Here’s a moist, fluffy Southern-style Coconut Cake—rich coconut flavor with a soft crumb and creamy frosting 🥥🍰
🥥 Classic Coconut Cake (8–10 servings)
Ingredients
Cake
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1¾ cups granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs (room temperature)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp coconut extract (optional but great)
- 1 cup coconut milk (full-fat)
- 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
Frosting
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- ¼ cup coconut milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp coconut extract
- 1½–2 cups sweetened shredded coconut (for topping)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans. - Mix dry ingredients
Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. - Cream butter & sugar
Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy (3–4 minutes). - Add eggs
Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. - Add extracts
Mix in vanilla and coconut extract. - Alternate flour & coconut milk
Add dry ingredients and coconut milk alternately, beginning and ending with flour. - Fold in coconut
Gently stir in shredded coconut. - Bake
Divide batter between pans.
Bake 25–30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. - Cool completely before frosting.
🧁 Frosting & Assembly
- Beat butter until smooth.
- Gradually add powdered sugar.
- Add coconut milk and extracts; beat until fluffy.
- Frost cake layers and press shredded coconut all over top and sides.
🔥 Variations
- Coconut poke cake: Poke holes and pour coconut cream over warm cake.
- Lemon coconut: Add lemon zest to batter + lemon curd between layers.
- Cream cheese frosting: Replace half the butter with cream cheese.
- Extra moist: Brush cake layers with coconut milk before frosting.
💡 Pro Tips
- Use full-fat coconut milk for best flavor.
- Toast coconut lightly for nutty flavor (optional).
- Cake tastes even better the next day.
If you want, I can also give you:
- Old-school Southern coconut cake
- Coconut pound cake
- Easy sheet-pan coconut cake
Just tell me 🥥
