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This simple Coconut Cake recipe has a fresh and delicious pineapple filling inside layers of coconut cake and frosted with a creamy coconut cream cheese frosting. It's one of my absolute favorite cakes!
Trust me, you'll fall hard for this Coconut Cake.
Everyone does! We can't make this for an event without everyone asking for the recipe. The secret to greatness is how we cut each cake layer in half, to create four thin layers of cake, add some pineapple filling between each, and coconut cream cheese frosting to frost the cake. It's to die for; on the same level as my Mom's incredible German Chocolate Cake!
The original recipe was from Utah State Fair Winner, Lisa Blodget (and was shared by Si from A Bountiful Kitchen). I adapted Lisa's version to add my cream cheese buttercream frosting with a splash of coconut milk for extra creaminess and the perfect hint of coconut flavor. This is the best coconut cake recipe, perfect for Easter, birthdays, or any occasion.
How to make Coconut Cake:
Make Cake Batter: Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. In a separate bowl, beat butter on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add sugar and mix well. Add coconut extract and 1 ¼ cups of coconut milk. Add flour mixture. Whip egg whites in a separate bowl until stiff peaks form then fold into batter.
Bake: Line 8″ cake pans with parchment and spray with cooking spray. Divide cake batter between pans and bake at 350°F (180°C) for 25-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. After they have cooled use a sharp serrated knife to cut each cake round in half horizontally, so you have 4 thin cake rounds.
Assemble and Frost: Place one cake layer on a serving plate and spread with half of the pineapple filling. Top with second cake layer and then some frosting. Add third cake layer and the rest of the pineapple filling. Finally, add the last cake layer and frost the sides and top of the cake. Sprinkle with shredded coconut flakes, if desired. Refrigerate for a few hours before serving.
Make Ahead and Freezing Instructions:
To Make Ahead: Follow the instructions to make and frost the cake and refrigerate for 1-2 days. The pineapple filling and coconut frosting can be made up to a week in advance, stored separately in the fridge. Allow frosting to come to room temperature before using.
To Freeze: Slice cake rounds in half horizontally as indicated in recipe, then wrap each layer in plastic wrap, place in a freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. The pineapple filling and coconut frosting can also be frozen in separate freezer safe containers.
More Cake Recipes:
- Hummingbird Cake
- Meringue Roulade
- Carrot Cake
- Lemon Tiramisu
- Biscoff Cake
- Hershey's Chocolate Cake
- Mini Pavlova
- Cinnamon Roll Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Orange Olive Oil Cake
- Berry Cake
Coconut Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
Coconut Cake:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, (250g)
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder, (12g)
- 1 teaspoon salt, (6g)
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, (113g), room temperature
- 2 cups granulated sugar, (400g)
- 13.5 ounces canned unsweetened coconut milk, , divided (400 ml)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons coconut extract, (7.5 ml)
- 5 large egg whites
Pineapple Filling:
- 20 ounce can crushed pineapple, (567 g)
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar, (134g)
- 2 Tablespoons cornstarch, (16 g)
For the Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 1/2 cup butter, (113g), room temperature
- 8 ounces cream cheese, , room temperature (226g)
- 4-5 cups powdered sugar, (480g-600g)
- 1 – 2 Tablespoons leftover coconut milk, , regular milk (15-30 ml)
- 1 cup shredded sweetened coconut, (85g)
Instructions
- 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.2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 Tablespoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt
- 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.½ cup unsalted butter, 2 cups granulated sugar, 13.5 ounces canned unsweetened coconut milk, 1 ½ teaspoons coconut extract
- 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.5 large egg whites
- 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. 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. 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.20 ounce can crushed pineapple, 2/3 cup granulated sugar, 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
- Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting: Beat butter and cream cheese together until smooth. Add powdered sugar and a splash of 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.½ cup butter, 8 ounces cream cheese, 4-5 cups powdered sugar, 1 – 2 Tablespoons leftover coconut milk, 1 cup shredded sweetened coconut
- 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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I originally shared this recipe February 2018. Updated March 2021, April 2023, and April 2025.
Some process photos by Nikole from The Travel Palate
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.
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?