Coconut Cake with Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting

This Coconut Cake is light, fluffy, and packed with coconut flavour in every layer. It’s made with a coconut genoise sponge, sandwiched with a silky whipped cream cheese frosting. Finished with toasted desiccated coconut around the sides.

What is this coconut cake about?

This coconut cake is a layered sponge cake flavoured with coconut and finished with a whipped cream cheese frosting and toasted coconut. In this version, the cake itself comes from a genoise-style sponge, where whole eggs and sugar are gently heated and whipped to incorporate air before folding in the remaining ingredients.

This makes for the lightest cake imaginable that literally melts in your mouth with every bite.

So, what does this coconut cake actually taste like?

The crumb is soft and springy, with a fine, even texture and a gentle chew from the desiccated coconut. The flavour is perfectly coconutty (no artificial coconut flavouring needed here!). There’s heaps of coconut flavour from the coconut oil, coconut milk powder, and the desiccated coconut. The toasted coconut on the outside also adds aroma, contrast, and texture. It gives a subtle nuttiness which is the perfect finishing note.

The cream cheese whipped cream is smooth, light, moussey, and has a great subtle tang that complements the coconut. As the cake layers are so light, a light frosting works really well here!

A closer look at the sponge technique

Although this is a coconut cake, the sponge follows a genoise method. Heating the eggs and sugar together to 45°C dissolves the sugar fully and partially denatures the egg proteins. This allows the mixture to whip to a stable ribbon stage, which is essential when folding in fats later.

Because this cake includes butter, coconut oil, and milk, the foam must be strong enough to support that enrichment. The result is a sponge that remains light while staying moist for days.

Why you’ll love this coconut cake

• Light, aerated crumb with excellent structure
• Coconut flavour built from multiple ingredients, not extracts
• Cream cheese whipped cream that is smooth, stable, and not overly sweet
• Ideal for layering and clean slicing
• Finished with toasted coconut for texture and aroma

Let’s talk about some of the ingredients

I’ll cover the main ones below but the full recipe can be found at the end

• Plain flour/all purpose flour
• Cornflour – this is cornflour in the UK and corn starch in the US
• White caster sugar – this is finer than granulated and will dissolve more readily. If you don’t have this, blitz some regular white sugar in a blender until fine
• Large eggs – I always use large eggs when baking, which is generally the standard size. A UK large egg will be classed as extra large eggs in the US. I have provided the weight of the eggs needed in the recipe below
• Coconut oil
• Coconut milk powder – readily available in most supermarkets
• Desiccated coconut – any size is fine as this will be blitzed into a fine powder
• Cream cheese – use full-fat cream cheese for the best structure, stability, and tang in the frosting
• Double cream – the closest alternative will be heavy cream in the US (although it does have a lower fat percentage compared to British double cream)

The key tips for making this coconut cake

• Best practice – use a thermometer when heating the eggs. But if you don’t have one, heat until the mixture feels lightly warm to the touch and you can’t feel sugar granules when rubbing the mixture together
• Whip on a high speed to start, then gradually slow it down to medium and then slow. High speed allows for maximum aeration (big and uneven bubbles) and slow speed allows large bubbles to be broken down into small even ones.
• Temper the fat mixture with some batter before combining
• Fold gently to preserve aeration
• Chill the cream cheese base thoroughly before whipping to a medium peak

How to make this coconut cake (step by step photos)

Making the coconut sponges

Begin by combining the butter, coconut oil, neutral oil, milk, coconut milk powder, and desiccated coconut in a bowl and set aside. Heat the eggs and sugar over a bain-marie, whisking constantly, until the mixture reaches 45°C (or warm to the touch).

Whip the egg and sugar mixture until it reaches a thick ribbon stage (use a stand mixer or decent handheld electric). At the same time, pop the coconut enrichment mixture over the bain-marie to warm through.

Sift in the flour, baking powder, and salt and carefully fold in until no dry flour remains.

Add a few heaped spoonfuls of the whipped egg mixture into the enrichments and fold with a spatula. This will emulsify and lighten the enrichments.

Pour the lightened enrichments into the whipped egg mixture and fold once again until incorporated.

Pour the batter into two ungreased and unlined 8″ baking tins. These tins must not be non-stick as the cake grips onto the sides of the tin and will be cooled upside down. Baking instructions included in the recipe card below.

Making the whipped cream cheese frosting

Warm the frosting ingredients over a bain-marie, then blitz with an immersion blender until smooth and emulsified. Once chilled, whip to a medium peak.

Assembling the coconut cake with whipped cream cheese frosting

Split each coconut cake into two layers. Then layer with the whipped cream cheese frosting, coat the sides lightly, and press toasted desiccated coconut around the exterior.

Frequently asked questions

Can I make the coconut sponges ahead of time?

Yes. The sponge can be baked a 1-2 days in advance, wrapped well in clingwrap, and kept in the fridge.

How should I store this coconut cake?

Store the assembled cake in the refrigerator due to the cream cheese whipped cream. Allow it to sit at room temperature for 45-60 minutes before serving. If sliced, place slices into air tight containers and refrigerate (to prevent drying out).

Can the coconut cake be frozen?

The sponge freezes well when tightly wrapped. The fully assembled cake is best enjoyed fresh, as the frosting may lose structure once thawed. The toasted coconut exterior will also soften after being thawed.

If you enjoyed this recipe

Please do let me know! Leave a review and a rating below, I’d love to know how you got on.

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Until then, happy baking!

Coconut cake recipe