How can a cake be both light and rich at the same time? When you’re enjoying this Lemon Coconut Cake the answer becomes clear. This combo works so well since the acidic lemon flavor is tempered by the creamy, rich coconut. Each bite is bursting with all these delicious flavors coming together in a cake that’s incredibly moist. If you love lemon drizzle cake (or anything with coconut) you are bound to love this wonderful cake!
There are multiple sources of lemon and coconut flavorings in this cake recipe, which gives it layers of sunny, yummy flavor. Some shredded coconut and lemon zest in the batter lend more flavor to the recipe, but also help this cake to retain moisture during baking.
Some other ingredients that do double duty to add flavor and keep the texture of this cake light and tender are coconut milk and some coconut cream.
In case you were wondering: these are not the same thing. Coconut milk is more watery and can stand in for regular milk in this recipe. Coconut cream is almost as rich and fatty as shortening, ensuring that the texture of this cake is simply divine. But, these ingredients also deepen that coconut flavor for layers of yumminess that run through each mouthful.
The toppings here also give the cake extra oomph! The frosting is like a cross between a buttercream and a glaze, but with the lemon zest in the mix you get a wonderful citrus flavor from it. The last touch is a sprinkle of more shredded coconut on top, which makes decorating this cake just about the easiest thing ever.
Make this in a big 9×13 pan to make decorating and cutting easy on yourself. But, even with this generous amount of cake be prepared for this dessert to go quickly since it’s uniquely delicious.
Lemon Coconut Cake
Diet: Vegetarian
For the cake:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup cream of coconut
- 3 eggs, room temperature
- ½ teaspoon coconut extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 zest of 1 lemon
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 2 ½ cups cake flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup shredded sweetened coconut
For the Frosting:
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 3 tablespoons coconut milk
- 1 cup shredded sweetened coconut
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 350˚F. Cream together butter and sugar using electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in coconut cream. Add eggs one at a time, followed by extracts, zest, and milk.
- In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Slowly add dry ingredients to wet. Finally, fold in coconut.
- Pour batter in greased 9”x13” cake pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes. Cover after 20 minutes if browning too quickly. Bake until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Let cake cool for at least 1 hour.
- Beat butter for frosting using electric mixer until lightened in color. Blend in sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, and milk. Beat until creamy. Spread over cooled cake and top with shredded coconut.
Recipe adapted from The Recipe Critic.