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Home » Recipes » Desserts

Vegan Coconut Cake

By Erin · March 23, 2023 · 52 Comments

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Dairy FreeVeganVegetarian
cake on a cake stand with text overlay
two slices of white cake on a plate topped with coconut icing

There is no shortage of coconut goodness in this Vegan Coconut Cake! Deliciously fluffy and decorated with vegan coconut buttercream and toasted coconut, it’s the perfect dessert for coconut lovers.

a slice of cake on a plate topped with white icing and shredded coconut

You’ll find heaps of intense coconut flavor in every layer of this Vegan Coconut Cake! Inspired by my coconut bread recipe, it’s a tropical and sweet dessert that’s not only perfect for coconut lovers but for vegans as well. Plus, it’s deceptively easy to make!

This coconut cake recipe features two soft and fluffy coconut cake layers, homemade vegan coconut buttercream, and toasted coconut. I mean, if you LOVE coconut, this is the cake for you! It’s tropical, sweet, and creamy, and you won’t even notice that it’s vegan.

Recipe features

  • It’s the ultimate cake for coconut lovers! Coconut milk and shredded coconut in the cake and frosting provide every bite with sweet, tropical, and coconutty flavors.
  • Light, fluffy, and moist cake layers that are completely dairy free and egg free.
  • It’s just plain easy to make!
cake on a cake stand topped with toasted shredded coconut

Ingredients

Cake flour - Cake flour is a low-protein flour that’s the secret behind light and delicate cakes. If you don’t have cake flour at home, this homemade cake flour substitute by Sally’s Baking Addiction is easy to make by sifting all purpose flour and cornstarch together. And while cake flour will give you the best results, you can use all purpose or whole wheat flour as a substitute.

Shredded coconut - I like using sweetened shredded coconut. It’s folded into the cake batter as-is and the rest is toasted and used for decoration.

Coconut milk - Canned full fat coconut milk is best here. Don’t use coconut milk from a carton. Both the solid coconut cream and liquid milk in the can are needed to make this recipe.

Applesauce - For moisture and to help bind the cake together. Plain vegan yogurt should work well as a substitute. 

Vegan butter - You need vegan butter (like Earth Balance) to make the cake and vegan coconut buttercream. For an even stronger flavor in the cakes and/or icing, try using melted and softened coconut oil instead.

Step-by-step instructions

Step 1: Make the dry mix. Whisk the cake flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and shredded coconut together in a mixing bowl.

Step 2: Mix the wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk the coconut milk, applesauce, vanilla, and apple cider vinegar together. Finish by folding in the melted butter.

Step 3: Finish the batter. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet, then mix until they just come together.

two images: on the left is dry cake ingredients in a mixing bowl and on the left is mixed cake batter in a mixing bowl

Step 4: Bake. Pour the batter into your prepared cake pans and bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let them cool in the pans for a few minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.

vanilla cake in a round cake pan

Step 5: Make the icing. While you wait for the cakes to cool, toast the coconut in a skillet until it’s golden brown. Next, beat the butter, coconut milk, vanilla, and powdered sugar together until you have a smooth icing.

Step 6: Decorate, then serve. Place one cooled cake layer on a cake stand and spread some icing on top. Finish with a sprinkle of some of the toasted coconut. Place the other cake layer on top and decorate the tops and sides with the rest of the icing and coconut. Slice and enjoy!

Tips and FAQs

  • Whisk the coconut milk. Most cans of coconut milk are lumpy, which is why you’ll need to whisk the milk on its own before combining it with the rest of the wet ingredients.
  • Don’t over-mix the batter! Only mix the dry mix into the wet until they just come together and no dry flour streaks remain. If you keep mixing, the cake will be dense and lose its fluffiness.
  • Toast the coconut very carefully. It will burn easily if it gets too hot or you walk away from the stove.
  • Decoration ideas. Transform this into a vegan pina colada cake by topping it with pineapple wedges and maraschino cherries! Otherwise, fresh fruit, like kiwi, cherries, or bananas, pair nicely and are easy last-minute decorations.

Can I use this recipe to make cupcakes instead?

Absolutely! You can follow my vegan-friendly coconut cupcakes recipe or make this recipe as normal, then bake the cupcakes in a lined muffin tin for 25 to 30 minutes

Can coconut cake be made gluten free?

I haven’t tested this recipe with gluten free flour, but you can try replacing the cake flour with a high-quality all purpose gluten free flour blend.

Can I use a different cake pan?

Sure. You can bake the entire batch of cake batter in a 10-inch square pan or bundt pan instead of the two 8-inch round pans. Just watch the cake carefully, as the baking times may vary.

a slice of cake on a plate with a bite taken out of it

Storage

  • Refrigerator: The decorated cake or plain cake layers will keep for up to 5 days in the fridge. The icing can also be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge for about 3 days.
  • Freezer: Wrap the cake layers in a layer of plastic and aluminum foil, then freeze for up to 3 months.

More vegan cake recipes

  • Chocolate Vegan Birthday Cake
  • Vegan Vanilla Cake
  • Vegan Strawberry Cake

If you made this recipe, be sure to leave a comment and star rating below. Thanks!

a slice of cake on a plate topped with white icing and shredded coconut

Vegan Coconut Cake

There is no shortage of coconut goodness in this Vegan Coconut Cake! Deliciously fluffy and decorated with vegan coconut buttercream and toasted coconut, it’s the perfect dessert for coconut lovers.
4.78 from 9 votes
Print Pin Rate
Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes minutes
Total Time: 1 hour hour 5 minutes minutes
Servings: 10 slices
Author: Erin

Ingredients

  • 3 cups cake flour
  • 1 ½ cups cane sugar
  • 2 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup shredded coconut I used sweetened
  • ½ cup vegan butter melted and cooled to room temperature
  • 14 oz. coconut milk canned; full fat
  • 1 cup applesauce
  • 2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
  • 2 teaspoon vanilla extract

for the icing:

  • ½ cup vegan butter softened
  • 5 tablespoon coconut milk canned
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 cup shredded coconut sweetened; toasted
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350° and line two 9" cake pans with parchment paper; set aside. Next, melt the butter then set it aside and allow it to cool to room temperature.
  • In a medium mixing bowl, stir the cake flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and shredded coconut together.
  • In a separate large bowl, whisk the coconut milk until it's smooth, removing as many lumps as possible, then add the applesauce, vanilla and apple cider vinegar and stir to combine. Last, pour in the melted butter and stir. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet, using an electric mixer to stir the batter, being careful not to over-mix.
  • Divide the batter into the prepared cake pans, then bake the cake for 33-38 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Leave the cakes in the pans for 10 minutes, then carefully invert them onto a cooling rack. Allow the cakes to cool completely before icing them.
  • While you're waiting for the cakes to cool, toast the coconut for the icing. Pour the shredded coconut into a skillet and heat it over medium-low heat. Stir occasionally until the coconut is golden-brown and toasted; pour into a bowl and let it cool.
  • For the icing: whisk the butter, coconut milk and vanilla together. NOTE: for the coconut milk, just use the cream that's on the top of the can. Then, pour in the powdered sugar and mix until the icing is smooth.
  • Once the cakes have cooled, place one cake on a cake stand, then add a large dollop of icing and spread it around. Add some of the toasted coconut on top, using your hands to press it down. Add the second cake on top and repeat this process, icing the entire cake and pressing toasted coconut onto the top and sides. Slice and enjoy!

Notes

*Calories are per slice and are an estimation

Nutrition

Calories: 722kcal | Carbohydrates: 114g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 376mg | Potassium: 200mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 83g | Vitamin A: 871IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 64mg | Iron: 2mg
Did you Make this Recipe? Tag me Today!Leave a comment below and tag @thealmondeater on Instagram!

UPDATE NOTE: This post was originally published in February 2019. It was updated with new text and photos in March 2023.

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About Erin

Erin is the recipe developer, writer and photographer behind the healthy food blog, The Almond Eater. She's been blogging since 2014 and loves to create food for many different diets, including vegan, gluten free and/or Whole30 recipes.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Melanie says

    May 16, 2021 at 3:05 am

    Can we use coconut vinegar ?

    Reply
    • Erin says

      May 16, 2021 at 7:58 pm

      Hi -- I'm not sure what that is? So I'm going to say no.

      Reply
  2. Maggie says

    December 16, 2019 at 4:02 pm

    5 stars
    Love your site. This looks absolutely fantastic.

    Reply
  3. Jenna says

    December 16, 2019 at 3:59 pm

    5 stars
    Yummy! Gonna try this one this weekend.

    Reply
  4. Emilia Medina says

    October 03, 2019 at 4:05 pm

    I've made this before and everyone loved it! I do have a question though, can I use half of the batter for the cake and make cupcakes with the rest? If so, how long do I put them for?

    Reply
    • Erin says

      October 03, 2019 at 4:21 pm

      I'd bake the cupcakes for around 30 minutes!

      Reply
  5. Eli says

    April 18, 2019 at 8:48 pm

    5 stars
    First time making vegan anything, first time using whole wheat flour, and I am pleasantly surprised at the taste. It's very good! I used coconut sugar and it has a really nice molasses flavor, but not overpowering the coconut flavor. I made it for tomorrow and I hope the icing doesn't get too hard. The icing is just delicious! Question: you wouldn't happen to have nutritional facts on this?? Thanks for the recipe!

    Reply
    • Erin says

      April 18, 2019 at 9:01 pm

      Yay I'm glad you like it! I'd say just don't put the cake in the refrigerator and the icing should be ok. If it does harden I promise it'll still be delicious! Unfortunately I don't have the nutrition info, but you can put it into a tracker like MyFitnessPal.

      Reply
  6. Sogheetha says

    March 10, 2019 at 12:41 am

    Can we skip applesauce? Or what alternative can we use intead of it?

    Reply
    • Erin says

      March 10, 2019 at 12:14 pm

      Hi! So I wouldn't skip the applesauce because it's going to help make the cake nice and moist. If you don't have applesauce, you could use dairy free yogurt instead (or regular yogurt if you're not vegan).

      Reply
  7. Abby says

    March 03, 2019 at 12:37 pm

    Could I make this a day ahead, frosted and all, and then let it sit out for a few hours to get to room temp? Trying to figure out logistics as in making it for an event. I’m so excited to make it!

    Reply
    • Erin says

      March 03, 2019 at 12:54 pm

      Yes I think that should work!

      Reply
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