitute the coconut milk for regular milk?
This cake was AWESOME!
I am really excited to make this. I only have one 9inch by 1.5inch pan. Could I use half the ingredients and make one cake that I cut into two parts? I don’t really want to bake two cakes in the same tin.
Wow! I’m not a baker, so I probably messed something up along the way, but I needed something last week for my partner’s birthday while we’re in pandemic lockdown. All the ingredients are “pantry staples” in my household, so I thought I’d give it a try. It turned out to be one of the moistest and most delicious cakes I’ve ever eaten. I will definitely be making this again!
This is the third time I have made this cake. I first made this for my mom’s 90 th birthday. We ate the whole thing, they even scraped the crumbs off of the plate. It is absolutely delicious. I will be making this again.
I’m making this cake tonight! Does it have to be refrigerated after it’s made? Thanks so much!!
It will keep best in the fridge.
This is hands down the best cake I have ever made and had the pleasure of eating! Its magnificent! I make them and share with everyone! People love it!!!
I’m from the south and have tasted many coconut cakes the last 50 years. This is hands down one of the BEST I’ve had. The only thing I did differently was toasted the coconut and not mix it with the frosting. This will be my go to coconut cake recipe from now on. THANK YOU for sharing!
What does DIVIDED MEAN(COCONUT MILK)… does it mean to use half the can of coconut milk and save the remaining for the frosting? I may have already messed up. I use most of the can; 13.5 oz. We will see. It’s for my Easter Dinner today …
I can still redeem myself for my birthday April 28…
Thank you
Yes, that’s right.
My husband seen this recipe in our email inbox and loves coconut cake. It tastes good but almost too sweet. The only concern I had during the process was my pineapple filling seemed a little too juicy. Not wanting it to make my cake soggy, I did strained the juice from it. Husband loved it!!! Thank you for sharing.
Omg don’t strain it!! It was so delicious and I even added extra juice! we kept it in the fridge and the pineapple taste was perfect and made it extra delicious!
HI, I’m just making sure there are no egg yolks in this recipe, correct? I want to make sure they were not accidently omitted from the recipe before I try it. Thanks so much!
I want to try this! If I wanted s moth pineapple filling without any chunks, do you think it would work to purée the the canned pineapple in my blender before heating with the cornstarch and sugar?
Yes, worth a try!
Is there any way this could be done as a 9×13 cake?
I made this last Easter, and it was truly amazing!
Perfection 👌🏼
THANK YOU 😊
I made this cake about two weeks ago for my birthday (yes I made my own, I’m still single) after searching for a new coconut pineapple cake recipe other than the ones I’ve used for years. The cake alone was so moist I wanted to eat it before adding the pineapple and coconut spreads. But after frosting and leaving it in the fridge overnight, my after-dinner dessert was like treating myself to a slice of wedding cake – it was that rich and flavorful. I’ve made these before, and my mother had too, but this recipe is “the bomb”. Thanks for sharing!
Yummy cake recipe. Thank you
I noticed in the video that you placed each cake round, cut-side up. Why?
It would have never occurred to me to assemble it this way. Looking forward to trying this recipe!
I like to stack the very flat base of each cake to make sure the cake is level as possible.
This cake looks delicious. Can I add less sugar to the cake and frosting? For example 1 cup instead of 2 cups for the cake, and 2-3 cups of powdered sugar for the frosting
You would compromise the texture of the cake and frosting–the frosting needs the powdered sugar to get stable, otherwise it will be runny. The sugar in the cake could be slightly reduced, (1/4 to 1/3 cup) I’m just afraid 1 whole cup would be too much.
This cake is absolutely phenomenal! I made it April of 2019 for a co-worker’s birthday, and the whole office loved it! I couldn’t believe how much was eaten! After work, I gave a small portion that was left to one of my good friends who still raves about it and begs me to bake it again.
thank you for an amazing cake recipe! after reading through the comments, decided to test this out for my sister’s tiered wedding cake and it’s the one! because they like their desserts a little less sweet, i reduced the sugar for the cake to 1 1/3 c, but it still turned out so tasty 🙂
Would this cake work for cupcakes as well?
Yes, although I haven’t tested it so I can’t say the exact baking times. I believe other commenters have tried it.
Can I double the recipe and make it into four cake layers? Will it hold you think? I’m making it for a party and any advice appreciated, thank you.
Sure–it’s a pretty sturdy cake!
After all the reviews, I’M SURE, when I get it right will be fantastic!!! I’m on my 3rd try with the cakes today, the first time I tried substituting Coconut Flour… BAD Idea, So I tried again with regular flour, looked awesome, but stuck to the pans, even though I sprayed them well! SO, I’ll try one more time… any suggestions???
Line the bottom of the pans with parchment or wax paper and use regular flour.
Wilton makes a Nonstick cooking spray that I always use. The cakes fall out of the pan perfectly
It’s called bake easy
I am going to be making this cake today but always read the comments first. I have always had this problem with cakes and I’ve tried this with success.
Line the bottom with parchment paper.
Spray with nonstick baking spray.
Place a wet dish towel on the wire racks.
Place the pans directly on them when they come out.
Wait two min and flip them onto the rack (but remove the wet towel before of course 🙂 ).
I also get paranoid about cake sticking to the wire rack so I usually like the rack with parchment paper as well before flipping.
Amazing recipe! Any suggestions as to what can replace the egg whites in the recipe?
The egg whites are really essential–no great substitute since they get beaten separately and folded into the batter.
Oh my! The best cake I have ever made or eaten! I made a pineapple simple syrup but I’m sure even without it still would be superb. My husband’s upset I’ve never made it before its so good. A lot of work but so worth it! My mouths watering just writing this.
For the butter in the frosting (it doesn’t specify unsalted), can I use unsalted butter? Thanks!
Yes, thats fine!
I made this twice this week. Once for a test and one for the birthday party I was making it for. I used a different brand of coconut milk for each cake. The less creamy milk was lighter and more moist than the one with the super creamy coconut milk. That being said it was a huge hit and has already been requested for other birthdays in the family. Thank you for this amazing recipe! The instructions were easy to follow and I was thankful too for the divided sections of ingredients.
Tried this recipe for a friends birthday cake and it came out looking really good
My sour cream pound cake is my go-to during the holiday’s, but this Christmas my wife asked if I could make a Pineapple/Coconut cake. I googled and this recipe was a top search pick. I made it. I like the way the instructions are divided, this makes it easy to prepare. It looks complicated but it isn’t a hard process. I had a few minor issues that I hope to adjust, because I do plan on making this cake again.
1) I didn’t think when i saw, the recipe uses 2 cups of flour, that this would be enough cake, and for my liking the layers are too thin, it could use 3 cups of flour( adjustments for butter, sugar…) for more cake.
2) I initially thought there was too much pineapple filling, so i didn’t use all of it. I wish i had because it’s better with a more substantial filling. As a side note and i think most bakers know this. The cake has to chill to set, but it has to come to room temperature before it reaches it’s glory. The cold makes the cake hard, although I did come very close to overcooking the cake and may have caused the edges to be harder. DO NOT over-bake the cake.
My wife is Puerto Rican and there’s something about about coconut and pineapple(island favs) that really gets her excited. She’s very picky but, LOVED this cake, to the point that she didn’t want me to take it her family Christmas Eve gathering. I also think it’s a very good cake, more cake will make it great.
I’m hoping i can get the adjustments right for 3 cups of flour, if you have any suggestions, please let me know.
Thank you
Well H E L L O LAUREN. I am adding you to my list of NEW BEST FRIENDS. I made the Coconut Cake with Pineapple Filling for Thanksgiving and it was a BIGGGG HIT. This was my first time ever making a cake from scratch and it was PERFECT. I only had to add a pinch of salt and more sugar to the pineapple. Thanks so much for your delicious recipe. I will be trying the Chocolate Cake next. Keep the recipes coming – you are a keeper.
You should have stated add 1 tablespoon of the leftover coconut milk at a time to the frosting RATHER than “the remainder”. It turned it into soup and adding more powdered sugar is way over the top as it is ALREADY SO SWEET. I will try to fix by adding another 8 oz of cream cheese.
So true!
I’m making this recipe for a dear little lady for her 78th birthday 🎂 I’m making it a 10 inch 4 layer and I’m going to use the yolks to make a pineapple curd for the filling. It’s such a beautiful cake, I hope to do it justice.
Do you use crushed pineapple with juice or syrup for this recipe?
Juice.
Can this be made on Monday and kept frozen until Thursday
Yes, that would work great!
This is hands down the best cake I have ever made! It is moist, delicious, and very tasty! I made this for a woman who had never had a birthday cake since her mom passed away. She took a bite and began to cry. She loved it so much! Thank you for perfecting such a great recipe!
Made this last Thanksgiving..Lots of work for the first time but WELL WORTH IT.
I made this cake for the first time and it turned out perfecrly! I took it to a birthday party and everyone loved it!
OMG, LET ME TELL YOU, this recipe is amazing!! Im a new hobby/cake baker, and i made this cake exactly as is (i did only put 3 cups powdered sugar in the icing) and everyone who ate this almost died. and then came back for a second piece. Melts in your mouth and wonderful flavor. Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful recipe.
Hi if I substitute the all purpose flour with cake flour would it be the same
measurement cafe flour is a better flour for baking from what I understand
Thank you can’t wait to make this
Sorry, I have not tested this with cake flour. Probably would be fine.
This is my favorite cake ever!!! The recipe is perfect exactly as written. It is so so so good! Pretty simple and inexpensive, but very impressive looking and tasting.
This looks just like the way my sweet Grandmother made hers… I will attempt to make this for Thanksgiving. Thank you, for sharing this recipe. You have ignited memories for me of watching my Grandmother cooking.
Can you make cupcakes out of this recipe?
Have not tried it, but I think they would work great.
Can it be done with fresh pineapple? If using canned do you drain it or keep the liquid?
The canned pineapple is undrained. You can use fresh and scoop all of the juices from it, after chopping it, into the pan.
This cake is absolutely wonderfully delicious. Well worth the time it takes to make. Beat cake I have ever had.
Made this for my MIL’s 97th birthday. Huge hit. Everyone loved it and so did I. Cake absolutely delish. Will definitely make again. So glad you shared this recipe. Thank you!
Lauren,
This is the best coconut /pineapple cake I have ever made. I started making it Thanksgiving last year, and I’ve got a least 20 request for this cake ( Christmas, birthdays, baby shower, potlucks, and my adult children and their occassions! Absolutely my favorite cake to make & eat!
Thank you!
Paris
That makes me so happy to hear it has received such high praise! Thanks Paris!
Has anyone tried using coconut flour instead of regular flour to make this cake more Carb friendly?
I saw an earlier comment that tried coconut flour and they said it did not turn out
Made this with gluten-free flour and it turned out delicious!
Thanks for sharing–I’m glad to hear it worked with gluten-free flour!
Hi Lauren,
I can’t wait to try this recipe this weekend! I have a question- if I have boxed coconut milk (Pacifica Brand) can I substitute that for the canned coconut milk? Or do you recommend canned?? Is there a real difference for baking? Thank you!
There is actually a big difference between the two, be sure to used canned. Best wishes.
I made this cake for the first time today. It is excellent! I do suggest that you make the cake layers ahead of time and slice them while cold, the prep work is better if you do it in advance, it’s work but it’s definitely worth it! My husband says this is the best cake he has ever eaten, I was happy to hear this as I cooked it for his birthday! I came across this recipe almost by accident because I was looking for a coconut cake recipe and stumbled on this. I am already excited about the next time that I make this cake!🎂
This really was one of the best cakes I have ever had. That includes bakery bought cakes as well! My dad likes the pinapple coconut combination so I was looking for a recipe to incorporate both. I, myself, don’t particularly care for the combo so I wasn’t really expecting to like it a lot, but, it was for my dad anyway… Well, I loved this cake! I ate almost all the leftovers myself and I rarely will even eat any leftovers at all. My husband doesn’t even usually eat a whole piece of cake at the party, but I noticed that he sliced himself a big slice for breakfast the next day. This was a definite success! I did use some extra coconut on the outside of the cake and toasted some of it for looks. I also didn’t have coconut flavoring so I used a little almond and some vanilla, but I dont think it was crucial to the success of this recipe. I look forward to trying it with the coconut flavor next time.
I made this coconut cake and frosting for my daughters birthday at the end of June this year. I made a key lime, pineapple curd filling (using key lime juice and pineapple juice). It tasted amazing.
Sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing.
This cake is the best. Moist and delicious. The only problem is I can’t stop eating it. I’m going to make it with a flag design with strawberries and blueberries for the 4th of July today. I’m sure it will be amazing as well! Thank you!!!.
I love that idea! I hope everyone loves it!
I’ve made this cake before and it is amazing !! Fantastic recipe !! Going to make the frostingagain for another cake since it was a big hit – How long will this frosting keep in the fridge before being used ?
Thanks Jenn, I’m so happy to hear that! The frosting will last for 2 weeks in the fridge, or you can freeze it.
Awesome flavor in the cake but a little too sweet. Next time I’ll cut back on the sugar.The frosting was way too sugary. I had to scape it off in order to eat the cake.
This is my husband’s new favorite cake! I made it for his birthday and again for Father’s Day weekend. It went much easier the second time around as I knew I had to use my kitchenaid to beat the egg whites first then transfer them out of the stainless steel bowl (I only have one) so I could use that for the cake batter.
I also bought new baking powder since the cakes didn’t rise enough to be cut in half the first time. That time I went ahead and made more batter to get a true four layer cake. Even with the new powder, the cakes still didn’t rise enough. It’s just a two layer cake this time. Still delicious and moist and the perfect combination of flavors!
I have made this cake about 6 or 7 times and it is amazing and perfect every time. It is the staple birthday cake in my family. It’s all anyone can talk about while we are eating it and I am constantly asked for the recipe.
It is so moist and fluffy! And the pineapple filling is the perfect pairing. I’ve never made the frosting because I can’t do dairy. I usually use a meringue frosting instead.
Thank you so much for this recipe!
Have you used is recipe for cupcakes? Oven temp and bake time? Sounds delish.
Thanks!
Hello could I use carton egg whites ?.
I imagine it would work. I haven’t tried whipping egg whites from a carton.
Make you bake, fill, and ice and then freeze this cake? Sounds so yummy!
Yes, you may. 🙂
I made it as per mentioned and it was superb
I made your cake for my mom on mother’s day. It was fantastic! Thanks so much for your recipe! Everyone loved it! I added one layer of raspberry on top of the second layer because my mom loves raspberries. My skill is limited, so I didn’t cut the cakes I used 4 pans ?. Thank youuuu.
I love the idea of a raspberry layer–yum! I’m so happy it was a hit!
I’m going to be making this cake today but I only have the paddle attachment to my stand mixer and don’t have a hand mixer. Will I be able to beat the egg whites to stiff peaks with the paddle attachment? Also, several people said they didn’t get the cake to rise enough to cut in half. Is there anything I can do to make it more likely that my cakes rise like they should?
Hi Corina, I’ve never tried beating egg whites with the paddle attachment–it may work but I really can’t say for sure, sorry! As long as the cake ingredients are measured properly, and the baking powder is fresh, you shouldn’t have a problem with the cake rising.
So for Easter my mom asked me to make a cake, and I have only ever baked one cake from scratch. This recipe was perfect and had everybody thinking I was doing this forever! Dont get me wrong it was ugly (I lack the frosting skills) but so far as taste, people are still talking about it. Even those that say they dont like coconut was impressed by how moist and perfect this cake was. I’m such a beginner with baking that I had to YouTube what “stiff peaks” meant for the egg whites. So if I can do it, anybody can. Great recipe!
That is fantastic :). I’m so glad this cake was a success for you! I hope it’s a new Easter tradition :).
Want to make this cake 12 inch round pan… how should I adjust the measurements of ingredients
I’d have to know the volume of the cake pan– your best bet would be to double the recipe, use the batter to fill the pan and any excess batter could make cupcakes.
I wanted to ale this delicious looking cake for Easter, but I see the time to make over 4 hours wow. I know it’s not the same as from scratch but could you use white cake box mix and add coconut extract then do the frosting and filling the same as directed? just curious?
Hi Anne–yes, it takes a bit of time, that’s why I always make the different elements (cake, frostings), a day or two ahead of time. Yes, you could substitute a white cake mix with a little coconut extract in it and it would still be delicious. Enjoy!
It’s freaking delicious but I cannot make it pretty
Is the coconut canned or the bag of angel flake.
Canned coconut goes inside the cake. Coconut flakes go in the frosting.
OMG not fair putting all these pics and video up.. I have nothing to make this with right now and am already in my jammies… This looks so luscious.. I can’t wait to make it.. It looks really easy as well. Thanks for posting it and making me drool!
This cake was delicious and I love both coconut and pineapple. This is the first homemade cake I have ever made, so it didn’t rise like it should have. So it was a 2 layer cake instead of 4. Still everyone loved it..Going to have to try again. Thanks for the recipe.
The cake tastes great. Although I had some hiccups with the egg whites and the cake didn’t rise enough to cut them both in half, it was still delicious!
i made 4 bc i couldn’t cut in half. Delicious.
This cake is awesome… I love pineapple cake and pie… But this cake was easy to make and harder to put the fork down from eating this cake…..
This cake was amazing! I made it as a birthday cake for a co-worker and everyone loved it! Thank you for this recipe. I will absolutely be making this again!
An this be doubles as I am making it for a family reunion or should I just make 2 cakes?
I’m not totally sure what you’re asking…yes you can double the recipe…
The cakes did not work out at all. The egg white cooked into a layer on the top and the rest was a soupy mess. Did I miss something?
Something definitely went wrong. 🙂 Did you beat the egg whites into stiff peaks, and fold them completely into the batter?
This cake is FANTASTIC!! I followed the recipe exactly as written and all was good.
Hi! This recipe looks so yummy, I started with the coconut cake the result sounds good. Then the pineapple, it tastes a little bit too sugary, the amount of sugar would have good with fresh pineapples but when they’re canned it think one should lower the amount of sugar. As for the frosting I don’t get why it didn’t go well at all, I followed the recipe but it’s way too liquid. Isn’t there too much of coconut milk? Because I keep adding sugar but it has become too sugary you don’t even taste the coconut anymore.. a big help here please ??
How big of a can of coconut milk were you using? You should be able to easily adapt the thickness and thinness of the frosting by adding a little more sugar to thicken or a splash of milk too thin.
I made this cake today for the first time. It is so good. I enjoy baking, and i was reminded to my grandmother homeade coconut pineapple cake. So i surprise my hubby today with this cake. Very pleased. DELICIOUS!!!
Just curious, when the cakes bake do they come out flat on top? My daughter is making this for a cake auction so we dont get to taste it before it gets given away…just want to make sure we baked it right
Yes, mine usually come out pretty flat on top 🙂
I really liked this cake!
I made for my birthday, and everyone liked it too. Next time I´ll just layer it with the pineapple filling and frost it with the coconut frosting, instead of doing one layer of each one.
Thank you very much for the recipe! Greetings from Guatemala 🙂
I made this cake, and I must say it was fantastic! Only one different part, I had to cook the cake a full 40 minutes, and it was not overdone.
Why are my cakes sinking so much in the middle?
Hi Ginger,
This is a tricky question because it can depend on so many different things. I would need to know a little more about the conditions in which you baked the cake. Check out this resource for great advice on why your cake might be sinking!
How about a low Sugar version?
The best cake ever!!!! Warning: MAKE EXTRA Everyone wanted a second slice!!!!!! I know I did!!!
When putting the pineapple filling between the layers should I place a dam of frosting around the outer edge?
You can if you want to! I usually don’t–I cook it down until it’s pretty thick so I don’t worry about it spilling out the edges.
This looks amazing! How deep should the cake pans be?
Any standard 8 or 9 inch cake pan should be fine.
there are so many different coconut milks, can you tell me exactly which kind to purchase
Any brand of canned unsweetened coconut milk will work.
Hi Lauren,
did you ever try to substitute pineapple from can with fresh pineapple? if so do I need to go through the same process of cooking in the saucepan?
I appreciate your feedback,
thank you
That would be fine, but yes I would cook it the same. Cooking it will thicken it into a jelly-type of filling.
I made this following the instructions to the T, and it was way too sweet. Because the “cake” is made with egg whites and coconut milk, it’s almost macaroon-like in its flavor and texture. Not what you would expect from a cake batter. It also has way too much sugar in it, and I say that liking sweet things.
I ended up remaking the cake with a simple white cake batter, and it was so much better. I also cut the sugar in the pineapple filling down to 1/2 cup and just barely 4 cups of sugar in the frosting. The desiccated sweet coconut adds plenty of sweetness to the frosting.
I always use frozen coconut in re ipes like . this. I think you would like the original recipe that way. Frozen coconut isn’t sweet like processed flaked.
Thank you Lauren for a great recipe ! I made this today for my daughters birthday and loved it to the core. I made some small adjustments- used 1/4 cup butter and 1/4 cup coconut oil. I added about 1/2 cup pineapple pieces and some shredded coconut to the batter. I also brushed the touted layers with the pineapple juice from the crushed pineapple. It was the most delicious and moist cake that I ever made. Thank you again !
I was wondering if you use cream of coconut or actually just the coconut milk?
I use a regular can of coconut milk.
Do you have a recipe version to make the cake batter pineapple or vanilla, essentially minus the coconut? I want to make this as a pineapple only cake tonight, no coconut. Thanks!
I’m sorry, this really is a “white cake” with coconut milk added as the liquid. If it were me I would go for a more traditional yellow cake recipe and substitute crushed pineapple for some of the oil or liquid.
Haven’t made it yet. Was wondering if I could sub butter to coconut oil? (Or part) I don’t have access to coconut essence so hoped the use of coconut oil may make up for that.
I haven’t tried it but I think it would be fine.
I made this for a bake sale at church. It was raved about so much. I have made several now. I got married last may and my husband and family and friends love it. Never have more than a couple of slices left over. An amazing cake. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you so much for the kind review, Patricia!
I made this cake a few months ago and it is FANTASTIC. I’m pretty sure that the success of my current relationship is due, in large part, to this cake. 😀 Thanks for the recipe!! I’ll be making it again this weekend.
Haha,thanks Missi! I’m so glad to help ;).
I had a craving for something with pineapple and coconut and I found your recipe. The picture looked soooooo good that I just had to make it. I followed the recipe exactly up until the frosting. I didn’t have any cream cheese but I always have marscapone for tiramisu. I substituted (which isn’t saying much since they are pretty close to being the same thing) and I added a tsp of almond extract. This cake turned out fantastic! Hubby and I had it before dinner because we just couldn’t help ourselves! What a nice treat, not too sweet and quite moist. Kudos for your easy to
follow recipe and I now have another delightful dessert for any occasion! Well Done!
Thanks for sharing–I love hearing that you used what you had. Mascarpone is a great substitution for cream cheese–I’m so glad it turned out great!
Hello, I’m making this cake for a dear friends b-day can I use the whole egg?
I supposed you could, but this is a “white cake” so egg yolks would change the structure, texture, and color of the cake. The egg whites get beaten to stiff peaks (step 8) and folded into the batter. It’s a much different method than a cake where whole eggs are added to the batter.
Hi please I’m making this this evening but in two 6” pans
How do I go about breaking up the recipe?
Fill your pans like you normally would, you will just have leftover batter (you could add it to a cupcake pan to make a few cupcakes). I haven’t baked this cake in 6” pans so you’ll have to keep an eye on it to see when it’s finished–I would guess around 25 minutes.
Do you use whole can of coconut milk? What does it mean that it is divided?
1 1/4 cups are added in step 6, and the remaining is added to the frosting.
Hi
I would like to make this cake.
When you said, “coconut milk, divided”, what does it mean?
Do you put the can in the refrigerator to make it separated? Or do you use the whole can mixed?
Part of the coconut milk is added in step 6, and the rest in the frosting (step 2 of the frosting instructions)
Hello – making this now and wanted to confirm the 1 Tablespoon of baking powder. Is that correct?
Yes 🙂
Can i use fresh pineapple instead of canned and if so do I have to add or omit anything..thank you
Sure, you will want a little more than two cups of finely diced fresh pineapple, with any juices that come as you cut it 🙂 Enjoy!
I’ve had a bite of this kind of cake before and it was super good, so glad to see the recipe….Question for you, Italian creme cake with pecans is my now favorite, do you by chance make this one????? I see it at HEB in my town and I know it has a lot of oil in it, Crisco or something that makes it taste so good and moist…..Interesting to know if you could produce a great receipe……Thanks, and many Blessings for what you do….
Thanks Barbara! I’ve never made Italian Creme Cake, but it sounds delicious!
Is t Tablespoon baking powder correct? Just seem like a lot.
Yes, 1 Tablespoon is correct 🙂
Oops, I forgot to put my FIVE STAR rating.
Hands down one of the best, if not THE BEST cake I’ve ever made or eaten. It got RAVE reviews from everyone that tasted it, including my co-worker who isn’t a coconut fan. It takes some time, but very well worth it!!!
Can this be made gluten free ?
I haven’t tried it, but if you read through the comments I think others may have 🙂
Since it was only my 3rd or 4th cake from scratch – i learned a lot
* Definitely need cake sleeves
* Use 8 inch pans
EVERYONE loved ir ! The frosting is SOOOOOO addicting !!!
I have just recently started baking and this is probably my 4 th or 5 th cake. I learned a lot… ? I agree with using 8 inch pans. I used 9 inch and the 4 layers were VERY thin. I never have whipped egg whites before which is another significant lesson. I make the cake sleeves out of wet paper towels and aluminum foil. I am off to the store to buy an egg separator and sleeves. ? The cake is for a get together tomorrow so I haven’t tried it yet. ??
Is it ok to substitute cake flour? Will that make for a fluffier cake? Looks delicious! Thank you for the recipe 🙂
That would be fine 🙂
I made both the coconut cake with pineapple filling and the red velvet cake for Thanksgiving. Both were the best cakes I ever made or tasted. Can’t wait to make the German chocolate cake. My children agreed it was worthy of an award! Thank you for sharing!
Would it work to instead of layers to bake the cake in a 9×13? Then spread the pineapple filling over the cake and then the frosting.
I think that should work! Best of luck, I’d love to hear how it turns out!
This cake is delicious. I was hoping to convert it to a vanilla cake. Has anyone done this?
Only 1/2 of butter?
Yes, only 1/2 cup of butter in the cake batter.
I just baked the cake, made the filling and frosting…..everything looks amazing! Quick question: I wrapped the cakes and put them in the refrigerator to assemble tomorrow, but I didn’t torte the layers before I did that. Will I have a hard time torting a cold cake?
I’m glad to hear it Tiffany, I hope everyone loves it! I think cold cakes are easier to tort than straight from the oven 🙂 Good luck, and I’d love to hear how it turns out!
This cake was absolutely phenomenal! So good, I’m fact, that I’ve made it twice in 2 weeks! We had around 30 people over for Thanksgiving, and EVERYONE raved about it…..i’m still getting requests to make this. Thank you so much; I was dreading the torting process but it was so simple!
Wh6 is egg whites necessary?
Egg whites are essential to the texture of the cake (although it’s a coconut cake, it’s also a “white” cake and egg whites are one of the main ingredients in white cakes.)
So I made this for my boyfriends bday because he loves coconut. I kinda rushed it and didnt have time to chill the ingredients as long as suggested and the cake was still a little warm when it was iced. I still have never received so many compliments on a cake (and I bake alot). We gave the wait staff a big slice and the server came back to say it was the best cake she had ever been given!! Months later and people are still talking about this cake and asking for the recipe. HUGE HIT!! If I could give more than 5 stars I would!!
That’s amazing! I’m so glad it turned out so well–Thank you for sharing!
Made the cake for my son’s family birthday party! It was claimed a hit by everyone, birthday boy included. I made the cake one week in advance, sliced it and froze it, made the pineapple filling and icing the day before and assembled everything the morning of! Absolutely delicious!!
One suggestion, you may want to rename it “Pina Colada Cake”!
Do you have to use unsweetened coconut milk? Will sweetened coconut milk work?
I’m going to make this cake and can’t seem to find unsweetened coconut milk.
Hi Beverly, are you sure your looking at canned coconut milk, and not the kind in the box or the refrigerated kind like you would drink? Usually the canned kind is unsweetened…I find mine in the thai/asian food aisle at the my local grocery stores.
I am excited to try this recipe for my brother’s birthday. Please clarify how much coconut milk is used for the cake and how much is used for the frosting. Thanks!
1 1/4 cups in the cake (see step 6). Whatever is left from the 13.5 oz can goes in the frosting.
Can I make icing night before anencephaly fridge for next afternoon?
Yes, that will work.
does cake have to stay refrigerated?
Yes, it stores best in the fridge because of the cream cheese frosting.
This is the best recipe for coconut cake I e ever made. The pineapple filling takes the cake to a whole new level. I would like to try is recipe as cupcakes. Have you ever tried it?
I haven’t but I’m sure they would be delicious! If it were me I would remove a little of the center of the cupcake and spoon the filling in, and then drost them. I’d love to hear if you make them!
Im going to make these as a snow globe cupcake. I will try to let you know how things go!! I wish there was a place to post pics.
My late grandmother used to make this for my dad and my uncles when they were growing up. It is his absolute favorite and I’m going to make it for him this Thanksgiving. This recipe is the closest I’ve seen to her recipe.
Does freezing the cake dry it out ? I have made cakes befor but always try to do it all in a day or two.
Nope, not if it’s wrapped and stored properly 🙂
how do you freeze the cake to make it easier to ice.Do u wrap it an with what
After the cakes have cooled completely I wrap each individually in plastic wrap and then put them in individual freezer ziplock bags 🙂
Made this cake today for my daughter‘s birthday. It turned out wonderful. Have it in the refrigerator for tomorrow. I’m sure it will taste great because as I nibbled everything tasted wonderful. 🙂
I’m nervous about torting my layers. Would 3 layers bee almost as good? And does it need to stay refrigerated?
Yes you could do 3 layers and yes refrigerate it 🙂 ! Hope you enjoy it!
So moist!! Made this cake for my daughters Birthday. I made cake and pineapple filling 2 days in advance. Chilled in fridge (didn’t freeze cake) made the icing the next day and put it all together the day of. Big hit!! Loved the cream cheese icing.
Thanks so much Jean! I’m glad it was a hit!
Hi Lauren,
Is there any way to replace the egg whites in this recipe? I would like to try an Eggless version of this cake …my mom is allergic to eggs ?
Hi Pranisha, If it were another cake recipe you may be able to make that work, but not this cake as the 5 beaten egg whites are essential to its texture. They are the binding ingredient that holds the crumb together. So sorry!
Hi Pranisha, I have adapted this lovely recipe so that it is vegan (egg and dairy free). I’ll post it on my website with a link back toLauren’s original recipe.
Please let me have your vegan version?
I made this cake and it was a huge hit! So moist and the pineapple filling was so good with the coconut. It really helped to make it stages in advance and then I frosted the day I was going to serve. Delicious!!
Can this cake be frozen after it’s completed?
Yes it can!
Hi there
I was wondering your thoughts on the stability of this cake stacked taller if I used 3 layers, dowel, board then another 3 layers. I am using a buttercream dam then filling the cavity finishing off outside with buttercream/coconut????
Bizarre question but I’m planning this cake for a wedding – the couple are infatuated with Rafaelo chocolates! ?
Your recipe sounds just divine! xxxxx
Hi there,
I have never done it before but I think it should work! Hope it turns out:)
I tried it and it was perfect. Reduced the sugar, but it is still yummy. Thank you for this recipe.
Can l replace the all purpose flour with cake flour? And does the measuring amount stay the same?
Yes, that would be fine 🙂
I made this and it was a big hit. I used 1/2 the amount of sugar for the pineapple filling. I was wondering how much coconut milk do I use for the cake. I use 2 Tbs for the icing right?
Any advice on transporting it???
Hi Janie,
A cake box would help you transport it! Below is an awesome resource for transporting and freezing your cake:
https://cakebycourtney.com/how-to-freeze-thaw-and-transport-your-cakes/
Making this cake tomoro. I’m extremely nervous because I’ve never baked a cake from scratch. Am I reading the recipe right? Do I line the pans with wax paper? Then pour batter in the lined pans?
Line them with either wax paper OR parchment paper and then spray the bottom and sides of the lined pan lightly with cooking spray. Hope you enjoy it 🙂
My cake turned out runny and blew up in the oven! I followed the steps precisely. It was a big disaster ?
Monica, I would make the cake and filling on one day, and assemble and Frost the next day. For me, if I break it up, I stress about it less!
The reason for putting either wax paper or parchment paper is rhat your cake wont stick too the pans
Be sure u put butter or margerine on your wax paper or parchment paper.
Your baked item wont stick to the pan
I was skeptical about putting wax paper and then spraying with no stick .. To my surprise the cakes fell right out and didn’t stick. Thanks for that great tip?
Yes, but I butter the pans first, getting the sides and put wax paper of parchment paper in the bottom of the pans and lithely butter the top of the paper so nothing sticks to the pan.
I have 9 inch silicone liners for my cake pans — best investment ever!! This dreamy cake has been assembled and is just waiting in the fridge for my foodie daughter’s 16 birthday tomorrow. She’s going to love it! I didn’t have cream cheese so added a stick of butter and powdered buttermilk starter to the frosting — a first. Feeling a little mad scientist. 😉 Also no coconut extract, but I have a feeling it will be delicious anyway with all these great elements!
Parchment paper is better.
the icing is way to sweet..can I get a recipe for an icing who is not so sweet…everyone likes the cake so much…just way to sweet..
jakob_raschle@hotmail.com
Thanks so much for this recipe. I spent years searching for the perfect coconut cake recipe and this is it! I’ve made it a few times now and it is so good. I have a question though! It’s my son’s 11th birthday soon and he loves orange chocolate. There are plenty of orange chocolate sponge cake recipes out there but I was wondering if I could add orange zest and orange flavoring to this one in place of the pineapple filling would it work?
I’m so happy you’ve liked it! I’m sure the orange filling would be delicious, although if you leave the pineapple out you’ll need something else, like maybe mandarain oranges? to substitute to get the same thickness. Otherwise it will be more of a thick glaze, which would work if that’s what you want.
Hi Lauren. I really hope you get to answer this soon because I’ve got a few hours more to make the cake. Can I substitute butter for shortening (Crisco)? Also, I’m covering it in fondant. I’d like to use a nice icing that isn’t too sweet. Which would you advise? Can I use coconut cream with the icing to enhance the flavour for my crumb coat?
Hi Mira, I haven’t tried this cake with crisco–you will loose the taste that comes from a cake made with butter, but texture wise it should be fine. I’m confused what you’re asking me about the frosting…You are going to do fondant over an icing that isn’t too sweet, but you dont want to use the frosting recipe here? If you could clarify, I’ll try and answer 🙂
Thanks Lauren. I meant I’ll be making this with fondant but will need to make a crumb coat before the fondant. What is the nest frosting to use under the fondant?
I can’t wait to taste the cake. However, I only made 2 round cake pans of cake per the instructions. However when I went to assemble, it said 3 cake layers. I ended up cutting my cake layers in half but almost didn’t have enough pineapple filling. I’m glad I made it for home and not to take somewhere. It’s kind of short & squatty…
Recipe looks amazing !
Sorry if this question was already asked …. has the cake recipe been used for cupcakes ???
Does it work out just as good ???
How much time needed to bake cupcakes ???
I think it would work fine. You could hollow out a small hole and fill with the pineapple filling then frost or frost generously with pineapple filling followed by top layer of frosting. I think it would be yummy! As far as time for baking I really don’t know for sure, never tried.
I would fill cup two-thirds full and start with 18 minutes, test from there and just keep an eye until they are baked. Good luck.
Sharon
I did exactly that and the 4 layers were all perfectly even!
This cake is fabulous. I’ve been making it once a week because my family can’t get enough of it. But I am TERRIBLE at cutting the layers in half evenly. Has anyone tried baking 4 separate layers? And if so would the 8” x 3/4” shallow pans work?
Sharon
I did exactly that and the 4 layers were all perfectly even!
Sharon
I did exactly that and the 4 layers were perfectly even!
I made this because a close friend of mine who is a refugee from Pakistan said her favorite cake was Pineapple cake. I thought that her family would be the only ones who like it at her party so I had doughnuts for back up. Turned out everyone including myself loved this cake so much! My husband asked for it for his Birthday this year! : ) We live in Thailand so I used fresh pineapple, 2 cups fruit, 1/2 cup pineapple juice.
Thanks so much for the new family favorite!
Is there a high altitude version? Do we need to make any tweaks to high altitude? I’m at 4,300 ft.
I would add 2 Tbl. additional flour.
I am making this recipe this weekend for a friend’s birthday. The recipe isn’t clear as to whether or not the egg whites need to be whipped before folding into the batter but I’m assuming that’s the case.
You do want to beat the eggs whites, as you’ll see in step 8 of the instructions 🙂 Hope you friend loves it!
5 stars. I’ve made this recipe 3x and comes out perfect everytime
I made this cake on Sunday to bring to work on Monday as a thank you to my coworkers for covering my job duties when I was gone. It was rated excellent and they loved it. Thanks for sharing. (I had plenty of frosting, but used the 8 inch cake pans so maybe that’s why? I was worried and almost made a double batch because I wanted the rosettes on mine too) I had enough left that I could have used more in the layer section). I did have leftover pineapple filling too..didn’t want it super thick.
I made this cake (as a pair of 8″ rounds) — and it came out to be quite tasty, although definitely on the sweeter side. A few thoughts:
In order to balance out the sweetness of the cake and frosting, I only used 1/2 of the sugar called for in the filling. I also added a half teaspoon of powdered citric acid in order to amp up the pineapple’s natural tartness.
If I made this cake again, I’d probably increase the frosting recipe by about 1/4. While I was able to cover the entire cake as well as have that middle layer — the middle layer of frosting was decidedly thin compared to layers of pineapple filling, and there wasn’t enough left over to make the rosettes.
My mother used to make this cake for my Dad’s birthday. This was back when u cracked the real coconut ? & grated it !!! I can still remember the kitchen smelling heavenly. She only made it once a year!!! I can’t wait to find someone to make this. I am 76 & I still can smell my mom,s aromas from the kitchen ???.
Hi Lauren, I live in Colorado with an altitude of 7300, can you tell how to adjust my ingredients so my cake won’t be flat .
Thank you.
Hi Karen, this article is a great resources for adaptions you can make for high altitude. Hope it helps! https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html
When I was a little girl, ( I am 71 now) my mom used to make this cake. She combined the pineapple and the icing together… cooking it for a while. Then she let it cool. She used three layers of cake instead of four. The icing was refrigerated. Then she put it between layers. It was sweet and perfect with the pineapple in the icing. The cake was spread with the icing. Some was kept plain to go on the top and sides. Coconut was sprinkled on the top and sides. This was the best cake I ever had. The recipe must have come from Pillsbury, because my mom always used Pillsbury everything. Such a moist and delicious cake !!!!
I’m allergic to pineapple. Is there a lemon curd filling you could substitute with?
Sure, that would be delicious! You could use store-bought lemon curd, or this lemon mousse as a filling would be yummy: https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/lemon-cream-mousse-2/
Made this cake today but I was wondering have you ever used something different than pineapple as filling….like blueberries reaspberries or even a lemon curd? Thanks for a wonderful recipe
I’m not a coconut fan, until I made this cake at my husbands request. This has become my favorite of all
cakes. Today I’m making it for the third time. It will be for my card group on Wednesday. I’m taking your
advice and making a few days ahead. Will try freezing it tonight. I have limited freezer and refrigerator space,
thanks to a side by side I do despise..But where there is a will…
Thank you so much for posting this recipe.. I love it
That makes me so happy to hear! Thanks for sharing Nedra. Hope you can squeeze some room in your freezer, it will make the process even easier!
I just found this recipe today but will definitely be making it soon. I just wanted to say that I have found the easiest way to me to split the cakes in two layers is to use dental floss. Slices through cake easily.
This cake was absolutely amazing!!
I wonder if you can use Paleo all-purpose flour for this? Has anyone tried?
You were right Lauren, this cake is the most AMAZING coconut cake and is somewhat of a masterpiece! Made it per the instructions (except the freezing part) for my daughter’s 22nd birthday and it was delicious. She doesn’t care much for cakes (not really into sweets at all) had two slices. Yeah, it’s THAT good 🙂 I decorated the top center with fresh chopped mango & strawberries. The whole family enjoyed it. Thank you for posting this recipe.
Thanks for sharing Deb! I’m glad you daughter loved it, and your addition of chopped fruit on top sounds perfect! Thanks for commenting!
This cake was absolutely delicious. I took it for Pot Luck at church and it was a heavenly success. Everyone knows and loves my husband’s cheesecake, but he said he would put this cake up against his cheesecake. Coming from my husband of 55 years, that is a HUGE compliment. Thank you.
What an amazing compliment! Thanks so much for sharing Pat–I’m so glad everyone loved it!
Can I make this in a 9×13 pan??
Sure, I can’t tell you the exact baking time because I haven’t tested it.
I’m making this today for my sister’s birthday. I made the cake yesterday and froze it until I make the other two ingredients today. I tasted a tiny pinch of the plain cake and it was so good and moist. I can’t wait to see how it all turns out in taste. I’m using my wilton icing tips to decorate the top flowers with some wilton gel icing colors. I think your detailed recipe directions are spot on and thank you for sharing this scrumptious recipe.
Thank you Julie! I would love to hear what you think when you put it all together, or I’d love to see a photo!–It sounds like it will be beautiful!! Enjoy!
I made this cake using a Duncan Hines white cake mix, which is one of my favorites. I followed instructions for pineapple filling & cream cheese icing. I did not use any coconut as I don’t care for it. It came out great! Froze the cake for a couple of days & left the pineapple filling in refrigerator for 2 days until I made the icing & put everything together. Did not slice the layers before freezing & had no problem there. If you’ve ever had cake decorating there are a couple of items that make making this cake easier. Will make again & use lemon filling.
Hello, I’ve tried making the cake part 3 different times and though it is getting better it is not working out for me. I’m not a skilled baker. Though this time the cakes turned out a little better they still are pretty flat so I will finish this with two tiers because I can’t torte them. I’m noticing that my batter seems more dough like so I’m not sure if I need to add more coconut milk before adding the flour. Any thought you have on this would be appreciated.
Thank you
It says divide coconut milk. An I dividing it in half or just taking out what us needed for the frosting?
Just taking out whats needed for the frosting 🙂
Is there any way to make this cake with a box cake mix & just add some vanilla extract to it?? Trying to make it simpler since my life is soooo hectic. . . it really looks good . .. so plz let me know.
Hi Enid, I would use a white cake mix, with a little coconut extract added to the batter. 🙂 Enjoy!
Is it o .k. to use a prepared pineapple cake mix for this cake?
Do you not drain the pineapple before making filling??
No, you don’t want to drain the pineapple.
Is the pineapple in its own juice or in heavy syrup?
I used “in its own juice”. Heavy syrup would work as well, it will just be sweeter.
Dear Lady Lauren:
Made this cake over the weekend to take to work today. Followed your recipe verbatim and guess what, cake turned out so fabulous that a co-worker even asked me to marry her! This dense, heavy, moist bundle of love (the cake, that is) was gone in 5 mins . Two women opted for second pieces which was surprising since it’s usually us pork chop men who take second pieces. THANK YOU for making my co-workers’ day today with your amazing recipe! A real treat for all!
Thanks so much for sharing Nick–I’m thrilled that it made you popular with your co-workers 😉 Thanks for taking the time to comment!
I made this recipe and I was amazed how delicious it was. I have done some other recipes and they are not what I thought but this one, was even better than I imagined! I have to make it again because I gave a piece to everybody and it was too little left for me and I loved it! I would like to send you a picture.
Looks soon good. I will make it for my family reunion this weekend. Can’t wait for the accolades.
I baked for 30 min and center was wobbly… not baked. so I am baking for longer and going to keep and eye on it. batter tasted amazing and cannot wait to surprise my husband with it later
5 cups of powdered sugar in the frosting? Am I reading that right?
You will use at least 4 cups (it says 4-5 because you can add more or less depending on the consistency you like). Enjoy!
my frosting was wayyyyy to sweet..love the cake and pineapple filling. need to find a nother recipe for the frosting…or do something to it so it wont be so sweet..too much powdered sugar..I guess.
I’m making this tomorrow for the first time. I’m not a big fan of cream cheese icing. I will fold the coconut and about a cup of powdered sugar, Tsp of vanilla into 8 oz. of Cool Whip.
I find that if you cut back on the sugar and then refrigerate (at least 30 -60 minutes) the frosting it will thicken and have the right consistency to frost the cake.
This cake is delicious! Definitely a new family favourite. Also, thank you for the very helpful tip about freezing the layers.
Made this exactly as instructed! It had my hubby’s two favorites: pineapple and coconut! He enjoyed it!! Will make again!!
This cake is delicious! My family absolutely loved it. Also, thank you for the tip about freezing the layers – very helpful.
I wonder if the bake time is wrong. I baked 28 min. , then cooled cake and when i inverted on rack it opened up and raw batter poured out. I put it back in oven for another 30 min and it. It Finally got done. With all that said I love the taste of the batter, it has to be heavenly when finished.
Johnnie
Hi Johnnie,
I’m so sorry that happened. It’s always helpful to use the toothpick test to make sure your cake is cooked all the way through. Unfortunately bake time may always very depending on oven calibration and your location.
Can I make this into cupcakes? If so, how?
Yes, that should be fine! I haven’t tested it but I would check them around 18 minutes. I’d love to know how they turn out!
Is the coconut milk the Thai kind from the grocery store or the thicker kind that you buy in Asian markets?
Any unsweetened canned coconut milk should work!
I made this cake. Substituted half of the coconut milk for regular milk, used vanilla instead of coconut extract in the cake. In the frosting I used regular milk and added vanilla. It was amazing. Even my husband who thought he only liked chocolate cake loved it and it’s his favorite now. ❤️
Hi there! When you bake this cake in 8″ pans, are the pans 2″ or 3″ tall?
I think this would be helpful to know. I cooked the cakes almost an extra 2o minutes and I think they still were a little undercooked.
That can sometimes happen if there is too much batter in a pan or the pan is not deep enough
I used an 8” pan, and the cakes were still very doughy after the 25 mins. It took about another 10-15 mins before it passed the toothpick test. Very yummy, though.
Sometimes cooking time varies according to your oven and your altitude I usually add time in 5 minute incriments so as not to over cook. Cooking time can also vary according to the depth of your pans.
The same thing happened to me. The first try I baked them for 28 minutes, the toothpick came out clean, and the center of the cake was not done, so back to the store for more coconut milk fro try number two. This time I baked it until the sponge was pulling away from the edge of the pan. The sponge was done but the center still was very low.
It tasted great, and the bonus was I made tasty butterscotch puuding with all the egg yolks
Can I substitute a gluten free flour blend?
I haven’t tried it! Curious to know how it turns out.
I just made it with GF flour! It turned out perfect! I use the 1:1 ratio
Although the recipe suggests assembling this cake at least 4 hours before serving, I baked this cake this afternoon for a book club meeting this evening. I started with the pineapple so it would have time to cool while the cake was baking. I had just enough time to assemble it before I had to pack it up to take with me. Because of other comments here, I wasn’t sure how it would come together. I’m pleased to say that the results were amazing!
I didn’t have coconut extract, so I omitted it altogether. I still found the cake to have a lovely coconut flavor that was enhanced by the grated coconut and additional coconut milk in the frosting. My layers were a bit uneven, but they held together well and looked lovely. There is a trend to leave cakes unfrosted, and this would be a lovely presentation for this cake, except the frosting really shouldn’t be skimped on.
My book club friends loved the cake, enough so that I don’t have any left to test that it tastes better with time. But I’m already planning to make this cake again for a potluck this weekend. And I’ll start early to make sure that the favors have time to meld (if it was as good as it was after only an hour or two, I can’t wait to taste what a day or two will do).
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! This is the kind of cake that has me thinking of excuses to bake it because I want people to taste just how good it is.
Hi.. I would like to know did you freeze your layers of cake for three weeks and then put the icing on it just before you went to your book club meeting. I love coconut cake but the idea of thinking that I have to freeze it for three weeks, I don’t think I can wait that long. LOL just let me know if you put the icing on it right away? Thanks, Julia
My wife is in California on vacation visiting her kids. I was going to make it for her when she gets back home. I do want to try your chocolate cake with chocolate mousse filling too.
If you freeze them do you let them thaw completely before assembling the cake?
No, assembling the cake frozen will work best. It will thaw.
First of all I have to say I am 25 years old and I have never baked anything from scratch. Someone posted this recipe on Facebook and for the first time in my life I felt compelled to bake something.
I just made this cake and I cannot stress how badly I want to eat it! The batter tasted amazing and so did the pineapple filling and the frosting! I am currently waiting for my cakes to cool off.
Although I know everything will taste amazing once put together, I noticed my cakes were very flat in the middle compared to the rest of my cake 🙁 I am kind of scared to slice them in half, but I don’t care if they fall apart, haha.still gonna be tasty.
I am a super novice baker, can you lend some advice? Otherwise this cake is amazing. Thank you for the recipe!
It’s very easy to cut the layers in half horizontally using dental floss.
That is a great idea.
That is clever!! Thanks!
You made me happy. I hope your cake turned out well. Quite an endeavor for a first time scratcher. Yum!!!!
Now I need to give it a try.
Just keep on enjoying baking cakes. I started by taking a cake decorating class and absolutely hated it. But, I did learn that it was very important to have a quality cake to frost. So, that was the beginning of baking cakes for others. I probably bake at least 6 cakes each months that I give away to surprised people, bus drivers, workers in stores and anyone else that seems to need a cake. I love a challenge and I can hardly wait until I bake this cake. So, my advice is you’ve started with a good recipe, now just don’t stop baking and always share them with someone else, that’s the fun of baking a really delicious cake. Thanks to this web site.
How great
What is I shredded the cockney from real coconut. Would it change the taste
Tweet it. Not really necessary to slice in half just mix up your pineapple mixture and place it between the two layers then frost entire cake. You may have extra mixture and frosting. Keep for the next one you are going to make.
I can’t wait to try this amazing coconut cake. Looks so delicious!
I made this cake it was beautiful only thing my frosting was too sweet! Is there any way I could make it not so sweet?
Add more cream cheese
16oz or do 7min frosting
Please tell me exactly how much of coconut milk goes in frosting. Do I use balance of milk after cake has been made?
I found when i used the rest of the milk from the can i ended up putting a total of 7 cups of powdered sugar, id suggest using the same measurement of the milk which is 2 tablespoons and from there taste test till you love it.
I added more cream cheese & I still found it too sweet.
Add a little lemon juice
To what do you add the lemon juice?
Use less sugar or Stevia.
Toni…You left 5 stars BEFORE YOU EVEN MADE THE CAKE?????????????????
Maybe, cause it looks so delicious, and positive thinking?
I made this cake on yesterday and it was a total hit with my family. Delicious and so moist. That pineapple filling went really well with the cake. My icing could have been thicker but other than that it was good. I think I added too much milk.
Do you divide the cake layers into before freezing or after?
Hello, I was wondering how can I make this into just a plain white cake?
Hi Doris, I would just use a different recipe, for a white cake.
Do you cut off the tops of the two cakes before torting? Thank you.
I don’t, no. 🙂
I made this this weekend and let me tell you it has just shot right up to one of the BEST cakes I’ve ever made. It was amazing and everyone agreed.
The cake looks wonderful and sounds delicious. It also looks somewhat challenging. I’m glad to read some comments that they didn’t find it difficult to assemble. Looking forward to trying it after reading such positive, glowing comments from others.
Oooh, how about seven minute frosting ??
OH MY GOSH that looks delicious. I am going to make it for my 60th birthday in 3 weeks. I was thinking of researching on how I might add rum to the cake … PINA COLADA! So excited … coconut and pineapple are two of my favorite ingredients, and I adore coconut cake. (Maybe I will lightly drizzle rum over the layers … hmmmm ….)
This is definitely something I will try !
Hi , I’m in the U.K. and we don’t have all purpose flour, it’s plain flour or self raising. Do you know which one it is I should use?
So want to try this recipe, love coconut everything ?
Plain flour! Enjoy! 🙂
Going to try this over the weekend. Thank you for the recipe and for answering all these questions from everyone. Read them all so I had all the best tips. ???
Hi, can I substitute strawberries for the pineapple filling? My family doesn’t like pineapple.
Or are there any other flavor substitutes you can recommend?
Hi Janet, you could use strawberries, that would be delicious. I can’t say exact amounts because I haven’t tested it, but I would finely chop (in a food processor) 1-2 lbs of strawberries and then cook them similar to the pineapple filling. You’ll need to adjust the cornstarch amount, until you reach your desired thickness for filling the cake. I’d love to hear how it turns out 🙂
Are the layers cut in half before freezing or after? I’m sure it would be easier to cut before freezing unless it would make it crumble too easily. Sounds delicious and I want to try it soon!
Hi Rosemary, I usually cool the cake and cut it unfrozen, and then freeze the 4 layers. But some people also find it easier to torte a cake when it’s frozen…so it’s really up to you! If you’re worried, then frozen may be your best bet for the first try. Enjoy!
Hi Lauren
This sounds really good i was
wondering if i could use a bunt pan
for this cake. When i bake cakes i only use
a 13×9 inch pan or my bunt pan
Thank you Karen George
Hi Karen, I have never baked this one in a bundt pan, but I think it would work just fine 🙂 Just be sure to adjust the baking time
This cake sounds wonderful but unfortunately I canno eat anything dairy so could I use oil instead of butter and if so how much. As for the cream cheese, I can use my dairy free cream cheese. I have not found dairy free butter.
Hi Geneva, substituting the oil for butter will change the taste and texture of the cake (and I haven’t tried it to say how it will turn out) but if you do decide to try it I would suggest 6 tablespoons of oil in place of the butter. Hope it works great for you 🙂
This sounds fabulous. Can I use Almond Flour instead of regular flour?
Trying to cut carbs –
Thanks
I haven’t ever baked with almond flour, so I’m totally unfamiliar with it and I couldn’t say for sure. I’d love to know if you try it!
How much sugar could I remove or Sun to make this cake more diabetic friendly. Don’t laugh please…..
Hi Terry, you could try cutting the sugar down to 1 1/2 cups in the cake. You could also greatly cut down on the sugar in the pineapple filling. You may need to add a little more cornstarch to help the mixture thicken.
Is there any way to replace the canned pineapple with fresh pineapple and if so How would I get the correct portion of pineapple and juice?
Hi Heather, a can of crushed pineapple is about 2 cups of chopped fruit and 1/2 cup of juice.
I have just baked the cake in two 9” pans… both cake height is only 3/4”. How in the world do you slice that horizontally? … or did my cake not rise enough?
Hi Doreen, it sounds like the cake didn’t rise enough. There are a lot of good resources online that explain the many reasons this can happen. Here is one: https://www.bhg.com/recipes/how-to/bake/how-to-make-sure-your-cake-will-rise/
The filling and the frosting turned out very well, but the cake did not rise very well and seemed too dense. I followed the directions carefully. Also, the cake was a little hard around the edges, but not burned. I would like to try and make the cake again tomorrow so I do not waste the filling and the frosting. Any suggestions?
Thank You,
Kelley
Kelley, I’m so sorry the cake didn’t rise properly for you. There are many factors that can effect that, and the density of cake. Here is a great article with lots of tips to know before baking a cake. I hope you find it useful. https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/articles/cakes-tips-and-techniques
Having years of experience in the culinary arts, both professionally and at home, I had no issue following your recipe to the letter and each individual aspect of this cake came out very well. HOWEVER, you failed to specifically state that this cake will in fact fall apart when assembling IF YOU DO NOT FREEZE! Instead you gave the impression that one had the choice between freezing or assembling fresh by the words you chose to use in your “directions” which is EXTREMELY MISLEADING! There is no proper way to assemble this cake for the desired results WITHOUT FREEZING prior to filling and frosting. I am now stuck with a hidious partially broken cake that I wasted valuable time on and no product to present someone of great importance on their birthday. I have no more time to make another one so I am essentially f*@#ed. Not having product to serve that is expected is the ultimate sin in the culinary world and I am personally quite livid about this unforseen blunder. I urge you to correct your recipe and very clearly state that there is NO ASSEMBLING WITHOUT FREEZING EACH LAYER AND SIGNIFICANTLY COOLING THE FROSTING as yours in NOT thick. Flavor profile for this recipe is very promising and the cake itself is very moist but I am still shaking my head as to how one could massively overlook such a pinnacle detail!?!
Hi Cara, I’m really sorry your cake broke when assembling. I do include, both in the post, and in step 14 of the recipe directions, my advice about freezing the cake. Although I do agree that frozen cakes are easier to work with, I do not think it is essential, as I have done it both ways with success.
If you have professional experience you should know how soft and moist a white cake can be so you should cool it completely. Or should have known to freeze it you cannot ice gently.
I am a homemaker that learned this from experience baking different white cakes. When I had failures I would crumble cake in a pretty individual ice cream dish. Layer with filling and icing then top with icing. A candle can be placed on top for a birthday celebration. My family loves this! I found your comment quite rude to Lauren!
This cake was absolutely wonderful, so much coconut flavor! My cake didn’t seem dense at all until after assembly. What do you think happened? I was able to whip the eggs to a very stiff peak. It was really wonderful!
Delicious and a winner! Everyone loved it. Making it again today by special request!
Was wondering how you might tweak this for high altitude? I am native to East coast and we are stationed on west in the mountains. Every time i make a cake i muck it up (when i made perfect cakes back home ?). Really wanna make this soon it looks DIVINE!
Hi Amy, here’s a great resource for baking cakes at high altitude. When I lived at high altitude I always added 1-2 tablespoons of flour to the batter. https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html Hope it helps, and I’d love to hear if you try this cake!
Made this cake and my friends and family loved it. So easy to make too. This is a recipe keeper!!
It’s great to hear everyone loved it! Thanks for taking the time to comment and share! I hope you get to try more of my cake recipes soon!
This cake is SO GOOD! I was really surprised at how good it was and at what a light, delicate crumb it has – and the coconut flavor comes through quite well.
I used store-bought egg whites (because I didn’t want to throw away so many egg yolks… going to make this recipe several times over for a wedding cake). The egg whites didn’t whip stiff, but the cake came out great, anyway.
I used fresh pineapple for the filling and cooked it almost as if I was making jam.
Thanks Melissa! I’m so thrilled you liked it and even happier that you’ll make it often in the future 🙂 Thanks for your great comment and tips.
Hi I am making this cake for my mother’s birthday and I was wondering about how long the cakes take to defrost?
So fun, I hope she loves it! The cakes defrost pretty quickly (especially since they are so thin), probably within about an hour.
Hi Lauren, This is probably a dumb question but for the frosting, do you use salted or unsalted butter? Also, I’m assuming you beat the egg whites first, until they form peaks before you fold them in? This cake looks amazing and I’m super excited to try it. Thanks! Jennifer
Hi Jennifer, It honestly wont make a difference if you use salted or unsalted butter. I usually use salted just because it’s what I typically have on hand. If you use unsalted and feel like it needs a pinch of salt to boost flavor, you could a little 🙂
And yes, you do want to beat the egg whites to stiff peaks, in step 8, before folding them into the batter. I’d love to hear if you make it!
Hello, I only have one 8 and 9 inch pan. Can I fit all the batter into one pan and adjust the bsking time? Thank you for your time and help.
Hi there, the volume of the cake is to much to fit in just one pan. My best suggestion would be to pour half the batter into the pan and bake it (refrigerate the extra batter while it bakes), remove the cake and allow it to cool, and then add the rest of the batter to the pan and bake it. Hope you get a chance to try it!
Or buy or borrow another pan.
This was a hit! Easy to make and was delicious. My kids devoured it!
I’m thrilled you liked it! Thanks Tara. Hope you get to try my other cake recipes soon 🙂
Is 1 Tablespoon the correct measurement for baking powder?
Yes, that’s right 🙂
I’m making this for Sunday’s Mother’s Day …. silly question probably but since it appears you don’t drain the pineapple, does it matter if the pineapple is in juice or syrup?
Hi Christina, you can use either! I’d love to hear how it turns out!
Can you add whole egg to this? Why only egg whites?
Egg whites are essential to the recipe because they are beaten until they form stiff peaks, and then folded into the batter. This method gives white cakes like this a light and airy texture. (If you added 5 whole eggs the cake would have a very different texture and would be really dense.)
Does the cake have the consistency of angel food? I’m not a fan of angel food, but I really want to make this cake for Easter. How many eggs could I substitute for the whites? Thank you for your help!
H Katy, no, the texture is nothing like angel food cake. The whipped egg whites do add fluffiness to the cake, but it’s not airy and spongey like an angelfood cake. I would not recommend sing whole eggs, or the cake will be dense.
Do you thaw the cakes before frosting? Or do frost them directly out off the freezer?
Hi Mercedes, I like to frost them when they’re still frozen (cakes are much easier to work with when they are firm like that). But either way will work. 🙂
Hi did you freeze the cakes after splitting into 4 or just froze the 2 and cut later?
How do I change this beautiful recipe to make for 2 10 inch cake pans. Thank you
Hi Noreen, the volume of batter in this recipe is just enough for 8 or 9” cake pans. You could try adding 1/4 of the recipe to make more batter for your 10in pans. Best of luck!
Is it possible to replace the butter with margarine?
It will change the texture slightly and may not be as tender. I would stick with butter for best flavor and texture, but you could use it if you needed to. 🙂
We made the cake for Kate’s birthday cake everyone loved it!
Yay! Kate is such a sweet heart, tell her Happy Birthday! Happy everyone lived it!
I took the cake out after baking it an additional 30 minutes. It looks so thin and when I pinched a little piece of the cake out of The Middle it was still extremely moist and uncooked in the middle did I mess up by pouring the whole can of coconut cream into the mixture?
Hi Steve, to answer your questions: I have not tested this cake with gluten free flour, so I really can’t say how it will work with this type of cake. The coconut milk is “divided” because some of it is used in the cake and some in the frosting. If you used the entire can in the cake that would be part of the issue but it could also be to do with the flour. Also, a tip for next time, be sure never to open the oven door when a cake is baking. That will cause the cake to droop in the center. Good for you for trying out recipes like this, especially as a beginning baker! We learn as we go 🙂 Hope you get a chance to try it again!
P.S. I’m using gluten free flour, did I blow it because I did not use regular flour? I’m concerned about what it means to separate the coconut milk? Did I mess up by just pouring the whole can into the mixture?
P.S. I’m using gluten free flour I blew it because I didn’t use regular flour?
2 Lauren I’m a beginning Baker and I don’t know what I did wrong. I’m trying to bake this cake for Easter Sunday and it’s 3:30 Friday night. LOL the cake bake the appropriate time looks fantastic but it was much taller when I open the oven to check on it and when it was done baking it seemed to drop or something like that. Help me I’m lost at Sea and I’m Drowning.
Steve
The Coconut Cake recipe states that the cake pan bottoms should be lined with wax or parchment paper. But do you also grease around the pan side and bottom, along with the top of the parchment paper? Thanks for your help- the cake looks delish!!!
Sue Ann
Hi Sue Ann, yes, I recommend lining the bottom of the pan, and I also spray the sides of the pan and lightly spray the bottom that is already lined with paper (which isn’t probably necessary, but can never hurt). Hope you enjoy the cake!
Can’t wait to try this recipe. Can’t make it until just before Easter. I gave up cakes, cookies and soda for Easter and I am getting desperate. Thanks for sharing. Hoping I do it justice.
Thanks Teresa! I’d love to hear how it turns out! Hopefully it will be the most amazing break to your sweets “fast” 🙂
This cake is AMAZING! I made it over the weekend and everyone loved it, especially my husband who really loves coconut. It was even easier to make then I expected. Thanks.
Can I make this in a 9×13 pan?
Hi Diane,
You could make the cake it a 9×13 pan but you will need to adjust the bake time. Also, torting the cake in half may not be possible. You can just layer the pineapple topping and then the frosting on top.
I’d love to know if you tried it!
I am going to make it in a 9×13 I am going to cut it in half then split the layers and place it back in the
pan, fill and frost
Can I use egg whites from a carton instead of waisting the egg yollks?
Hi Mary, that could work, but from what I’ve heard, egg whites in the carton don’t whip as stiffly, so you may need to add a stabilizer (like cream of tarter) in order to get the to the stiff peaks stage.
don’t waste the yolks, use them for some lemon pudding to just add to scrambled eggs for extra richness
I’ll be making this yummy and beautiful looking cake this week. Can you use coconut milk found in the dairy section instead of the canned coconut milk?
Hi Sandy, so happy you’ll get to try this recipe! You will definitely want to use the canned, shelf-stable coconut milk. The refrigerated kind has been greatly watered down to make it better for drinking. I’d love to hear how it turns out!
I wish there was a video for this! ?
Hi Glen,
I’m hoping to have one made really soon! Thanks for the feedback!
Your welcome! What did you use for the docoration part? Did you use the same frosting?
Yes, I used the same frosting for the swirls–piped them with a wilton 2D tip.
There’s a video now!
Do you know how long the pineapple filling would keep in the fridge? I was about to assemble the cake for a birthday diner when my daughter came down with a fever 🙁 We rescheduled for next weekend and I’d like to use the filling I already made. I stuck the frosting in the freezer-hoping it will be ok! Thanks
Hi Sarah,
I’m so glad you decided to make this cake. It’s delicious! The filling will be good in the fridge for up to the week. Or (although I haven’t tried this) I would bet you could freeze the filling and it would turn out fine! Also, the frosting would be fine to leave in the fridge for up to two weeks! Hope you love the cake and I would love to hear how it turns out!
Which ingredient can we substitute for coconut extract. I am not able to find it at place.
I would suggest buying it online. Otherwise you can leave it out, but you’ll sacrifice that depth of coconut flavor.
I do not like cream cheese but I love coconut cake and pinapples too is there something I can use to make the icing instead of cream cheese if you have a suggestion would you email me the recipe
Thanks
kayeclark719@gmail.com
Hi Karen, you could just leave out the cream cheese, add a little more butter and powdered sugar to make a regular buttercream frosting 🙂 Enjoy!
https://foodfolksandfun.net/how-to-make-cannoli-cream/
how about the filling used for cannoli?
Mascarpone cheese.
“WHOLE FOODS MAY HAVE IT” THE CAKE LOOKS YUMMY!!
Walmart has coconut extract.
Sweetened or Unsweetened coconut milk?!
Vanilla extract …. second best.
If your afraid your cake is too thin to cut, just make half the filling and just fill between two layers. You could also make pineapple filling
on the top.