Old Fashioned Coconut Cake Recipe: Many of you who regularly read the site are probably already familiar with my grandmother’s recipes. To mention a few, perhaps you’ve had her apple dumplings, potato candies, or hot milk cake. In addition, she creates an incredible coconut cake with a distinct, smooth white frosting. She shared the recipe with me with the same joy as the others, but I was a little taken aback to find that she doesn’t really make her coconut cake from scratch.
What? My grandmother’s renowned and delicious coconut cake recipe really begins with a box of yellow cake mix, as I had to confirm with her. Yes, the icing is homemade, but not the base.
Even if I still eagerly await that cake after she has dinner, you know I could never feel proud of myself for starting a recipe using cake mix. So, after years of experimenting with cake recipes, I have finally created a really moist, tender, and strong cake with a crumb that melts in your mouth that serves as the ideal foundation for this recipe for coconut cake.
Old Fashioned Coconut Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- ⅔ cup canola oil or vegetable oil (160ml)
- 2 cup granulated sugar (400g)
- 1 cup sour cream (240g)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ tsp coconut extract is optional, if not using then use 1 Tbsp vanilla
- 2 ¾ cup all-purpose flour (344g)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 6 large egg whites at room temperature (½ cup or 122g), make sure there is not so much as a teeny tiny bit of yolk in with the egg whites or they will not whip properly.
FROSTING
- ¾ cup salted butter, softened (170g)
- 9 Tablespoons shortening I use Crisco
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar (300g)
- 4 Tablespoons all-purpose flour because of recent risk of flour contamination, I recommend heat-treating your flour before use (make sure to let it cool completely before using).
- 1 cup coconut milk or you can use regular whole milk, which is what my grandmother uses (235ml)
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 18 oz frozen fresh shredded coconut thawed I’ve not had a lot of luck finding frozen coconut recently. You can substitute dried, sweetened coconut, found in the baking section, instead. I usually only need about 3–4 cups, and sometimes I will briefly pulse the shreds in the food processor to make them a little less stringy, though this is not required.
Also See
Chewy Frosted Cinnamon Swirl Snickerdoodles Recipe- Easiest Recipe Ever
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and grease and flour the sides of two 8” cake pans (or spray with baking spray) and line the bottom with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl (or in stand mixer), use an electric mixer to beat together butter, oil, and sugar. Beat until ingredients are creamy and well-combined.
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Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and then stir in sour cream, vanilla extract, and coconut extract.
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In a separate bowl, whisk together your flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- To get a dense and dry cake, avoid over-mixing your components by using an electric mixer and instead use a spatula to incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet (butter/sugar mixture) until they are well integrated. If necessary, scrape down the sides and bottom of the basin to make sure all of the ingredients are thoroughly mixed. Put aside.
- The egg whites should be placed in a different basin that is entirely dry, clean, and devoid of grease. Beat on high speed with an electric mixer until hard peaks form.
- Gently incorporate the egg whites into the batter using a spatula. The egg whites must be well mixed into the batter, but you don’t want to overmix it. Until there are no longer any visible traces of egg whites in the mixture, gently whisk the mixture.
- Pour batter into prepared cake pans evenly.
- A toothpick inserted in the center should come out mainly clean or with a few moist crumbs (no wet batter) after baking at 350°F (175°C) for 27 to 30 minutes.
Let cakes cool fully before applying frosting.
Nutrition
- Serving: 1 slice
- Calories: 889 kcal
- Carbohydrates: 89g
- Protein: 7g
- Fat: 58g Saturated Fat: 31g
- Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g
- Monounsaturated Fat:14g
- Cholesterol: 46 mg
- Sodium: 431 mg
- Potassium: 231 mg
- Fiber: 5g
- Sugar: 63g
- Vitamin A: 12IU
- Vitamin C: 2 mg
- Calcium: 28 mg
- Iron: 6mg
Notes
- A Word About the Frosting: Without this classic frosting, coconut cake just wouldn’t seem like coconut cake in my opinion. I understand that it’s not for everyone, though. You may also use any of the frosting recipes listed below to cover this cake; just be sure to top with coconut shavings.
