The Yummiest Coconut Cake Ever!!

I've been meaning to post about 1000 recipes on here since this blog's creation. I am ashamed to say that this is my first! But it is well worth the wait, let me tell you! This cake is good! For those of you who tried it over Christmas, this adapted version of the recipe is better than the one I used out there--and Jonny will back me up on that one! I tried to find where I got this version on-line, but I can't find the exact recipe anywhere. That is unfortunate for 2 reasons...one, I have to type everything in myself now, and 2, I have no way of giving credit where credit is absolutely due. The only other problem is that I am not an exact cook and just add things and take things away as I feel appropriate and according to how I think it tastes. I'll try to recreate my version of this recipe for you, but I didn't take very good notes of my alterations. Anyway, hope this recipe works out for you and that you love it as much as we do!!

Coconut Cake

3/4 C Butter or Virgin Coconut Oil (I just used butter)
2 C Sugar
1 C Coconut Milk
3 Eggs
1 1/2 tsp Vanilla
1/8 tsp Almond Extract (I'm pretty darn sure that this made my cake taste too much like almond so I dumped a bunch of coconut extract (maybe about 1/2 tsp?) in there to cover it up. Just taste as you go and adjust)
3 C Cake Flour (I used all purpose and it worked out fine)
3 tsp Baking Powder
3/4 tsp Salt




Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter three 8-inch cake pans (it fits in two, but practically overflows in the oven, which is what we did). Cut a piece of wax or parchment paper the size of the cake pan bottoms and place in pans. Lightly flour the paper.

Cream butter with sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in coconut milk. Add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition. Add in vanilla, almond, and coconut extracts.

Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together. Add slowly to sugar mixture.

Divide batter between 3 baking pans and bake until brown and cake begins to pull away from the sides of the pan. (This recipe says 20-25 minutes but that is a lie. I have no idea how long mine ended up baking for, but it was much longer than this. I would just keep an eye on things and check it after 20 minutes and go from there. The Martha Stewart recipe that I linked to at the bottom says 40-45 minutes, but when I made her version that was too short a time too.)

Turn cake layers from pans and let cool. Remove the wax paper from cake layers. Cut off any uneven tops. Brush off crumbs. Frost each layer of cake. Pat sides and top with toasted or non-toasted coconut, and/or toasted pecans. Yum. (We did toasted pecans on the sides and non-toasted coconut on the top).

Coconut Cream Frosting
(I think I ended up making most of this recipe up...so you might want to do your own research and make up a recipe of your own. This is how I would guess at doing it again based loosely on the original recipe's suggestions)


1/2 C Butter
4 TBSP Cream Cheese
approx. 7 C Powdered Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla
1 tsp Coconut Extract
1/2 tsp Salt
the rest of the can of coconut milk (I think I may have added extra to the cake, because I don't remember having more than about 1/4 C left, if that. Just use it if it needs more liquid I guess)
4 C (ish) Grated Coconut

Cream butter, cream cheese, and powdered sugar. Add the extracts and salt and mix. Add coconut milk as needed. Taste and adjust according to how you like it. Add coconut.


Good luck!! If you make this, leave a comment and let me know if you added or changed anything that you think is an improvement! For reference, I used a loose rendition of this recipe when I made this in Utah, and it is a pretty good one to bounce some ideas off of, although its yield is substantially more.

Coconut Tres Leches Cake

Lauren's latest post got me looking at that food blog, and the best recipe showed up last week. So we made the Creamy White Chili with this fabulous dessert yesterday and we were in heaven. It was divine!

Coconut Tres Leches Cake

*Serves 12-16

Cake:Make-ahead Yellow Cake Mix or other preferred cake mix or homemade yellow cake recipe

Milk Syrup:
1 can (15 ounces) cream of coconut
1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Garnishes:2 medium-size ripe bananas
Sweetened cream (see instructions below)
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut, toasted (spread on a rimmed baking sheet and bake it at 350 degrees until golden brown, 7 minutes, or toast it in a skillet over medium-low heat on the stovetop)


Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Lightly spray a 9X13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Set the baking dish aside. Place the make-ahead cake mix, 1 1/4 cups warm water and 2 large room-temperature eggs in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until the mixture is smooth, about 2 minutes (if using another cake mix or recipe, bake according to box or recipe instructions). Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Bake the cake until it is lightly golden and is slightly pulling away from the edges, 30-34 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool completely, 1 hour.


Meanwhile, make the milk syrup: in a blender, combine the cream of coconut, evaporated milk, cream, and vanilla and process until smooth.

Pierce the cooled cake all over the top with the tines of a fork or a thin wooden skewer. We are talking all over! The more pokes, the more the syrup will soak into the cake. Using a large spoon or ladle, spoon some of the milk syrup over the cake. Let the syrup soak into the cake, then continue spooning the syrup on top until all of it has been used up. When you have finished, not all of the syrup will be completely absorbed and might be pooling on the top but that’s ok because it will absorb as it refrigerates. Cover the cake loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate until all of the syrup is absorbed, 2 hours. Cut the bananas, if using crosswise into ¼-inch slices. Slice the cake and serve it with sliced bananas, sweetened cream and toasted coconut, if desired.


Sweetened Cream:Pour 1 cup heavy whipping cream into a large (preferably chilled) glass bowl and beat it on high speed until thickened 1 ½ minutes. Stop the machine and add ¼ cup confectioners’ sugar and ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract. Beat on high speed until stiff peaks form, 1 to 2 minutes longer. Makes 2 cups.

Go here to see picture and blog.

Jana's notes:

• I don't like banana so I topped with fresh raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries; it was delicious!
• I used a regular Betty Crocker cake mix, it worked great
• I looked at reader's comments and found the Cream of Coconut is located by the alcoholic drink mixes at any grocery store. I found the 15 oz can easily at Smith's.
• The toasted coconut is a must!