Fabulous two layered vegan coconut cake topped with a coconut rum frosting. It’s moist, packed with coconut flavor and super easy to make!
I’m over the moon about this vegan coconut cake! It came out like a dream.
It has heaps of coconut flavor as well as texture from two cups of dessicated coconut (finely shredded coconut) in the cake batter. And then the frosting has a bit of naughty coconut flavor via a quarter cup of coconut rum!
It’s gorgeous and it’s super easy to make too.
How To Make Vegan Coconut Cake
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
- Sift all purpose flour into a mixing bowl and add sugar, baking soda, salt and dessicated coconut. Mix together.
- Add coconut milk, melted coconut oil, vinegar, and vanilla and stir into a thick batter. Make sure it’s well mixed but be careful not to overmix.
- Divide the batter evenly between two 8-inch cake pans and spread it out to the edges of the pans with a spatula or the back of a spoon, the batter will be too thick to spread out on its own.
- Bake for 30 minutes at 350°F or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cakes comes out clean.
- Transfer the cakes to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before frosting.
The Frosting
The frosting is the most delicious velvety coconut frosting that gets its coconut flavor from coconut rum and just a dash of coconut milk.
And we decorate it with loads more dessicated coconut sprinkled everywhere. Because why wouldn’t you?
Recipe Tips
The batter is thick and seems dry. As you can see in the batter photo above, the batter is quite dry, and this is because there are two cups of dessicated coconut that go into the batter, so it thickens the batter up a lot. But adding dessicated coconut to a batter is very similar to if you would add nuts or raisins or something to a recipe in the way that it thickens up the batter. But the end result isn’t dry at all. It’s just really coconutty and delicious.
Dessicated coconut is also called finely shredded coconut or finely shredded coconut flakes. It is dried coconut that is very finely shredded.
The cakes come out quite firm on the tops. I was even joking that they’re a little ‘crispy’ and comparing them to cookies. But don’t be put off, it works. Once it’s frosted it’s just a delicious cake. No hint of dryness or crispiness to be found.
It’s not a super light and fluffy cake. It’s not light and fluffy like you get with our vegan vanilla cake, or our vegan lemon cake because it’s weighed down a little by the added coconut. But what you lose in light and fluffy you gain in delicious coconut texture and flavor.
But while it may not be super light and fluffy it’s definitely not overly dense either, I think you can see that from the photos. But it has more density than the other cakes mentioned above because of all the added coconut. So it’s sort of dense and fluffy, if that can possibly make sense!
Recipe Q&A
This cake can be made in either two 8-inch cake pans or two 9-inch cake pans. If you make it in 9-inch cake pans the layers will just be a little thinner, but it still works perfectly well.
Yes you can make cupcakes. This recipe will make around 18-24 cupcakes. Bake for 20-25 minutes.
You should be able to make this cake gluten-free by swapping the all purpose flour for a gluten free all purpose flour blend. It must be a blend though and not a single type flour like rice flour or coconut flour as that will NOT work. If you find the cake is a bit dry using a gluten-free blend (gluten-free flours can absorb more moisture) then increase the oil slightly.
Storing and Freezing
Keep it covered at room temperature where it will stay deliciously fresh for a few days or covered in the fridge where it will stay fresh for up to a week.
It is also freezer friendly either frosted or unfrosted for up to 3 months.
More Delicious Vegan Cakes
- Vegan Carrot Cake
- Vegan Orange Cake
- Vegan Oreo Cake
- The Best Vegan Chocolate Cake
- Vegan Banana Cake
- Vegan Apple Cake
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Coconut Cake
Ingredients
For the Coconut Cake:
- 2 ⅔ cups All Purpose Flour (330g)
- 1 ½ cups White Granulated Sugar (300g)
- 1 ½ tsp Baking Soda
- ¾ tsp Salt
- 2 cups Dessicated Coconut (160g) Finely Shredded Coconut
- 1 ½ cups Coconut Milk (360ml)
- ½ cup Coconut Oil (120ml) Melted
- 1 Tbsp Distilled White Vinegar or Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
For the Coconut Rum Frosting:
- 4 ½ cups Powdered Sugar (540g)
- ½ cup Vegan Butter (112g)
- ¼ cup Malibu Coconut Rum (60ml)
- 1 Tbsp Coconut Milk
For Decorating:
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Spray two 8 inch cake pans with non stick spray and line the bottoms with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Sift the flour into a mixing bowl and then add the sugar, baking soda, salt and dessicated coconut. Mix together.
- Then add in the coconut milk, melted coconut oil, vinegar, and vanilla and stir into a thick batter. Make sure it’s well mixed but be careful not to overmix.
- Divide the batter evenly between the two cake pans and spread it out to the edges of the pans with a spatula or the back of a spoon, the batter will be too thick to spread out on its own.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cakes comes out clean.
- Transfer the cakes to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before frosting.
- Prepare your frosting by adding the powdered sugar, vegan butter, coconut rum and coconut milk to a mixing bowl and mixing with an electric mixer starting off slow and then gradually increasing speed until thick and smooth. If your frosting is too thick, add a tiny bit more coconut milk, a drop at a time until you reach the right consistency, if it’s too thin add more powdered sugar.
- Frost your cake and decorate it with plenty of dessicated coconut.
Notes
- Dessicated coconut is also called finely shredded coconut or finely shredded coconut flakes. It’s dried coconut that is shredded very finely.
- We used full fat, canned, unsweetened coconut milk, but I think any unsweetened coconut milk will work fine in this recipe.
- If you prefer not to use coconut rum, then you can sub the rum for coconut milk.
Lou says
Hi,
For the rum frosting, can i substitute the vegan butter for coconut butter?
Thank you
Alison Andrews says
Hi Lou, coconut butter isn’t a good substitute for vegan butter at all.
bacchus_and_vesuvius says
I plan to give this a try. I had a coconut cake at Sublime Vegan in Ft. Lauderdale 2004-ish and it was a very dense, textured cake and so decadent. #2 cake in my life after my wedding cake. I’m hoping this comes close to that texture and flavor.
Alison Andrews says
I hope it works out great for you! 🙂
a r i y a n a says
I just made this cake and loved it!!! I had used a small container to cut out the middle and made a bundt cake and then colored my frosting pink and recreated a Dunkin Donut pink frosted donut but in cake version. 100% recommended!
Alison Andrews says
Sounds amazing! Thanks for sharing!
Fay Carruthers says
Made this to use up a bag a desicated coconut but now, we’ll be buying another bag! Fancied Lemon topping rather than Rum. Lovely, thank you 🙂
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! So happy to hear that Fay! 🙂
Stacie says
I made this recipe today and it was fabulous! I made it into cupcakes instead of cake and I also made it gluten free. What a treat! The taste was so intense and the cake was so moist! I cooked the cupcakes for 24 minutes and the came out perfect!
Alison Andrews says
So happy to hear that, thanks Stacie!
Kim W. says
Hi- did you use GF flour- if so what alterations did you make in the ingredients, if any? TY so much!
Nicky says
Hi, I am very keen to make this! I note some people have stated they made it into cupcakes. Could you please indicate cook times and temperature for cupcakes – I have both a 12 cupcake tin and 6 muffin tin.
Thanks!
Alison Andrews says
Hi Nicky, it would make between 18 and 24 cupcakes depending on how high you fill the cupcake liners. Bake time would be between 22 and 25 minutes at the same temperature.
Sandra says
OMG. Absolutely heavenly. I cut recipe in half and made cupcakes. Thank you!
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! Thanks Sandra!
Awaita says
Tried it.. It was super yummy.. I just love it. Thank you for the great recipe.
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! Thank you so much! 🙂
Rocio says
Hey! I follow your blog for a while and you’ve awesome recipes!
Unfortunately, I tried this cake today, it rose beautifully and even had a small belly shape and in the last 5mins of cooking it sank a bit in the middle (nothing crazy, but it’s definitely not flat nor does it have a small belly) without opening the oven or anything.
I wanted to know what could have been the problem, I used the same recipe, same cake tin size, same oven temp, 32min cooking time, except minus 50gr of sugar and I measured in cups while checking the gr, which were a bit higher than what you wrote. Id love to hear a reply and tomorrow I’ll leave a rating when I frost and try it! Thank youuuu
Alison Andrews says
Hi Rocio, not sure what caused that! But hope it tastes great! 🙂
Rocio says
It tasted good! Very moist and dense but in a good way! I think it’d be nice paired with vegan wipped cream or something light to balance it out. A good recipe after all! But since it had sunk in the middle, the slices would always fall in the middle when I cut them. I’d appreciate if you could tell me what I could try doing differently to ensure it doesn’t collapse in the middle
Sophie says
Hi! Possible to bake this in 2 10-in cake pans instead of 8-in? If so, can you share adjusted temperature and bake times? Thank you!!
Alison Andrews says
Hi Sophie, it would be double the recipe for a 2-layer 10-inch cake. Temperature and bake times would be the same.
Caroline Shea says
Wondering if I can make this in two 7 inch pans?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Caroline, it might be better to halve the recipe. I’m just thinking the layers might be super thick if you do this in 7-inch pans and they might take really long to cook.
Janet says
Looking forward to making this for my daughters birthday this coming week. Do you know if it can be made in a Bundt pan? If so, how long would you recommend cooking it for?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Janet, it would probably be around 50 minutes in a bundt pan, but just keep a check on it. All the best! 🙂
Ivon says
Hi, would it be ok if I use wholemeal flour and coconut sugar?
Alison Andrews says
Coconut sugar will be fine, though the color will be darker. I’m not sure about whole meal flour, it might be okay but it would certainly change the texture, so it may be a more coarse texture.
Ivon says
What about almond meal? would it work for this recipe mixing all purpose flour and almond meal?
Alison Andrews says
I don’t think so no.
Cake-is-best says
Hi, I absolutely love your website, and all your recipes are delicious. I plan on making this cake in the next few days, but my canned coconut milk has been in the fridge for some time, and as a result the water and the solid parts have separated. Can I still use it? Or do I just use the solid part? Or do I buy a new one? Thank you!!!!
Alison Andrews says
Thank you so much! So happy you like the recipes! You can absolutely still use that one, just pour it out into a measuring jug and mix it up again. You want to get it all mixed up again as if it didn’t separate. If you have a mini whisk that will work great to incorporate it all again. 🙂
Mz_Poole says
Great results. I used sweetened shredded coconut instead of desiccated. I suppose you could toast it at 350 for 7-10 min. and pulse in food processor to get some moisture off but I didn’t and the cake turned out fine. Texture of cake was good but it stuck on the bottom which usually never happens. I used 9 in dark coated pans so I reduced oven temp to 325 and after 25 min. it was done. For the frosting, instead of coconut rum I used rum extract 1 tsp. and extra canned coconut milk 1/4 cup.
Alison Andrews says
Awesome, thanks for sharing! 🙂
Willemijn says
Hi, When i sub the rum for coconut milk, does it have to be full fat coconut milk or just ‘normal’ coconut milk, and can I sub it 1:1?
Alison Andrews says
It can really be any coconut milk either canned full fat or not, and yes it would be 1:1.