This Coconut Sheet Cake is a moist, tropical delight that’s perfect for any occasion.
Every bite delivers a balance of soft cake and a hint of chew from the coconut, making it a crowd-pleaser for potlucks, birthdays, or just a cozy afternoon treat. Serve it straight from the pan, cut into squares, and watch it disappear!
Growing up, every year my grandmother made a coconut cake in the spring time. Of course, she would make it in the shape of a rabbit with jelly bean eyes and nose and pink ears she had cut from construction paper. I’m not into rabbits as cake, but I do love coconut cake. Today, I’m sharing this classic recipe for Coconut Sheet Cake in her honor.
This cake is made from very basic ingredients and, because it is a sheet cake, it is simple to make and easy to decorate. Cake decorating is not my super power.
Once the cake is baked, you want to allow it to cool completely before frosting it.
Just look at that coconut covering the cake like a blanket of snow.
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Coconut Sheet Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 3 c all-purpose flour
- 1 Tb baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¾ c organic vegetable shortening
- 1 ½ c sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ teaspoon coconut flavoring
- 1 ¼ c buttermilk
- ¾ c egg whites, room temperature (this takes about 6 eggs)
For the Frosting:
- 8 oz Neufchatel cream cheese, 1 block, room temperature
- ½ c unsalted butter, 1 stick, room temperature
- 4 c powdered, confectioner’s sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon coconut flavoring
- 2 teaspoon coconut rum, optional
- ⅔ c sweetened coconut flakes
Instructions
- To begin, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- In a bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir these together and set them aside for now.
- In your mixing bowl, beat the shortening and sugar together until nice and fluffy.
- Add in the vanilla and coconut flavoring. Mix those in.
- Add half of the dry mixture to the creamed mixture, mixing until just combined.
- Add half of the buttermilk, again mixing until just combined. Repeat with the other halves of the dry ingredients then the remaining buttermilk.
- Make sure to scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula to get everything mixed in together well.
- Whisk your egg whites until they are frothy, then fold them into the cake batter.
- Pour the batter into a 9×13 inch cake pan that has been greased & floured or sprayed with baking spray.
- Bake 30-35 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Place the cake on a cooling rack and allow it to cool completely.
To frost the cake:
- In your mixing bowl, beat the butter and Neufchatel cream cheese together until fluffy. Add in the powdered sugar a little at a time and mix until fully combined.
- Add in the vanilla extract, coconut flavoring, and coconut rum. Beat the frosting together until nice and creamy.
- Spread the frosting on the cooled cake.
- Sprinkle the coconut all over the top.
- Store this cake covered and in a cool place.
- Enjoy!
Nutrition
If nutritional values are provided for this recipe, they are an estimate and will vary depending on the brands of ingredients you use. The values do not include optional ingredients or when ingredients are added to taste or for serving. If nutritional values are very important to you, I suggest using your favorite nutritional calculating tool with the brands you use.
Unit Conversions:
Unit Conversion for measurements (if displayed), going from US to Metric is an auto-generated conversion. If you are using the metric measurements, please double-check to confirm that these are accurate with your favorite preferred conversion tool.
This looks ah-mazing, Constancee! My hubby’s favorite pie is coconut cream, so I may need to try this cake for him. Thanks for sharing!