Coconut Layer Cake Recipe (2024)

Can this just be simply adjusted to two 9 inch layers, rather than 3 8 inch pans, for those of us who just have sets of 2 pans rather than 3?

Despite trawling through and cooking from a couple of dozen food-related sites and blogs weekly, I've never taken the time to write a single comment. Until now. I made this cake for a dear friend's birthday whose mother used to make him a coconut cake every year until she passed away 25 years ago. He tasted this and nearly cried with joy. "I didn't think I'd ever taste a cake again that I liked as much as mom's. This one surpasses it." Home run.

My feedback to,the recipe writers is to,use helpful equivalents for home bakers
Such as 1- 2# pound bag of powdered sugar.
I- 15 oz. can of cream of coconut
1- 13.5 oz. can of coconut milk.
Makes shopping easier.

If you are having 20+ people for Easter, and have out of town houseguests, and your husband is in the clergy, and you sing in the choir, and it is 1 am on Easter and you are finishing the icing and questioning your life choices and wondering whether this cake is worth it, it TOTALLY is. And I'm not just saying that because I gave up sweets for Lent; this is without a doubt one of the best cakes I have ever made. Thank you for yet another wonderful recipe!

Coconut or rum. If one did not want to use rum, would that be coconut extract?

7 1/4 cup powdered sugar for the icing? Is that correct? I stopped at 2 cups and it was plenty sweet.

This earned smiles at my house and in the newsroom of NYTCooking. I would recommend parchment paper in the bottom of the cake pans and going easy on the frosting -- don't be afraid to use, say, three-quarters of the frosting you make.

Okay, can I just say how awesome this cake was??? The triple coconut hit of coconut milk, cream of coconut, and shredded coconut, plus the lovely scent of the fresh orange juice made this one of the most delicious cakes I have ever had. Often layer cakes are just a vehicle for frosting, but not this time! A lovely, perfumed stunner!

Truly worth the time and ingredients.
Test earlier than recommended as cake cooked much quicker than suggested. 35-40 minutes was sufficient.

Just curious, why comment on a dynamic cake that you haven't baked?

Beautiful, rich, and delicious but be warned it takes forever to make. I'm not a cake making expert but it worked out very well. I used two 9 inch pans, baked 30-35 min. Followed someone else's suggestion and swirled raspberry preserves in middle frosting layer, which was perfect. Used 6 c powdered sugar and only 1 c toasted coconut for frosting. Instead of actual rum, I used 1 Tablespoon rum extract. Would make this again for special occasion.

Needed to make 2 cakes. From one recipe-- used 2 loaf pans and cut each in half to create 2 layers for each cake. Sliced thin pieces.
This has to be by far the most fantastic coconut cake on the planet!

I always make a little extra frosting, frequently scraping mixing bowl to cover the cake, but this recipe had adequate volume. Nice. I laughed at the technique suggested for adding remaining toasted unsweetened coconut to the sides of the cake. "Hold cake steadily in one hand?" What? Does Ms. Clark mean this cake with soft, cream cheese frosting on the sides? I just kind of tossed it at the sides and pressed whatever stuck.
A great cake, visually and taste.

I was rather disappointed with my cake. It turned out too heavy and doughy. What could i have done wrong?

Looking forward to making this recipe for Easter! Has anyone tried using a 1:1 gluten free baking flour (such as Bob's Red Mill)? One of the guests is gluten free and would love for them to be able to eat this (and for me not to make a second dessert!)

Agree that the cake was quite dense. Maybe because of the 3 cups of coconut? Next time would make do less coconut in the batter in hopes it would lighten up the cake. Plus, the cake gets plenty of coconut flavor from other ingredients.Still, a hit!!!

Total weight of batter is around 1840 grams

Made this several times. Delicious! However, as others noted, the weight stated for coconut cannot possibly be correct. Use the cup measurement. My cakes were done in <30 minutes, and my oven temperature is correct per oven thermometer.

Another constructive comment for recipe writers: provide specifics for filling the 3 cake pans: approximately how many cups to pour into each pan so the layers turn out approximately the same size. I echo the comment requesting can sizes for coconut milk and cream.

Convection bake 37-38 min ( oven set at 350 butt registers 325)

Lots of work, lots of big bowls, but extraordinary flavor! I used two 9" pans. If I make this again, I'll purchase three 8" pans. Hopefully there will be a second person to help out; it took me 1 1/2 hours to make just the batter.

I made this with coconut extract and two layers instead of one and it was absolutely amazing! My coworkers loved it, if you love coconut this is for you.

When this recipe calls for coconut milk, does it mean from a can, or liquid coconut milk more like almond milk?

Ok… I had to try baking this one more time. Yes, I left a grumpy review, but I think I messed something up. My second attempt I filled the pan higher (I had anticipated rising on my first cake— it did not rise at all). The cake tasted better when the layers were thicker.Anyway.. this cake is like a coconut macaron. It’s not terrible! I think I leveled up after this cake lol

Overhyped cake, sorry. So far I’ve only made the cake and it is very disappointing. Dense, doughy, stodgy. I would not make again. Not going to put in the effort to make the frosting because I do not want to serve this to anyone.

The weight for the coconut is off. I used 3 cups, rather than the grams. This cake is amazing and got rave reviews.

I made this for my friend’s birthday and had the “wow, this is dense” experience other bakers have noted. I think it’s because I used Coconut cream rather than Cream of coconut. (Apparently one is thicker and milky while the one I was supposed to use is more sweet and syrup like). The cake tasted like coconut bread pudding (it was good). I added sweetened shredded coconut to the top to add sweetness once I realized my mistake. Will make again with correct ingredients!

Really good. Use less confectioner's sugar in the frosting.

This sounds delicious, and I’m all for using butter when baking, but after reading this cake takes a full pound of butter, plus all the added fat/ calories from the sugars and coconut, I looked at the calorie stats-something I rarely do. One serving is over 1500 calories. With 2000 calories being the daily recommended intake for an adult, I would half this recipe at a minimum, and make it for the rarest of special occasions- Americans are too fat as it is…….