If you love coconut, then this cake is for you. It has a perfect coconut flavor, it is moist, and it has a perfectly crisp crust
Some of my sisters and I took my dad out to lunch yesterday for his birthday. It was a last minute get together, and I wanted to make my dad a cake or some kind of treat for his special day. I didn’t have time to go to the store, so I had to make something that I had in the cabinet. My dad loves coconut; I knew I had canned coconut milk and coconut flakes, so I went with a coconut loaf cake. I was a little hesitant because it was a recipe that I was testing out. The cake turned out perfect, and I don’t need to tweak it at all. It was soft, dense and a little crispy on the outside, which is exactly what a loaf cake should be.
The cake has canned unsweetened coconut milk and coconut flakes. I wasn’t sure if possibly next time I would need coconut extract, but it has just the right amount of coconut flavor in the cake. I threw it together in ten minutes, which is nice, but it took an hour and fifteen minutes to bake. After the cake has cooled slightly, I drizzled a coconut milk glaze over the top. I might make it again tomorrow just so Jason can try it.
- 1½ sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup canned coconut milk (reserve remaining from can)
- 1½ cups sweetened shredded coconut-Divided
- Glaze/ Topping
- 2-4 tablespoons coconut
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- shredded coconut for topping
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan with non-stick spray. set aside
- In a medium bowl sift the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- In a stand mixer or handheld, mixture beat together the butter for 2 minutes on medium speed. Add in the granulated sugar and beat on medium speed for 5 minutes, you want it to be light and creamy. Add in the vanilla extract. Then beat in one egg at a time, beating well after each addition. (scrap down the bowl as needed).
- Add in the sifted flour mixture and coconut milk in three additions on low speed. Add ⅓ flour, ½ cup milk, ⅓ flour, ½ cup milk and finish with the remaining flour. Do not overmix. Fold in the 1½ cups shredded coconut. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour and 10 to 25 minutes. Or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean ( a few crumbs are okay). Allow the cake to cool for 10 minutes and then flip over to finish cooling on a wire cooling rack.
- Glaze: In a medium bowl whisk together the 2 tablespoons of coconut milk and ¾ cups of powdered sugar, mix until smooth. I like my thick, but if you want it thinner add more coconut milk. Drizzle over cooled bread, top with coconut and serve.
This looks delicious! I’m going to make it tomorrow. Just wanted to check on the glaze. Is the first ingredient supposed to be coconut MILK? Thanks for sharing with us!
Hi Caroline,
Yes, it is supposed to be coconut milk. I know it might sound weird, but it really adds to the whole coconut flavor of the cake. Hope you enjoy it!