Old Fashion Coconut Cake Recipe (One Bowl)
This simple, easy one-bowl coconut cake recipe, made with desiccated coconut from scratch, makes a delicious cake you can whip up in five minutes. It tastes great unfrosted as a coffee cake, served with whipped cream for a light dessert, or used with some decadent buttercream for a more indulgent treat or celebration cake.
You know I’m a person who ALWAYS bakes from scratch, and I’ve been on a mission to get everyone around me to bake from scratch. Well, mostly because it’s so EASY!!
In an attempt to get people to bake from scratch, I started this series of one-bowl cakes and cupcakes. It’s been going really well so far. Many of you enjoy baking these cakes and love the recipes. So, yay!!
This is my family’s favorite, and Mom made it often in under an hour for evening tea whenever we asked.
Why make this cake?
- One-bowl recipe — no mixer needed
- Soft, moist crumb with real coconut flavor
- Made with desiccated coconut (easy pantry ingredient)
- Works as a simple cake or dressed up with frosting
- Ready in under 45 minutes
Ingredients and substitutes
- Butter – I always use butter at room temperature. But, if you want a vegan version, you can use the same amount of margarine in the recipe.
- Coconut Milk / Milk – I like to add coconut milk as it enhances the flavor of the cake. And yet, if you want, you can add regular milk. Almond milk works too.
- Coconut Extract – It does add a nice flavor, but you can just substitute it with vanilla extract as well.
- Desiccated Coconut – This is shredded dry coconut and is not the same as coconut flour or coconut sugar. Coconut flour is just the dried coconut fiber after removing all the coconut milk. So, please use desiccated coconut, which has all the flavor of coconut. And use the unsweetened variety as the cake has the required amount of sugar.
Step-by-step: Easy old-fashion coconut cake
- Preheat oven to 320°F / 165°C/ Gas Mark 3. Grease and line one 8-inch round cake pan with parchment paper. You can also use one 6-cup bundt pan instead.
- Combine – In the bowl, combine all ingredients until you have a smooth batter without any lumps, but DO NOT OVERMIX.
Pro tip – For a one-bowl recipe, always ensure the butter, eggs, and milk are at room temperature. Otherwise, the batter will be lumpy.
- Pan – Pour batter into your prepared baking pan. Sprinkle some almond flakes on top.
- Bake in the center of the oven for about 30 to 40 minutes or until the skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool in the baking pan for 5 minutes. Invert and cool on a wire rack completely before you decorate
BEST Coconut Cake Recipe
Coconut is such a versatile flavor and can be used in savory or sweet dishes. This simple, easy and effortless coconut cake recipe makes a delicious cake from scratch that you can whip in five minutes. It tastes great unfrosted as a coffee cake, served with whipped cream for a light dessert or some decadent buttercream for a more indulgent treat or celebration cake.
Video
Ingredients
- 4 oz (113 g) Butter unsalted, room temperature
- ¾ cup (150 g) Sugar
- 2 large Egg
- ¾ tsp Baking powder
- 1½ cup (190 g) All-purpose flour
- 1 cup (85 g) Desiccated coconut
- ½ cup (120 ml) Coconut milk or regular milk
- ½ tsp Vanilla extract
- 2 drops Coconut extract (optional)
- ½ tsp Salt
- 2 tbsp Almond flakes for the top (optional)
Method
- Preheat oven to 320°F / 165°C/ Gas Mark 3. Grease and line one 8-inch round cake pan with parchment paper. You can also use one 6-cup bundt pan instead.
- Combine – In the bowl of the stand mixer with the paddle attachment, combine all ingredients until you have a smooth batter without any lumps, but DO NOT OVERMIX.4 oz Butter , ¾ cup Sugar , 2 large Egg, ¾ tsp Baking powder, 1½ cup All-purpose flour, ½ cup Coconut milk, ½ tsp Vanilla extract , 2 drops Coconut extract, ½ tsp Salt, 1 cup Desiccated coconut
- Pan – Pour batter into your prepared baking pan. Sprinkle some almond flakes on top.2 tbsp Almond flakes
- Bake in the center of the oven for about 30 to 40 minutes or until the skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool in the baking pan for 5 minutes. Invert and cool on a wire rack completely before you decorate
Notes
- Batter should be smooth, not overmixed
- Desiccated coconut gives texture — don’t swap with coconut flour
- Check doneness at 30 minutes to avoid overbaking
- Store at room temp for 2–3 days or refrigerate for longer
- Best served slightly warm or at room temperature
Equipment you will need
Nutrition
Tried this recipe?
Mention @veenaazmanov_kitchen or tag #veenaazmanovkitchen!Tips for success
- Use room temp ingredients → smoother batter
- Don’t overmix → keeps cake soft
- Bake just until done → overbaking dries it
- Coconut milk gives better flavor than regular milk
This is our family’s favorite!! No frosting – just a cup of tea.
- Layered coconut cake with coconut cream filling (layer cake)
- One Bowl Carrot Cake
- Easy One–Bowl Peach Cake
- One–Bowl Raspberry Banana Cake
- Blueberry Yogurt Cake (One–Bowl Recipe)
- One Bowl Sour Cream Strawberry Cake
Frequently asked questions
This coconut cake will keep in the fridge for 4 to 5 days. You can even freeze it for up to a month or more.
Cake flour does give a soft cake with a tender crumb, but since we have desiccated coconut in this cake, the all-purpose flour works better.
You can use fresh shredded coconut instead of desiccated coconut. But, then the cake will keep in the fridge for just 3 to 4 days, as fresh coconut has a shorter shelf life.
Yes, you can add 1/2 cup of dried fruits like raisins, chopped dates, and cranberries to the batter just before baking.
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Love your recipes and this looks particularly delicious. I love cakes without frosting. My daughter is gluten free. Could I make this with coconut flour instead of regular flour? Thanks!!
Thanks Carole. I have not tried it with coconut flour so I can’t be sure. It may be a bit dense but definitely worth a try.
Hello,
Just made this cake..in the oven as i write this…i can’t wait!!!!
Thank you for the recipe!
Thank you Laurence. Let me know how it was. Would love to know your feedback. Enjoy!
Just had a slice..it is LUSH!!!!???
Awesome. Thank you Laurence. So happy to hear that. I love getting feedback. Appreciate you taking the trouble to come back and writing these comments. Wish you a lovely day.
Delicious coconut cake very yummy thank you 🙂
Thank you Caroline. Happy to hear you enjoyed it. Thanks
Hi there . I hope that you are well. Thanks for all the yummy recipes thus far. Can you please tell me what is “coconut extras” as requested for in the ingredients above .Also can one use normal butter instead of unsalted butter and just omit the salt .will really appreciate the feedback …I cant wait to bake this .God bless
Hi Nicole. It’s coconut extract !! Sorry a bit of type error. It enhances the flavor but if you want you can just omit the coconut extract. You can definitely use normal salted butter and then omit the salt in the recipe. Thanks
Thank you ,thank you ,thank you for the response .I am going to bake it right now.. God bless you for your time
You are very welcome. Let me know how it goes Thanks
Hello, I’d like to make this but I’m not sure what desiccated coconut is. When I Googled it, it looks like there’s a variety of ways you can buy it…sweetened or unsweetened, flaked or shredded, coarse or fine. Would you please let me know what you suggest? Thank you!
Oh really? now a days we do so many confusing options don’t we?
Well, desiccated coconut – This is shredded dry coconut and is not the same as coconut flour or coconut sugar. Coconut flour is just the dried coconut fiber after removing all the coconut milk. So please use[easyazon_link identifier=”B00OO5VY98″ locale=”US” tag=”vesarofca-20″]desiccated coconut[/easyazon_link] which has all the flavor of coconut. And use the unsweetened variety as the cake as the required amount of sugar. Hope this helps
Thank you so much, that’s very helpful!
You welcome Steffanie
Looks scrumptious…it’s a bonus that this is cake is so easy and versatile
It’s definitely very easy Lathiya
I made this cake when I wanted to try something different – although I was a bit unsure about the coconut milk in the cake mixture. Turns out it’s lovely! I’ve made it 3 or 4 times now. Thanks 🙂
Thank you so much Pene.. So happy to hear you are trying so many of my recipes with success. Love that!! thank you so much for your feedback. Makes my day!! Yeah I know what you mean.. but the coconut milk just takes it to that next level from good to wow I think!! Enjoy
Any substitute for eggs ?
Sorry hun. Will have to look for an Eggless Coconut cake recipes. Haven’t tested any eggless version yet.I do have an eggless vanilla cake which can be used as a base for this recipe (replace 1/2 the flour with desiccated coconut) but since I still have not tested it cant’ say for sure. You are welcome to try and let us know what happens.
.I believe live yogurt can replace eggs… but not sure of quantity. I replace the butter in the cake with olive oil… works out fine. Thank you Veena for your excellent recipe. Today will be the third time I’ve made this delicious cake successfully!!
Thank you Georgia. So happy you’ve had great success with this recipe. Thank for coming back to write this feedback.
Yes, yogurt does work as a great substitute for eggs but I have not tried it yet so can’t say if it will work or not.
When you change too many things in a recipe you got to be careful that you keep the basic formula same.
Hey, lovely recipe.. In case I wanna make a small quantity can I half the recipe?
I think this is already a small batch hun but yes you can half the recipe
Awesome.. These looks so beautiful. I really admire this page.
Thanks!!! a lot