Classic Coconut Cake

This is the BEST coconut cake ever. It was moist and irresistible. I put coconut in the frosting too. Loved it!

• Katy Hunt

• Silver Spring MD

• 4/17/2022

This is a favorite! Lime zest added to the batter and/or frosting makes a wonderful cake even better.

• kdso

• Seattle, WA

• 5/8/2021

Good mosit cake and not too sweet, but it did not carry the coconut flavor I had hoped for. For me it was too dense, I prefer a fluffier coconut cake. Everyone liked it, but I am still in search of a better coconut cake.

• CHEZ RAY

• San Gabriel, CA

• 6/17/2018

DELICIOUS and so easy! Cake was moist and flavorful, yet not overpoweringly sweet. The cream cheese frosting completely complimented the cake. I didn’t toast the coconut before sprinkling it on the frosting. I found it to be a bit chewy, but that may have been the brand that I used (Hodgson Mills)? I love that this recipe yielded more than enough frosting. It infuriates me when I bake a cake and the layer of frosting is so thin. This is a winner recipe that I will be returning to over and over again.

• Anonymous

• NY

• 4/16/2018

This cake was adored by all at my spouse's birthday party! I increased the cake batter by 50% to make a 3-layer cake and doubled the frosting to be sure I had enough for a crumb coat. Added almond extract to the cake and coconut and almond extracts, in addition to the vanilla, to the frosting. Toasted the coconut, sprinkled a little between the layers, and then covered the whole cake with toasted coconut and toasted sliced almonds. The cake was moist and had a perfect texture, and the slight tang of the cream cheese frosting complemented it nicely. I found it took a long time to beat the sugar and butter mixture until it was truly "light and fluffy" -- don't skip this step, though, as it keeps the cake from being too dense!

• vshea

• Sunnyvale, CA

• 11/7/2017

the yellow cake was perfectly moist and delicious, i will use it in the future as a base for other types of cakes as well. The frosting was too sweet for me, I will add less sugar next time. A wonderful cake recipe overall.

• citheronia

• bloomington, in

• 4/25/2017

This cake was delicious! I made it for my mother-in-law's birthday, since she loves coconut. I'm a confident cook, but not not much of a baker. This cake was easy to make, it looked beautiful and everyone loved it.

• mjkelly

• Seattle, WA

• 10/17/2016

We made this cake yesterday - it was a hit! Followed the recipe exactly (used salted butter - oops) DEFINITELY use parchment paper for this cake, it is stick-ily delicious! It only took 30 minutes to bake, @ 340F, in 2 dark metal, round, springform pans on a humid day. BTW - this cake smells delicious when baking. We used untoasted coconut on the sides, toasted coconut on the top - would probably only use toasted coconut the next time - and there will be 'a next time'. If you like a dense, sweet coconut cake w/ a light cream cheese icing, this is the cake to bake!

• kathrynswar

• Stark Co., OH

• 5/22/2016

Really good recipe. I added a bit more butter milk. And with the frosting I added a half of stick more butter and some vanilla.

• shanebanks81

• Stockton, CA

• 1/14/2016

For the frosting, it says to use 1/2 cup (1 stick) of butter. Those are not equivilants so is it 1 stick or 2? I made my usual cream cheese frosting and the cake was delicious, but was just curious.

• lilbuck

• NC

• 11/21/2015

I have never been tempted to write a review before this! I made this cake yesterday for my mom's 85th birthday! She loves coconut and I am so happy that it turned out as wonderful as it did! The only thing I changed is that I substituted pure almond extract for the vanilla extract in the frosting. I added coconut shavings (managed to crack open a coconut too!) and sliced almonds to the top. I can't imagine that the vanilla would have made it any better. Truly a keeper.

• SierraMar

• Orlando, FL

• 6/21/2015

Made this for a friend's wedding this past weekend. It got raves from everyone. I followed advice from commenters who suggested mincing the coconut, and adding vanilla, almond and coconut extracts - I think it helped the flavor shine. I made 1 1/2x the recipe to create three 8-inch square layers, and sliced them all horizontally to make 6 more narrow layers. Taking inspiration from Tartine Bakery's passionfruit/lime bavarian, in between 3 of the layers I spread lime sugar syrup and passionfruit curd (from a Martha Stewart recipe) and the other 2 layers the cream cheese frosting, which I doubled. Used toasted large flaked coconut for the outside along with some frosting decorations using my star tip. I think next time I'd add frosting and curd together between all the layers - the curd did creep out the sides a bit and made the whole thing lean over a bit...yes, the cake is more dense than light in texture -- but leaning a bit didn't affect the delicious, delicious taste :-) Bravo Epicurious -- thank you!

• medfordbakes

• Boston, MA

• 10/27/2013

I added a dash of coconut extract to batter and used unsweetenedvcoconut.. Wonderful!

• Jfrisch7

• Md

• 8/18/2013

I used unsweetened coconut (adding about 1/4 c more sugar to the batter) because that's all the close bodega had. It turned out not too sweet, and people are still raving about them (I made cupcakes) weeks later.

• belong813

• jersey city, nj

• 4/13/2013

Delicious! Sweet, but not too sweet. I added almond (1/2 t), vanilla (1 t) , and coconut (2 t) extracts to the batter and a bit of coconut extract to the frosting. It had an intense coconut flavor and a light, but moist texture. Everyone raved that it was the best coconut cake they had ever eaten!

• Anonymous

• Louisiana

• 4/1/2013