Coconut Cake with Coconut Butter-Cream Frosting

This is an extraordinary, yet simple coconut cake. It has a tender, soft, velvety crumb and it keeps well for several days. It is filled and covered completely with coconut buttercream frosting and smothered in coconut. 

Baking a cake from scratch is completely doable. This recipe uses the reverse creaming method which coats the flour in butter before adding the liquid. It helps prevent gluten formation and ensures a soft and tender cake.

Coconut Cake

This is an incredibly delicious cake and just looking at the pictures and recipes is going to tickle your tastebuds.  Here is why you will love this cake.

• It is moist, tender, and buttery.
• It is not too sweet. The coconut flavor stands out.
• The buttercream is smooth, creamy and coconutty. Plus there is plenty to coat all the layers!
• The sweetened, dried coconut gives a delicious and delightful contrast in textures.

HOW TO MAKE THIS CAKE:

There are a few components to the cake but this is an easy cake to prepare. Here are the basic steps but make sure you scroll down to the printable recipe card for detailed instructions.

1. Mix the dry ingredients until they are combined then toss in the butter and blend until the flour and butter look like damp sand. It may seem strange to start a cake this way but this is how to make a cake using the reverse creaming method. Keep reading to learn about this method.
2. Add the egg whites and whole eggs one at a time then beat the batter well to build up the structure.
3. Beat in the sour cream, vanilla, and coconut milk a little at a time.
4. Mix the batter well then pour it into greased cake pans and bake.
5. Make the amazing coconut buttercream frosting.
6. When the cake cools, cover it in the buttercream and shredded coconut.
7. ENJOY!!

Reverse creaming method.

I mentioned above that we are using the reverse creaming method for this cake. If you have never used this method before, you might think it seems strange. It isn’t how your grandma baked a cake.

Instead of creaming the butter and sugar together, you add the butter to the dry ingredients. The fat particles in the butter coat the flour and protect the cake from developing too much gluten. It’s a great method that helps prevent the cake from getting tough.

Tips for making this cake.

• Have your ingredients at room temperature. If your ingredients are too cold, they will not emulsify well. Room temperature ingredients are KEY to a light and fluffy texture.
• Use cake flour for the lightest texture. We have made this recipe with all-purpose flour and it comes out just fine. But when we use cake flour it has a much softer texture.
• Use coconut milk for the cake and coconut cream for the buttercream. Make sure you use the kind of coconut milk that comes in a can and not the stuff in cartons that are meant for drinking.
• Allow the cake to cool completely before frosting it. If the cake is even slightly warm, the buttercream will melt.
• Serve the cake at room temperature. Since this is a butter cake, if you eat it straight from the fridge, the butter will be cold and firm. If you let the butter sit at room temperature, it will soften up which will soften the whole cake.

The Awesome Coconut Butter-Cream Frosting:

And the icing…..you are not going to believe how wonderful and awesome it tastes!  It is a spin on an old-fashioned recipe called Ermine frosting or cooked frosting.

I was watching a Food Network show of The Pioneer Woman and she was making some frosting for a chocolate cake that she just baked.  She used a cooked flour frosting which is also known as Ermine frosting. It is made by cooking flour and milk into a thick roux. After the roux cools, you add it to whipped butter.

The result is a creamy, light, and fluffy buttercream that is less sweet than traditional American buttercream.

I used Ree’s recipe with a little change from regular milk to coconut cream.  I also increased the ratios to accommodate the size of the cake. The result was just so amazing and awesome that it is difficult to imagine anything else for a coconut cake!  

SOME OTHER RECIPES WE ARE SURE YOU WILL LOVE:

This tropical carrot cake isn’t your standard carrot cake. It has pineapple and coconut in it to give it a taste of the tropics. The cake is exceptionally moist and tender.

Everyone needs a perfect, no-fail chocolate cake recipe. This is the one! Keep this recipe in your back pocket for dessert emergencies. ?

This chocolate peanut butter layer cake has 4 layers and makes an impressive presentation. This is a combination that everyone loves!

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This recipe was first published on August 25, 2014. We have updated the photos and added a video. The photo below is from the original post. It has four layers instead of two. See the notes in the recipe card if you want to make a 4 layer cake.