When making cakes from scratch, the most important thing is to bake cake crust that is soft and moist. The cake filling is also important, it should be creamy and without lumps. When you find a cake recipe that requires baking multiple cake crusts, it may seem too demanding for you and time consuming. It doesn’t have to be that way! This coconut cake recipe gives you the easiest way to make a cake crust and you can use it to make other cakes as well.
What I love about this coconut cake is that it is not dry at all, which can be a problem when making a coconut cake. Although the cake crust is cocoa flavored and glazed with chocolate icing, the coconut flavor prevails. The crust is fluffy and the coconut cake filling is creamy which gives that extra moist taste when you eat it. It practically melts in your mouth.
Jump to RecipeHow to make coconut cake from scratch
You will need less than two hours to make this cake but including hands-off time. The first step is to make the cake crusts. You will need three cake crusts but it takes about 15 min to bake each crust and 5 minutes to mix the ingredients. When the third crust is baking, you can start making the chocolate frosting, then coating all three crusts with it. While the chocolate glazed cake crusts are cooling, you make a cake filling and lastly you frost a cake. This coconut cake can be served 3 hours after it is made and left in the fridge.
Make the cake crust
I would recommend that you first mix the ingredients only for one crust. While the first crust is baking for no more than 15 minutes, you will have enough time to make another batch of crust batter. In 45 min you will have 3 cake crusts that are fluffy and soft thanks to the egg whites.
To make a cake crust, use a hand mixer to beat 2 egg whites with 4 tablespoons of sugar. I recommend using cold eggs to get fluffy egg white foam. Next, you need to add 2 egg yolks, one tablespoon of oil, one tablespoon of milk, a tablespoon of flour and a tablespoon of cornstarch. Also add half a teaspoon of baking powder and one tablespoon of cocoa. Whisk everything nicely and bake at 170 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes. Repeat everything for other two crusts.
For baking this cake crust, you will need a 23cm cake pan (about 9 inches). And don’t forget to put a parchment paper so the crust doesn’t stick to the pan.
Make the chocolate icing
While the third crust is baking you can start working on the chocolate icing which you will later put on each cake crust. In a saucepan put 200ml of cream and 150g of dark chocolate and cook at low heat. When chocolate melts completely, remove the saucepan from the stove. It mustn’t boil.
Leave the chocolate icing to cool off and then coat the cake crusts with it. Don’t put the coconut cake filling immediately, wait a bit so the crust absorbs the chocolate icing.
The filling for the coconut cake
This cake filling recipe for coconut cake can be used with other cake crusts as well. You can use it with sponge cake crust and garnish with some fresh fruit.
So after you coat the cake crusts with chocolate icing, you can leave them to cool off and start making the filling for the coconut cake. You will need to cook 800ml of milk with 8 tablespoons of sugar and 20g of vanilla sugar at medium heat. After a few minutes when the sugar is melted and milk is cooked, add the mixture of 5 tablespoons of cornstarch, 200 ml of milk and 1 packet of vanilla instant pudding. You can use Dr Oetker or any similar vanilla pudding, one packet should have 40g.
Lower the heat when you add the pudding and cornstarch mixture so the pudding doesn’t burn and to avoid lumps. Stir the milk with pudding all the time and remove it from the stove once the pudding is thickened. Add 100g of coconut, stir well and leave it to cool.
In the meantime, use a hand mixer to mix 300ml of cream. The cream should get thick as well. When the coconut filling has cooled off, mix it with a hand mixer and start adding the cream. Don’t add all the cream at once, a tablespoon by tablespoon. Mix until the filling is creamy and without lumps.
Coconut cake frosting
When the cake filling is ready you can start to frost the coconut cake. Lay down one chocolate glazed cake crust and put the third of the coconut cake filling. Add another cake crust and put the second third of the coconut cake filling. Finally, add the third cake crust and the rest of the cake filling. Sprinkle additional coconut on the cake and decorate it with chocolate frosting if you like.
One note regarding the cake filling, you don’t need to divide it into equal thirds. One third can be bigger in amount so you have enough filling to frost the cake.
Coconut cake recipe – Moist and Fluffy, with Chocolate glazed crust
Ingredients
For cake crust
- 6 eggs
- 12 tbsp white sugar
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 3 tbsp milk
- 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 3 tbsp cornstarch
- 3 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
For chocolate frosting
- 200 ml cream
- 150 g dark chocolate
For cake filling
- 1 liter milk
- 8 tbsp white sugar
- 20 g vanilla sugar
- 40 g vanilla pudding
- 5 tbsp cornstarch
- 100 g coconut
- 300 ml cream
For the frosting
- 50 g coconut (approx)
- chocolate frosting (optional)
Instructions
Coconut cake crust
- Beat 2 egg whites with 4 tablespoons of sugar by using a hand mixer. Add 2 egg yolks, one tablespoon of oil, one tablespoon of milk, a tablespoon of flour and a tablespoon of cornstarch. Also add half a teaspoon of baking powder and one tablespoon of cocoa. Whisk everything nicely and bake at 170 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes.
- Repeat everything for other two crusts.
- In a saucepan put 200ml of cream and 150g of dark chocolate and cook at low heat. When chocolate melts completely, remove the saucepan from the stove. It mustn't boil.
- Leave the chocolate icing to cool off and then coat the cake crusts with it.
Coconut cake filling
- Cook 800ml of milk with 8 tablespoons of sugar and 20g of vanilla sugar at medium heat. After a few minutes when the sugar is melted and milk is cooked, add the mixture of 5 tablespoons of cornstarch, 200 ml of milk and 40g of vanilla instant pudding.
- Lower the heat when you add the pudding and cornstarch mixture so the pudding doesn’t burn and to avoid lumps. Stir the milk with pudding all the time and remove it from the stove once the pudding is thickened.
- Add 100g of coconut, stir well and leave it to cool.
- Whip the cream in a separate bowl.
- When the coconut filling has cooled off, mix it with a hand mixer and start adding the cream. Don’t add all the cream at once, a tablespoon by tablespoon. Mix until the filling is creamy and without lumps.
Layering the coconut cake
- Lay down one chocolate glazed cake crust and put the third of the coconut cake filling.
- Add another cake crust and put the second third of the coconut cake filling.
- Finally, add the third cake crust and the rest of the cake filling.
- Sprinkle additional coconut on the cake and decorate it with chocolate frosting if you like.
