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–+ servings
pink easter coconut cake covered in shredded coconut.
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5 from 3 votes

Easter Coconut Cake

Celebrate the Easter holiday with this light and fluffy Easter coconut cake! Coconut lovers will obsess over the coconut flavor, moist crumb, coconut frosting, and cute thyme bunny ears on top!

Equipment

Ingredients

For the Coconut Cake

  • ½ cup unsalted butter softened
  • ¼ cup canola oil
  • 1 ½ cups granulated sugar divided
  • 1 teaspoon coconut extract
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 ½ cups cake flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • ¾ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup whole milk room temperature
  • 4 large egg whites

For the Coconut Buttercream

  • 2 cups unsalted butter softened
  • 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
  • 3 tablespoon heavy cream
  • 1 tablespoon coconut extract
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1-2 drops pink gel food coloring

For Decorating

  • 2 cups sweetened coconut flakes
  • Floral Wire I used gold
  • Fresh Thyme
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 F/180 C. Line the bottoms of four 6-inch cake pans with parchment paper.
  • Cream the butter, oil, 1 cup of sugar, vanilla extract, and coconut extract, until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
  • Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
  • Fold half of the dry ingredients into the butter and sugar.
  • Then fold in the milk.
  • Fold in the remaining dry ingredients. Set aside.
  • Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks, about 6-7 minutes.
  • Whisk in the remaining ½ cup of sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, whisking on high speed after each addition.
  • Beat until glossy stiff peaks form, about 2-4 minutes longer.
  • Then fold the egg whites into the batter. Make sure there are NO white streaks of the meringue in the batter or they will collapse while baking.
  • Evenly distribute the batter into the cake pans. This is best done with a kitchen scale for accuracy. They should each hold roughly 280 grams of batter.
  • Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 20-23 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. (Do not rely on the tops of the cakes to spring back when touched, you must use a toothpick).
  • Let them cool on a wire rack until completely cool before removing them from the pan.
  • To make the buttercream, cream the butter and powdered sugar in a stand mixing bowl on low speed until combined.
  • Then mix in the cream, pink food coloring, coconut extract, and vanilla extract. Increase the speed to high and beat until the buttercream is super light and fluffy.
  • When the cakes are completely cool, pipe a dollop of buttercream onto a cake round or serving platter.
  • Alternate stacking a layer of cake and a thin layer of buttercream, with the last layer flipped upside down so that the top of the cake is flat.
  • Cover the entire cake with the rest of the buttercream.
  • Gently press the coconut shreds onto the sides of the cake and the top.
  • Chill in the fridge while you make the thyme ears.
  • Cut two roughly 15-inch pieces of gold floral wire. Twist both of the bottoms together to form an oval ear shape.
  • Use the fresh thyme to gently twist and wrap it around the wire.
  • Stick both ears on top of the cake and enjoy!

Notes

Step-by-step process photos are provided above, in the body of this post.
 
  • Use a kitchen scale. Baking with a scale is much more accurate than cup measurements. To convert this recipe, click the "metric" button next to the ingredients title on the recipe card. If you do not have a scale, use a spoon to fluff the flour first, then spoon it into your measuring cup.
  • Cool completely. Let the cake layers cool completely before removing them from the pan. They are very fragile and will collapse or break if not handled properly.
  • Serve it plain! Other than the ears on top, this cake is not entirely catered to just Easter! You can serve this cake to any coconut-lover and they will love it!