Coconut Celebration Cake has three layers of tender, mouth-watering cake with a creamy coconut filling and a luscious coconut frosting. It’s much easier to make than your typical coconut layer cake. Whether it be Easter, Mother’s Day, Graduation, a birthday, or Christmas, this is just the cake to make your celebration special.
I can remember hating coconut as a child. I actually cried at my 5th birthday party when I realized my birthday cake was covered in coconut.
As an adult, coconut has become one of my very favorite foods and I love to add it to baked goods or use it as a coating for chicken or shrimp.
What I really love most about Coconut Celebration Cake is the coconut really takes center stage. It is all about the coconut.
★★★★★
What readers are saying
This is a wonderful recipe. Very moist and the cake is light. I come from a bakery family but have misplace recipes from the past. This is like the one we had ! I’ve been trying for a few months to recreate the coconut cake and thanks for the light fluffy cake!
White Lily Flour
This recipe is from White Lily and uses White Lily® All-Purpose Flour. I love to use White Lily flour in my baked goods. Because it is made from soft winter wheat and has less protein than most other kinds of flour, it’s really great for making fluffy and light biscuits and tender cakes and quick breads.
Quick and Easy Recipe
This coconut cake is super quick and easy to make compared to most coconut cakes. Typically a southern coconut cake would be covered in a 7-minute frosting which you need a double boiler to make. It’s made with egg whites and requires lots and lots of beating.
The icing on this Coconut Celebration Cake is so much easier, but every bit as delicious. It’s made from mixing whipped cream into a mixture of sugar, sour cream, and coconut. It tastes absolutely heavenly.
Measure The Flour Correctly
To have success with this recipe, it is so important to measure the flour correctly so your cake doesn’t turn out dry. First fluff the flour up some in the bag or container. Flour tends to get packed down over time. Next gently scoop the flour into a dry measuring cup. Overfill it a little and use the back of a knife to run across the top and get rid of the excess.
How To Store Coconut Celebration Cake
Wrap well with plastic wrap so it won’t dry out and store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Recipe slightly adapted from this White Lily recipe.
More Coconut Desserts
- Buttery Coconut Bars
- Coconut Almond Cream Cake
- Coconut Cream Cheese Pound Cake
- Chocolate Coconut Lush
- Coconut Cream Poke Cake
Coconut Celebration Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 cups White Lily® Enriched Bleached All-Purpose Flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Filling/Frosting
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 (14-ounce) package sweetened shredded coconut
- 3/4 cup heavy cream, whipped
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350º F. Coat three 9-inch round cake pans lightly with no-stick cooking spray.
- Whisk together flour and baking powder in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Beat butter with an electric mixer on medium until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar, continue mixing until very light, about 4 minutes.
- Add eggs, one at a time, beating one minute after each addition.
- Beat 1/3 of flour mixture into egg mixture on low until blended. Beat in 1/2 cup of milk until blended and repeat, ending with the addition of flour. Stir in vanilla extract.
- Divide batter evenly among pans. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack 10 minutes before removing from pans. Cool completely.
- Stir sugar and sour cream together in medium bowl until blended, while cake is baking. Reserve 1/3 cup coconut and set aside. Add remaining coconut to sour cream mixture. Blend well. Fold 1 cup sour cream mixture into whipped cream for frosting. Chill sour cream mixture and frosting until cake layers are cool.
- SPREAD sour cream mixture between layers of cake leaving 1/4-inch at edge uncovered. Spread frosting on top and sides of cake. Frosting may run down sides of cake, but will thicken as cake chills. Sprinkle reserved coconut over top of cake.
- Chill at least one hour uncovered. Serve or cover and chill up to three days to allow the flavors to blend.
Notes
Nutrition
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Originally posted April 12, 2017.
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. I appreciate the opportunity to share products I love and use in my own kitchen.
This is a wonderful recipe. Very moist and the cake is light. I come from a bakery family but have misplace recipes from the past. This is like the one we had ! I’ve been trying for a few months to recreate the coconut cake and thanks for the light fluffy cake!
Your thoughts on adding coconut extract to cake and/or frosting?
Maureen
THIS IS MY FAVORITE COCONUT CAKE!!!! IT’S ALSO CALLED A 3 DAY CAKE BECAUSEIT IS BETTER AFTER 3RD DAY
This coconut celebration cake looks delicious! We love coconut over here, so I am going to give this recipe a try.
Have you substituted coconut milk for the whole milk? I am thinking it would give the cake more of a coconut kick.
Let me know if you have and if so, do you like it better or keep to the original recipe.