
A dessert that makes us travel to the islands: the Coconut cake ! A delicious and very soft coconut texture, garnished with a creamy coconut-mascarpone icing. Easy to prepare, with little equipment, a recipe full of sweetness...
What you'll love with this coconut cake
- flavors : a dessert (cake + icing) that gives pride of place to coconut!
- texture : the cake is particularly moist thanks to the grated coconut in particular. The frosting is very creamy, just the way we like it.
- difficulty level : very simple! This is a recipe that is prepared quickly, and you can prepare the icing while the cake is baking, so there is no time wasted. For baking, you will need a 20cm round pan.

The choice of ingredients
- shredded coconut : it brings softness to the coconut cake but also its coconut taste! I take finely grated coconut (the one you usually find in stores).
- coconut milk : it is used in cake batter to provide softness and a delicate coconut flavor. You should choose coconut milk in mini cartons that can be found in the world cuisine section of the supermarket (Kara brand for example).
- coconut cream : it brings smoothness to the icing and also a nice coconut flavor! Not to be confused with coconut milk which is much less thick. I also buy it in cartons in the world cuisine section of the supermarket (Kara brand).
How to make a coconut cake?
- We whip eggs and sugar
- We add coconut milk, cream, melted butter, vanilla
- We incorporate shredded coconut
- Apart, we sift dry ingredients
- Then add them to the batter
- We bake, and we prepare icing
- We whip together mascarpone, coconut cream and icing sugar
- Place the icing on cooled coconut cake
NB: the quantities of ingredients and the detailed recipe are given at the bottom of this page.




My advice for a successful coconut cake
- put your eggs and cream at room temperature before starting to prepare the coconut cake: the temperature of the ingredients has an influence on the final texture.
- do not mix more than necessary once the flour has been added : the more a dough is beaten, the denser the cake will be...
- Wait until the cake is completely cooled before frosting it., otherwise the icing will melt, it would be a shame.
How to store your coconut cake?
Once the icing is applied, this coconut cake can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 4-5 days, under hermetic bell ideally to protect it from the smells of the fridge. To taste it, I advise you to take out of the refrigerator 10 minutes before so that it regains the maximum flavors.
Know that without icing, the coconut cake can be kept at room temperature about 3 days in an airtight container.

Other recipes to try
If you like coconut recipes, then I advise you to take a look at these other recipes from the blog:
- Flan Coco Antilleans
- Chocolate chip coconut muffins
- Chocolate chip coconut oil cookies (without butter)
- Chocolate Coconut Rocks
- Coconut red berry mascarpone tart
- Chocolate coconut cheesecake
If you make this coconut cake, please rate the recipe below and tag @liliebakery on Instagram so I can see your beautiful cakes!

- 3 eggs at room temperature
- 130 g granulated sugar
- 0,5 cc natural vanilla extract
- 55 g warm melted sweet butter or sunflower oil
- 135 g coconut milk in briquettes
- 135 g heavy whipping cream 30% at room temperature
- 130 g shredded coconut
- 95 g all-purpose flour
- 1 pinch of salt
- 2 cc baking powder
- 130 g mascarpone cold
- 100 g coconut cream briquette, cold
- 2 cs icing sugar
- 1 cs shredded coconut
- Preheat the oven to 180° traditional heat. Butter a round pan 20cm in diameter. Line the bottom of the mold with baking paper.
- Whisk the eggs and sugar until the mixture is a little foamy. Add the coconut milk, liquid cream, warm melted butter and vanilla then mix. Stir in grated coconut.
- Separately, mix the flour, salt, baking powder. Incorporate into the batter in two batches. Do not overmix, just enough so that you no longer see any flour.
- Pour into the mold and bake for about 30-33 minutes (it varies from oven to oven). Test for doneness by inserting a wooden pick: it should come out dry or with a few crumbs.
- Take out of the oven, let cool in the mold then unmold on a wire rack until completely cooled.
- Whisk together the mascarpone, coconut cream and icing sugar until you get a creamy glaze.
- Using a spatula or tablespoon, spread the frosting over the cooled cake. Sprinkle with grated coconut.
- Enjoy quickly or place in the refrigerator until tasting (because of the icing). If you make the coconut cake without the frosting, you don't need to put it in the fridge.






I didn't waste any time Lilie and I just made this cake it's delicious everyone enjoyed it I'll do it again. Thank you Lilie for all these good recipes, it's not the first one I've tried recently the banana chocolate cake it's great too.
Thank you Eliane! Glad you like this coconut cake, like the banana one! See you soon :)
I was looking for a coconut cake that was out of the ordinary, I was served!
Made this for my son's birthday, everyone loved it.
The cake is moist and enhanced by the icing. I can only recommend!!!
Thank you very much Christopher! I am really happy that you and your loved ones like it, see you soon :)
Can you use fresh shredded coconut, rather than dehydrated?
Hello Johanne, very good question, I have never used or tasted freshly grated coconut! It must be super good! If it does not bring back too much moisture then yes you can use it I think. See you soon :)
Hello, I wanted to make a raffaello style layer cake, would this cake be suitable as a biscuit accompanied by a white chocolate ganache?
Thank you very much
Hello Aude, you should try it in a family cake format (as I suggest) to see if you like the texture. Then you will have to do volume calculations to adapt to a smaller mold (if you make a 15cm layer cake for example). Otherwise I can suggest a raffaello layer cake recipe on my blog: https://liliebakery.fr/gateau-raffaello-layer-cake/
Goodbye :)
Cake made today, very good dessert, soft and very fragrant. I'll do with the frosting next time. Recipe saved to my favorites
Thank you very much Paola! Glad you liked it! In fact I recommend it with icing, it makes it even more delicious :) See you soon
Very good recipe that is always unanimous! I even made it as a layer cake. In any case, there are never any mistakes with your recipes, they are always a success! Thank you ☺️
Thank you very much Sarah! In layer cake it must be great too! It's very kind of you in any case, I hope you'll like the next recipes too :)
Hello, should I spread the icing when it is hot? Thank you
Hello Irene, it is written in the recipe "spread the icing on the cooled cake", see you soon :)
I was really looking forward to making it and telling you about this experience. I followed the recipe to the letter with fresh ingredients, that is, freshly grated coconut, which is logical for a person from the Pacific. I just removed 30g of sugar. The end result is excellent, the softness is there, the taste and everything that goes with it, nothing to complain about. Cream or coconut milk, it doesn't matter when it's freshly grated, it's the addition of water in the grated coconut that makes all the difference. Friends of the Dom, Tom, make it like this with chocolate chip variations or caramelized coconut with a little rum. A treat for the taste buds. I didn't make ganache, too much for me. Thank you.
Thank you Kali for your feedback! See you soon :)
A real success every time! Thank you!
Thank you very much Soheir! See you soon :)