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.
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- 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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Made this cake for Christmas last year! And it was a hit at home. The cake turned out to be so moist and tasty! Didn’t need the filling too. Thank you for the recipe! ☺️
Thank you, Wilma. So happy to hear you and everybody enjoyed this cake. I agree we don’t need any filling its so good on its own. Thanks for coming back to write this feedback.
I realize you posted this recipe several years ago, but do you remember if you weighed out 60g of desiccated coconut or used a 1-cup measuring cup? I scooped the desiccated coconut into a 1-cup measuring cup directly on my scale (after zeroing the scale with the empty cup on it), filling it level to the top. It weighed 90g of coconut (not including the measuring cup). I tend to weigh my ingredients so I would like to know what measurement method you used for the coconut in this recipe. All other weights look standard; I’m just asking about the coconut since it seems off by 30g. I haven’t made the cake yet…just going over everything first. Thanks!
Hey Melissa. Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I have used 90 grams/1 cup desiccated coconut… Thanks
Hey,
Looks like an amazing recipe, planning on making it today for my parent in law’s wedding anniversary (just a small event at home) I was just confused about the buttercream icing part. So should I split the cake first and spread the butter cream in the middle and then place the upper portion and continue icing and sprinkle with desiccated coconut?
Thanks!!!
Hafsa. You can bake it in two layers and sandwich them with buttercream. If you want more layers you can spit each layer in half and sandwich them with buttercream. And if you prefer less icing you can just keep it simple and frost the outside with icing and sprinkle desiccated coconut. In my home, we like less icing so I make a single layer and frost the outside. If making for a wedding cake I highly recommend making two says and sandwich them with one layer of buttercream. I hope this helps, feel free to ask any more questions.
Hi Veena! This is the first recepie I tried. It’s excellent! So rich and flavorful. Thank you for sharing! I made this cake using gluten free flower plus a pinch of xanthan gum. And I topped it with loads of fresh shredded coconut. And you right, no frosting is needed. It’s perfect as it is. My favorite now! Thank you again!
Ah.. Awesome Thank you, Olga. So happy to hear that. I will try that when I need to make a gluten-free cake for a friend. Thank you so much for coming back to write this feedback. Appreciate it very much.
Looks wonderful.
By dessicated coconut do you mean grated and dry roasted coconut or will grated kopra work (the dry coconut halves you get In Indian grocery stores)
Frency, commercially we get desiccated coconut – it’s fresh dry coconut powder. But, you can use freshly grated coconut – the will be tastier as well. The coconut has a lesser shelf life but so may be no more than 3 days.
Hi there. Thank you for this recipe. I have cake flour instead of coconut flour. Is it okay to sub out the reg flour for this one? Will it change the cake? Also wanted to make a mirror glaze for it (felling ambitious 🙂 ) Any thoughts. Ty
Soroya, there is no coconut flour in the recipe, just desiccated coconut which is what makes this a coconut cake. If you substitute that with regular flour you will be making a vanilla cake with coconut flavoring. You can make a mirror glaze but after you frost it with some frosting and smooth it out
Thanks very much Veena for a simple and not too sweet cake recipe. It was delicious! It was really easy to make – my 9 year old son did most of the work. Only comment is that it only yielded 12 servings, rather than 16.
Ah thanks, Anita. Actually it should be 12 not 16 – thanks
Hello, looks delicious!!! Can I make it into cupcakes?
Ideally yes, Bunmi. You should be able to make cupcakes, why not? They will be a big batch but I’m sure coconut is always a welcome flavor. Enjoy!
I just took this cake out of the oven and, oh, it smells absolutely divine! Mine did not turn out as dark as yours, probably due to my oven, but it is picture perfect! Perfect domed top, lovely light brown color and just a gorgeous looking cake! I’ll make the buttercream frosting once it cools, but I have to say, this is a lovely, easy, one bowl winner of a coconut cake! I am so delighted I stumbled onto your site! Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful recipe, that will become a family cherished favorite!
Thank you so much Anne. So happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe. I one this recipe very much too. If it not too dark that’s fine I do like a lite color baked cake. Probably the oven for sure. Thank you so much for coming back to write this feedback. I love getting feedback on my recipes. Appreciate it very much.
I love coconut whether it’s in cake or in piña colada–in everything! I grew up in an Island and was always surrounded by coconut trees. I will definitely do this recipe this week. Thank you for sharing! Can’t wait to try it!
Thank you Linda! I love coconut too – use to have lots of coconut growing up. Let me know how you enjoyed it. Thanks
Hi Veena,
I loved this recipe.. I like substituting refined flour with whole wheat flour in my cakes.. Do you think it will work in this recipe??
Hey Renny, I have not tried that. So not sure if it will work. If you do try please do let us know the outcome