Coconut Cream Cake - a reader favourite!
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Coconut Cream Cake. A light tender homemade sponge cake gets filled with multiple layers of rich coconut cream filling. Then, it's covered completely in vanilla whipped cream and toasted coconut.
Our Coconut Cream Pie recipe has always been very popular in our family for 30 years. More recently, many of our regular readers who have tried it and loved it too.
I've always wanted to try using that creamy, fabulous filling in a homemade sponge cake to make a tempting dessert cake.
With a covering of vanilla whipped cream and the sponge soaked in a little coconut rum, I definitely was not disappointed in the result. This would make an amazing birthday cake for any coconut cream pie lover.
If you loved this recipe be sure to check out our most popular pie recipe ever, Old Fashioned Coconut Cream Pie, which uses the same filling!
If you are a big pie lover like me, be sure to check our collection of Rock Recipes Best Pies.
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Coconut Cream Cake
Coconut Cream Cake - a light tender homemade sponge cake gets filled with multiple layers of rich coconut cream filling before being covered completely in vanilla whipped cream and toasted coconut.
Ingredients
For the Sponge Cake
- 1 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 6 eggs separated, room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tarter
- 1 cup sugar, separated in 2 half cups
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon lemon flavoring, optional
For the coconut cream filling
- 3 cups whole milk
- ⅓ cup flour
- ⅔ cup sugar
- pinch of salt
- 1 cup unsweetened fine coconut
- 3 slightly beaten extra large egg yolks
- 4 tablespoon butter
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon pure almond extract
- 2 oz coconut rum, optional
For the Vanilla Whipped Cream
- 2 cups whipping cream
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 6 tablespoon icing sugar, i.e. powdered sugar
- ½ cup additional dried coconut to toast for garnish
Instructions
For the Sponge Cake
- Grease and flour two 9 inch cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper circles for easy release.
- Sift together the flour and baking powder and set aside.
- For the meringue base of the batter, beat egg whites and cream of tarter until foamy.
- Add ½ cup sugar gradually until egg whites are stiff.
- Beat egg yolks and ½ cup sugar until foamy and thickened. Fold beaten egg yolks into the beaten egg whites along with the vanilla (and lemon) for only a few turns before slowly and gradually folding in the flour and baking powder mixture very gently BY HAND using a rubber spatula until just incorporated into the meringue mixture. I mix in the dry ingredients in 3 equal portions. Do not over mix, you just want the flour to be incorporated; over mixing will deflate the egg whites and result in a tough textured final product.
- Pour into greased and parchment paper lined 9 inch round cake pans and bake at 325 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until center springs back when touched. Turn onto a wire rack to cool completely. When completely cool use a serrated knife to cut the two layers into four.
To prepare the coconut cream filling
- Scald the milk in the microwave or on the stove top to just below boiling point. Microwave works best as there is no chance of burning the milk.
- Meanwhile, in a saucepan combine the flour, sugar, salt and coconut.
- Over medium low flame slowly add 1 cup of the scalded milk tot he flour and sugar mixture, whisking constantly.
- As you notice the filling beginning to thicken, add another cup of the scalded milk continuing to stir constantly until it begins to thicken again. Add the final cup of scalded milk, stirring constantly. Continue to cook over medium low heat until mixture begins to slightly thicken.
- At this point remove from heat and pour about a half cup of this mixture onto the beaten egg yolks whisking constantly.
- Pour the egg mixture immediately back into the pot, continuing to constantly stir. Cook for an additional two or three until the filling reaches pudding consistency and remove from the flame. The mixture should just be beginning to boil at this point.
- Stir in the butter vanilla and almond extracts.
- Chill for about 3 hours or until completely cooled before splitting the layers of cake in half as instructed above and filling the inside 3 layers of the cake with the coconut cream filling.Optionally, you can sprinkle some coconut rum over each of the cake layers before adding the filling. I use about ½ ounce of coconut rum per layer of cake.Frost the entire outside of the cake with vanilla whipped cream.
To prepare the Vanilla Whipped Cream
- Combine the whipping cream, vanilla and icing sugar and beat to soft peaks and spread on top and sides of the filled cake. Garnish with toasted coconut and serve.
- I bake about ½ cup of dried coconut in a cake pan for about 5-10 minutes in a 350 degree F oven, tossing at least a couple of times every few minutes until the proper toasted colour is achieved.
Nutrition Information
Yield
12Serving Size
12 servingsAmount Per Serving Calories 491Saturated Fat 18gCholesterol 201mgSodium 112mgCarbohydrates 49gFiber 2gSugar 36gProtein 8g
Ai..ai...ai... impossible ne pas grossir juste en regardant ces photo, ce gâteau et plus que parfait, bravo!
Bisous
Barry, this cake looks amazing! With the whipped cream, how long will the cake stay fresh in the fridge?
Thanks,
Ruby
When you sweeten whipping cream with powdered sugar it actually helps stabilize it when it's whipped. You can probably make this the day before.
This cake was amazing! I made it for my son's birthday and it was a hit!! will be making it again soon! Love your recipes!
Amazing! I'm making this cake for the 4th time now and everyone that has tried it has had the same reaction , they love, love, love it! It's even better the day after you make it because the flavors blend together and seem to get moist melt in your mouth delicious. Thank you so much for this recipe, it is now my favorite. Bravo!
Looks as beautiful as it tastes, the sponge is so moist and the whole is a cool, creamy bite of coconut heaven! So worth the effort. Made ahead a day to let the flavors meld, before adding the whipped topping and serving with Thanksgiving dinner. Perfect, light dessert following the hearty turkey dinner. Will be adding to the favorites list 🙂
Oh, I so love this cake too. It is in my personal top ten desserts that I love.
Barry, this was the best cake ever! A light, flavorful, delicious cake which I made for my husband's 60th birthday...he is a big fan of your coconut cream pie so I decided to kick it up a notch and make this cake... everyone loved it! Thanks! 🙂
That's fantastic to hear Heather! I absolutely love this cake too. I think the lightness of the sponge cake is ideal for this recipe.
Hi Barry!
I am making the cake today and don't have the cream of tartar for the recipe. Do you think that I could substitute something else?
Thank you!
Don't know of a substitute. It just helps keep the egg whites stable.
Wonderful!
Simlpy DElicious ! . We are addicted to the pie and cake. Laura
Hi Barry,
My cake turned out perfect . The filling however I did exactly like the recipe stated but it didn’t set & came out more like a sauce. The last step
when adding the milk I let it thicken until almost boiling , if I left it any longer it would have burned . I was able to spread it on the layers of cake. Everything else was ok.
Could you use a combination of full fat coconut milk and regular milk for the cream filling??
Can't advise you there. I've never tried that.