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Home » Recipes » Desserts

Vegan Coconut Cake

By Erin · February 25, 2019 · Updated September 9, 2020 · 52 Comments

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Dairy FreeVeganVegetarian
cake on a cake stand with text overlay

A moist and delicious Vegan Coconut Cake that’s made with coconut milk, coconut oil and shredded coconut. If you’re a coconut lover, you’ll adore this recipe. 

cake on a cake stand

BOLD STATEMENT: this vegan coconut cake may be my favorite recipe of the past several months. I know that's a crazy thing to say, but it’s true. Consequently, this cake was 100 percent inspired by my Triple Coconut Bread recipe, a recipe that Miguel and I devoured in 24 hours. Though I love bread, sometimes you just need cake.

Ok, so WHY is this vegan coconut cake my favorite, you ask? Well let me tell you.

Recipe features

  • It can be made with whole wheat flour OR all purpose flour
  • It's perfectly moist and vegan-friendly
  • It uses three kinds of coconut: coconut milk, coconut oil and shredded coconut
  • It's topped with the BEST coconut oil icing
  • Most importantly, it's made with easy-to-find ingredients.

vanilla frosting in a bowl

Dairy free coconut oil frosting

  • coconut oil
  • vanilla extract
  • powdered sugar

I tested several different icing options, but the coconut oil and powdered sugar icing ended up being my favorite. I tried a variety with coconut cream and another with coconut milk, but they didn't compare.

Tips and FAQs

Plan on making the icing the same day you’re going to serve the cake. Since the icing is made with coconut oil, it will harden when it’s placed in the refrigerator (still tastes delicious though!). Of course you can make the cake in advance, just wait to make the icing so that the texture is smooth like buttercream icing.

How long will this stay fresh?

This cake will stay fresh for up to 3 days, though because the icing is coconut oil-based (and coconut oil hardens), I do recommend consuming it within 24 hours.

Don't forget the finishing touches! This cake can and should be topped with shredded coconut and maybe even fresh fruit. The result is a delicious, dairy free, super moist cake!

a slice of cake on a plate

More vegan cake recipes

  • Chocolate Vegan Birthday Cake
  • Vegan Vanilla Cake
  • Vegan Pumpkin Cake

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

a slice of cake on a plate

Vegan Coconut Cake

A moist and delicious Vegan Coconut Cake that’s made with coconut milk, coconut oil and shredded coconut. If you’re a coconut lover, you’ll adore this recipe. 
4.78 from 9 votes
Print Pin Rate
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes
Servings: 12 slices
Author: Erin

Ingredients

  • 2 ½ cups whole wheat flour or sub all purpose flour
  • 1 ½ cups cane sugar
  • 2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut plus more for topping
  • ¼ cup coconut oil melted
  • 14 oz. coconut milk (1 can)
  • 1 cup applesauce
  • 2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

for the icing:

  • 1 cup coconut oil melted
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 ½ cups powdered sugar or more

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350°.
  • Line two 8" cake pans with parchment paper and set aside. Alternatively, you can grease them with coconut oil.
  • Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and shredded coconut into a large bowl and set aside.
  • Next, melt coconut oil in microwave or over stovetop; set aside to cool for a few minutes.
  • Meanwhile, combine milk, applesauce, vinegar, and vanilla in a bowl and mix with an electric mixer.
  • Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients, stirring with an electric mixer before adding in the coconut oil; combine everything.
  • Pour batter evenly into cake pans and bake the cake for 35-40 minutes, using a toothpick to test doneness.
  • Leave cakes in the pans for 10 minutes before carefully transferring them to a cooling rack. Wait until cakes are completely cooled off before icing them.
  • While the oven is still hot, place approximately 1 cup of shredded coconut onto a baking sheet and "toast" for 5 minutes or until coconut becomes somewhat golden in color; set aside.
  • For the icing: melt coconut oil and then pour into a large bowl; stir in vanilla and powdered sugar with an electric mixer; the texture should be similar to buttercream icing (i.e. thick and creamy).
  • Use a knife to remove the "dome" part of each cake and then ice the top of one cake before placing the second cake on top of it and icing that cake. Use icing to cover the entire cake and then top it with toasted shredded coconut.
  • Enjoy!

Notes

For the icing: plan on making the icing the same day you want to serve the cake. Since the icing is made with coconut oil, it will harden if/when the cake is refrigerated (still delicious though!). So, if you want it to be more like icing consistency, I recommend waiting to ice the cake until a few hours before you're going to serve it. 

Nutrition

Calories: 599kcal | Carbohydrates: 76g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 34g | Saturated Fat: 29g | Sodium: 325mg | Potassium: 219mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 56g | Vitamin A: 6IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 37mg | Iron: 2mg
Did you Make this Recipe? Tag me Today!Leave a comment below and tag @thealmondeater on Instagram!
« Raw Vegan Nutella Cupcakes
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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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