Southern Coconut Cake will be the star of your next holiday party! This fresh and fruity cake is perfect for the winter weather (or year round)! Enjoy it with a cup of coffee and surrounded by friends and family!
Yes, it’s 4 days past Christmas, but better late than never. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with family & friends.
As always, Christmas was hosted at my sister-in-law and brother’s home, and each year the crowd seems to get bigger. In addition to my immediate family, it’s always fun to meet up with cousins I haven’t seen in a while and play catch up.
Here are my nieces and I being silly, posing. They all wanna be models and I'm just a wannabe!
Christmas kicked off with drinks and presents. Amongst my gifts, my favorite was the Coco Chanel Mademoiselle gift set, it’s a great perfume if you guys are in search of one.
After presents, we enjoyed dinner which included… The Waldorf Salad, Vegetable Enchiladas, Mexican Rice, and Artichoke Pasta Salad.
And of course, dessert made by yours truly. This year I opted to make a Southern Coconut Cake. Why? Because the coconut flakes represent SNOW.
I can say with the utmost confidence that everyone DEVOURED this cake, including my picky brother who is very critical of ANYTHING I make. He actually told me the cake was very moist.
Hope your Christmas was as special as mine… until next year!
southern coconut cake is:
light and airy
buttery
loaded with flavor
will impress your relatives
fresh
an indulgent treat
incredibly moist
how to make southern coconut cake step by step?
Prepare the Frosting
Start by greasing 2 round 9 inch pans and dust them with flour. Dust off the excess flour.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Add egg whites to a mixing bowl.
Beat until frothy, but NOT until stiff peaks form.
Add milk and coconut extract to the egg whites. Mix well and set aside.
In another mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients… flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Stir until combined.
Add the butter and coconut milk to the dry ingredients.
Mix well until light and fluffy for about 2 minutes.
Add the egg white mixture to the cake batter in thirds.
Mix, but do NOT over mix.
Pour the batter evenly between two baking pans.
Into the oven for 35 – 40 minutes. I baked mine for 35 minutes exactly.
Voila!
Prepare the Frosting
Add the butter and cream cheese to a mixing bowl. Cream until light and fluffy.
Add the coconut and vanilla extracts along with the powdered sugar. Mix.
Add coconut milk and beat some more.
Frost the Cake and Garnish
Once cool, frost the cake.
Add the shredded coconut on top and along the sides.
Scrumptious!
📖 Recipe Card
Southern Coconut Cake w/ Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
for the Cake
- 4 egg whites
- ⅓ cup reduced fat 2% milk
- ⅔ tablespoon coconut extract
- 2 cups cake flour
- 1 ¼ cups sugar
- 3 teaspoon baking powder
- ⅓ teaspoon salt
- 11 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ⅔ cup unsweetened coconut milk
for the Frosting
- 8 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 2 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon coconut extract
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2-3 tablespoon coconut milk, add as needed
for the Garnish
- 2 cups Trader Joe’s Sweetened Shredded Coconut
Instructions
Bake the Cake
- Start by greasing 2 round 9 inch pans and dust them with flour. Dust off the excess flour.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Add egg whites to a mixing bowl.
- Beat until frothy, but NOT until stiff peaks form.
- Add milk and coconut extract to the egg whites. Mix well and set aside.
- In another mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients… flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Stir until combined.
- Add the butter and coconut milk to the dry ingredients.
- Mix well until light and fluffy for about 2 minutes.
- Add the egg white mixture to the cake batter in thirds.
- Mix, but do NOT over mix.
- Pour the batter evenly between both baking pans.
- Into the oven for 35 – 40 minutes. I baked mine for 35 minutes exactly.
- Voila!
Prepare the Frosting
- Add the butter and cream cheese to a mixing bowl. Cream until light and fluffy.
- Add the coconut and vanilla extracts along with the powdered sugar. Mix.
- Add coconut milk and beat some more.
Frost the Cake and Garnish
- Once cool, frost the cake.
- Add the shredded coconut on top and along the sides.
- Scrumptious!
Nutrition
Tara says
Beautiful family you have! I am not the biggest fan of coconut, so I can not comment on the cake but I am loving everything you got for Christmas!
honeywhatscooking says
Thanks Tara. Awwww... I bet if I gave you a slice, you'd like it, it wasn't too overpowering. The Christmas gifts were definitely fun.
Natasha @ The Cake Merchant says
Coconut cake is one of my favorites, and yours looks delicious! I wish I had a big slice!
honeywhatscooking says
Mine too. It was sooooooo light, barely felt heavy so I went for seconds, of course.
Dixya says
this looks so freaking good as I heart everything coconut 🙂
honeywhatscooking says
Thanks Dixya... Iove coocnut too.
Shefali says
Coconut flakes do look like snow. Such a beautiful cake. And merry Christmas to you!
honeywhatscooking says
I know right! Glad you think so Shefali. Hope you had a great Christmas.
Kitchen Riffs says
Wow, this looks over-the-top good! Anything with coconut gets my attention. Thanks for this. And Happy New Year!
honeywhatscooking says
This cake was so delicious. I love coconut too. Happy New Year to you too!
Lawyer Loves Lunch says
This looks so perfect for winter, with the white on white! And for the record, I'm glad you're still posting desserts. I'm not ready for the salad posts to hit my reader just yet 🙂
honeywhatscooking says
Thanks.. definitely perfect for winter. Haha... once the New Year hits, I have like 1 more unhealthy recipe and then it's healthy for a while. I'm not ready for healthy recipes either.
Mari says
This looks so delicious!! Is it possible to replace some of the butter with applesauce to make it more healthy but still moist?
honeywhatscooking says
@Mari - replacing butter with applesauce is typically not a good substitute, replacing oil with applesauce is a different story. I would just cut down on the amount of butter and perhaps increase the coconut milk slightly for a lower fat option.