Gluten Free Coconut Cake
by: claire cary
This perfect gluten free coconut cake is incredibly moist with a soft and fluffy crumb and delicious coconut flavor. It's dairy free friendly, topped with a coconut buttercream and fresh strawberries for a dessert that is bound to impress!
Equipment
Ingredients
Wet
- ½ cup butter melted
- ¼ cup oil
- 1 ⅔ cups sugar
- ⅔ cups egg whites see notes
- ½ cup full fat plain greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ teaspoon coconut extract or more, to taste
- 1 cup full fat coconut milk
Dry
- 3 cups gluten free all purpose baking flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 ¼ cups shredded sweetened coconut
Coconut Buttercream
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened/room temperature
- ½ cup coconut cream
- 4-5 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups shredded coconut for decorating
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Line 3, 8 inch cake pans with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, beat the melted butter, oil and sugar for about 30 seconds.
- Add in all remaining wet ingredients and beat to combine.
- Add in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Beat to combine.
- Fold in the shredded coconut and mix until combined. The batter will be fairly thick.
- Divide the batter evenly among the three pans, spreading the top out smooth.
- Add to the oven on the center rack and bake for 32-38 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Let the cakes cool in the pans for about 15 minutes, then flip onto a wire rack to finish cooling.
- Meanwhile, prep the frosting. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter for about 2 minutes until light and fluffy.
- From a can of coconut cream, scoop out just the top white part and add to the bowl. Add in the powdered sugar, vanilla and salt. Beat on low speed for about 2-3 minutes or until nice and fluffy. Add more sugar if it is too thin or a splash of the coconut water/milk from the can if it's too thick.
- Once the cake has cooled completely, add about 1 - 1 1/2 cups of frosting between each layer, then coat the outside of the cake with frosting.
- I add the cake stand to a baking sheet to add the shredded coconut all along the sides and the top. It can get messy so a baking sheet keeps it somewhat contained!
- I opted to top mine with fresh strawberries, but you can also just keep it plain with the coconut! Slice and enjoy.
Notes
2/3 cups of egg whites is about the egg whites from 5 large eggs. Be sure to go by the measurement of 2/3 cup and not the number of eggs.
You need to use shredded coconut here, not coconut flakes!
Serving: 1slice / Calories: 515kcal / Carbohydrates: 71g / Protein: 6g / Fat: 37g / Saturated Fat: 19g / Sodium: 427mg / Fiber: 5g / Sugar: 55g / Vitamin C: 3mg
