Gluten-Free Coconut Cake

This is Luke’s birthday cake of choice which I bake for him every year. It’s soft, moist and crams so much coconut flavour into the cake layers and the ultra light and creamy buttercream.

We are working with creamed coconut, desiccated coconut, coconut flour, coconut oil and coconut flakes. So yes, we’re going all in.

Coconut flour can be a bit of a tricky customer as it’s a highly hygroscopic flour which means it absorbs and holds onto a lot of moisture. This can sometimes mean your coconut flour bakes are dry and dense but don’t worry there’s absolutely no issue with that here. That’s because we team the coconut flour (for the flavour) with almond flour which is a very moisture driven flour. The two flours balance each other out in texture and also flavour so your cake holds together, doesn’t crumble and keeps soft and moist for days! Plus no need for xanthan gum.

We’ll go through how quick and easy it is to assemble this cake so you prepare a foolproof and stress-free gluten-free cake for the coconut lovers in your life.

Watch the Video

Sometimes it helps to see a visual of what I'm talking about. So watch the video to see what it looks like to make your Coconut Cake.

Ingredients Needed

Creamed coconut. This is sold as a solid white block and is made from pure ground coconut flesh and contains the whole coconut meat, including the natural oils and fibre. It’s different from coconut cream which is often sold in a tin (or skimmed off the top of your tin of coconut milk). To use creamed coconut in the cake and the buttercream you need to hydrate it by dissolving in warm liquid to create a smooth paste. It’s easy to buy from most high street supermarkets and can be found in the World Foods / International Foods aisle and is often stocked alongside the coconut milk. You can use any but my favourite brand to use is Blue Dragon as it doesn’t have any added ingredients or stabilisers – it’s just pure coconut meat.

Desiccated coconut. We’re using this kind of coconut for flavour and texture rather than anything structural as it doesn’t have the same kind of moisture absorption as the coconut flour. We soak it in the hydrated creamed coconut to soften before adding it into our cake batter.

Caster sugar. It’s a fine white baking sugar available in the UK. Regular white granulated sugar can be substituted.

Coconut oil. Anything to achieve more coconut flavour. It can be cost prohibitive though, depending on where you are buying it from so you can substitute for a light olive oil or vegetable oil.

Eggs. This recipe uses medium size, about 60g each with shell (50g each without shell). These are often classified as large eggs in the US. I recommend weighing your eggs to ensure the correct amount.

Almond flour. You are looking for blanched ground almonds. There is a bit of labelling confusion over almond flour which is sold as ‘ground almonds’ in most major UK supermarkets and found in the baking aisle. If you want to know what exactly you are looking for then check out this post >>> Is Almond Flour The Same As Ground Almonds.

Almond flour swap. If you need the cake to be nut free then you can change the flour blend to the following: 100g sweet rice flour, 80g coconut flour, 60g tapioca starch, 60g white rice flour.

Coconut flour. I stayed away from coconut flour for years as it’s so tricky to work with. It absorbs so much moisture that you have to make sure your bake has a high liquid content to counteract. However, if you experiment with blending it with the right gluten-free flours you will achieve more success and coconut flour gives a really good flavour and texture.

Tapioca flour. To balance out our flour trio we blend in tapioca flour which helps bind the batter and also lighten it, otherwise the almond flour and coconut flour together can be a little dense.

Baking powder. A leavening agent which causes the cake to rise and become light and fluffy. Do check your baking powder is gluten-free before use.

Unsalted butter. We need unsalted so we can control the salt content of the buttercream. Make sure it is softened which is slightly more soft than room temperature. You will be whipping it as well before adding the icing sugar as it needs to be ultra creamy.

Icing sugar (powdered sugar). I prefer to use icing sugar rather than caster sugar in buttercreams as it dissolves more easily which means an easy to achieve smooth texture which can whip up like a dream.

Milk. This is for the creamed coconut to be mixed into to create a thick coconut paste for flavouring your buttercream. Use whole milk for a fuller flavour.

Salt. I like to use kosher salt in my baking as it has a round gentle flavour. Using salt in your baked goods lifts and sharpens all the other flavours. It should absolutely not be skipped in our buttercream.

Rice vinegar. Once you start adding vinegar to your classic buttercream there will be no turning back. It is not noticeable at all but really helps soften the sweetness. In a blind taste test the version with added vinegar is always preferred.

How To Make Gluten-Free Coconut Cake

For full recipe instructions go to the recipe card at the end of this post.

Whisk creamed coconut and desiccated coconut into just boiled water until the creamed coconut has dissolved.

Whisk together the sugar, coconut oil and eggs in a large mixing bowl until completely combined.

Whisk the flours, baking powder and salt together in a separate mixing bowl.

Add the flour and coconut mixture alternately, mixing in two additions.

Divide the cake batter between the two cake tins and bake for 35 minutes. Remover from the tins and allow to cool.

Buttercream

Whisk creamed coconut into warmed milk to create a smooth thick paste.

Place softened butter in the bowl of a stand mixer (food mixer) and whip until ultra creamy.

Sift in the icing sugar 1 cup at a time. Stop the mixer each time to bring the bowl out, scrape down and then sift in the icing sugar and whip it into the butter on the lowest speed of the mixer.

Once all the icing sugar has been added, then continue to mix the icing sugar and butter on the lowest setting for 6-7 minutes. Add the creamed coconut mixture, salt and rice vinegar and mix for a final 2 minutes.

Assembly

Place one of the sponge layers on a 20cm (8 inch) cake board, or just directly onto a serving plate (preferably on a cake turntable if you have one), and spread ¼ of the total amount of buttercream over the surface of the sponge,

Place the second sponge layer on top and smooth buttercream over the top of the cake.

Finish covering the cake sides with the rest of the buttercream. Decorate the whole of the cake with coconut flakes. If you are using a cake turntable you may find it easier to tilt it to press the flakes onto the side of the cake.

Make Ahead

This cake can be stored in an airtight container in a cool dark place at room temperature (as long as it’s not too warm – in which case it will need to be refrigerated) for up to 3 days. If you have refrigerated it then remove from the fridge for at least an hour to come to room temperature before serving.

Freezing

If you do want to make the cake ahead and freeze then I recommend just freezing the sponge cakes and filling and covering with the buttercream on the day of serving.

Sponge Cakes. You can freeze the sponge cakes successfully for up to 3 months before decorating. First wrap the cooled sponges tightly in cling film (plastic wrap) and then double wrap in aluminium foil. Don’t forget to label including the date. To enjoy, thaw at room temperature overnight, unwrap once thawed and fill and decorate with the buttercream icing.

Individual Slices. You can also freeze leftover slices of the whole cake. It needs a little more care when freezing:

• Place the leftover cake slices on a tray and flash freeze for 6-8 hours, before wrapping each slice up individually in cling film (plastic wrap) and placing in an airtight container.
• To thaw, remove the cake slices individually, unwrap whilst frozen so not to disturb the glaze. They should take about 1-2 hour to fully thaw.

Freezing gluten-free coconut cake with icing

You can also freeze the whole cake after you have added the buttercream icing but before you have decorated with the coconut flakes. Chill the cake in the fridge to allow the buttercream to firm before double wrapping in cling film and aluminium (tin) foil. You can freeze for up to two months. Unwrap the cake before defrosting completely in the refrigerator. Bring out of the fridge for an hour or two for the buttercream to soften then add your coconut flakes and serve.

More Gluten-Free Cake Recipes You’ll Love

Gluten-Free Lime & Coconut Loaf Cake is a beautifully moist and zesty drizzle cake with a crunchy frosted coconut adornment.

Chocolate Coconut Banana Bread is a glorious gluten-free cake, intense with chocolate, chewy with coconut and beautifully moist from the banana. Covered with glossy chocolate and snowy with coconut flakes.

This Gluten-Free Carrot Cake is absolutely stunning. A beautifully spiced moist and fluffy sponge crammed with shredded carrots. Filled and decorated with the dreamiest cream cheese buttercream and sprinkled with candied carrots.