15 of Our Best Coconut Cake Recipes
From mile-high confections to easy sheet cakes, there's a treat here for every coconut cake lover.
Martha Stewart
We didn't realize quite how much we love coconut cake until we gathered together our coconut cake recipes. From towering confections layered with coconut filling and finished with billowy frosting to sheet cakes that feed a crowd, it seems there is no form that coconut doesn’t work in. Some cakes are vanilla, and the coconut comes from their filling and frosting; others have coconut in the batter—and some are triple plays with coconut in the batter, the filling, and the frosting. Many use flaked coconut, but some also call for coconut cream, coconut milk, or coconut oil. And, while many of these treats are all about the coconut, some recipes pair coconut with complementary flavors like lemon, pineapple, and chocolate. There truly is a cake here for every coconut cake lover—likely more than one!
Related: 22 Lemon Desserts That Will Brighten Your Day, From Cakes to Cookies
Coconut Layer Cake
Martha Stewart
Tall, delicate, and packed with coconut flavor, this spectacular layer cake might be the ultimate combination of cake and coconut. There's a coconut cream filling, flaked coconut between each layer, and plenty of billowy, seven-minute frosting.
Coconut-Lemon Cake
This Bundt cake has coconut cream and lemon in the batter. It’s brushed with a lemon syrup after baking and served with whipped cream and toasted flaked coconut.
Coconut Crunch Cake
A triple coconut dessert, this single-layer cake has cream of coconut and coconut oil in the batter and a crunchy vanilla coconut topping that’s baked on top. Chocolate sauce makes a luscious accompaniment for serving.
Coconut Cake With Berries and Cream
A tasty riff on tres leches, this coconut sheet cake is soaked in condensed milk, heavy cream, and coconut milk. It’s spread with whipped cream and topped with berries for serving.
Coconut-Lemon Layer Cake
Coconut takes center stage in this easy layer cake. But a touch of store-bought lemon curd added to the seven-minute frosting for the filling brings a touch of citrus to heighten the coconut. And those clouds of billowy frosting topped with shredded coconut are every coconut lover's dream.
Coconut-Sugar Hummingbird Cake
We love the combination of pineapple, banana, and coconut in hummingbird cake, but it can be very sweet. Using coconut sugar, which doesn't have coconut flavor but does bring a caramel touch rather than plain sweetness, is a genius way to balance this favorite layer cake.
Chocolate-Coconut Sheet Cake
An easy sheet cake that will delight both coconut and chocolate lovers. No frosting is needed; it’s finished with a chocolate-coconut topping that’s poured over the warm cake and gives the dessert a delicious gooey texture.
Lane Cake
This delicate cake has bourbon-spiked frosting and is filled with raisins, pecans, and coconut and coated in coconut and pecans. It's a Southern beauty that was invented in the late 19th century by Emma Rylander Lane—and even won her a baking competition in Alabama.
Coconut-Pineapple Loaf Cake
Toasted coconut provides texture and contrast to the sweet, juicy pineapple in this easy loaf cake.
Meyer-Lemon and Coconut Layer Cake
Johnny Miller
A showstopping cake for a special occasion, this dessert alternates moist coconut cake and rich coconut-lemon curd and is covered with coconut buttercream frosting. Candied Meyer lemon slices and fresh mint decorate the top.
Coconut Cloud Cake
A cake that lives up to its name and is as light as a cloud. That’s because it’s leavened by 14 egg whites—there’s no butter or egg in this light, tender vanilla cake. A silky seven-minute frosting and plenty of coconut flakes are the finishing touch.
Coconut Chiffon Cake With Chocolate Frosting
Egg whites leaven this lofty chiffon cake, which is made with matzo meal and potato starch rather than flour, making it just right for Passover. Coconut milk and coconut oil give the cake a subtle coconut flavor, making it too delicious to enjoy just once a year.
Vegan Coconut Cake With Vanilla Bean Frosting and Berry Filling
Alpha Smoot
Sweetened with maple syrup, not sugar, this three-layer cake is filled with jammy berries and finished with creamy coconut-vanilla frosting.
Ultimate Coconut Cake
There's no denying this coconut cake is a project, but it's a supremely delicious one. It has six coconut cake layers that are brushed with simple syrup and sandwiched with a generous amount of thick, creamy coconut filling. Then there's a cream cheese frosting and plenty of toasted coconut spread around the sides.
Coconut-Buttermilk Pound Cake
There’s toasted coconut in the rich pound cake, and more to garnish the easy buttermilk and confectioner’s sugar topping that finishes this buttery dessert.
Read the original article on Martha Stewart.
