Gluten Free Coconut Cake

4.52 from 179 ratings

This Gluten Free Coconut Cake is the ultimate cake for coconut lovers. It’s made with coconut milk, coconut oil, and shredded coconut, plus it’s filled with coconut custard and topped with toasted coconut.

Prep Time: 40

Cook Time: 20

Total Time: 1

Servings: 12

By: Sharon Lachendro

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Ingredients

For the Cake:

1 C coconut milk room temperature
6 large egg whites room temperature
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
3/4 C solid coconut oil measured then melted
2 1/4 C gluten free flour
1 tsp xanthan gum
1 3/4 C granulated sugar
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp fine sea salt
3/4 C shredded coconut

For the Filling:

1 C prepared coconut custard
1 C So Delicious CocoWhip or homemade coconut whipped cream

For the Frosting:

1/2 C vegan butter I use soy-free Earth Balance spread
1/2 C shortening
3 1/2 C powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp coconut milk
1 1/4 C toasted coconut

Instructions

To Make the Cake:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray 3 8-inch cake pans with non-stick spray and line the bottom with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the coconut milk, egg whites, vanilla extract, and coconut oil until well combined.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, xanthan gum, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the shredded coconut.
Pour in the milk/egg/oil mixture and stir until well incorporated and the batter is smooth.
Transfer the batter evenly between the prepared pans and bake at 350 degrees for 20-24 minutes (or until a cake tester comes out with moist crumbs. Cool the cakes in the pan for 10 minutes then cool completely on a wire rack.
***See notes for storing the cake after baking****

For the Filling:

Stir together the CocoWhip (defrosted if frozen) and the coconut custard.

For the Frosting:

Add the vegan butter to a bowl of a stand mixer and beat at medium speed to soften. Add the shortening and beat until well mixed.
Add the powdered sugar and mix on low speed. While the mixer is running, add the vanilla extract and coconut milk. If the frosting is too thick, you can thin it with a little more coconut milk.
Turn the mixer to medium-high speed and beat the frosting until smooth and creamy, scraping down the bowl as necessary.

To Assemble the Cake:

Place one of the cake layers on a cake stand or cake plate. Add some of the frosting to a piping bag and pipe a border along the border of the cake. Fill the icing dam with half of the cake filling and then top with the second cake layer.
Pipe another border around the cake layer and then fill that icing dam with the remainder of the cake filling and top with the last layer of cake.
Frost the cake with the remaining frosting. To decorate, press the toasted coconut along the sides of the cake.

Notes

To toast the coconut, add 1 1/4 cups shredded coconut to a dry pan and heat over medium low heat, stirring occasionally, until the coconut turns golden brown. Remove from the heat and cool completely before adding to the cake.

*** I freeze all of my cakes before frosting them. When they have cooled to room temperature, I wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and then freeze them on a sheet pan in the freezer. I find frosting frozen cakes to be so much easier when using vegan frosting. Let the cake defrost completely before serving. ****

Recipe adapted from Food Network.