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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.
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!