This moist and flavorful chocolate coconut cake is simple to make and has a hint of coconut to enhance the rich chocolate flavor.
This recipe was inspired by my fudgy Chocolate Cherry Cake but instead of water and cherries I used coconut cream and dried coconut to add some tropical flavor and texture.
This chocolatey cake is everything you want in a perfect cake. It has a moist, yet delicate crumb, doesn’t require equipment like a mixer, and can be made in under an hour. I love to top this cake with a simple chocolate ganache, which, after refrigeration, becomes fudgy providing the perfect complement to the light and airy cake.
About the coconut
While coconut is an ingredient used twice in this chocolate coconut cake recipe, the flavor is subtle and is used to enhance the chocolate rather than overpower it. I use coconut two (with an optional third) ways in the cake. I use coconut cream to add moisture to the cake. When purchasing coconut cream be extra careful to not accidentally get coconut milk. They are both made of coconut, but the cream is thicker and has a higher fat content meaning less water, and more coconut and creaminess.
In addition to coconut cream there is also shredded coconut in the batter for texture and an optional choice to replace half of the vegetable oil with coconut oil. The fruitiness of the coconut pairs nicely with the chocolate, brightening up the chocolate coconut cake and enhancing its rich chocolate flavor.
Making the cake
This cake is a very simple, two-bowl recipe. You’ll start by sifting together your dry ingredients in one bowl and whisking the wet in another (this is where I swap half of the vegetable oil for coconut oil). Combine the wet into the dry, folding the batter with a rubber spatula until just combined. It’s very important to not overmix the batter at this step – the less you mix, the lighter your cake will be.
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Scrape your batter into a pan and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Be very careful not to overbake your cake. The batter is already dark from the cocoa powder so be sure to use a toothpick to check for doneness.
Once done, let the cake cool completely before topping it with a rich chocolate ganache made with even more coconut cream. The light and tender chocolate coconut cake is delicious on its own but once covered in this fudgy chocolate ganache, it’s irresistible!
Chocolate Ganache Glaze
The final touch for my chocolate coconut cake recipe is the chocolate ganache glaze. I love how the thick and fudgy glaze coats the cake, giving it a smooth richness that balance out the light and fluffy crumb.
This easy glaze is made with two ingredients: chocolate and coconut cream. You can either melt them together in a double boiler (set a heat-proof bowl over simmering water) or in the microwave. Once melted and combined, pour the ganache over the cake and refrigerate for at least 1 hour until set.
This chocolate coconut cake is a moist, flavorful cake that has a hint of coconut to brighten up the rich chocolate flavor. The cake will last in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, but it never makes it that long in my house!
More Easy Cake Recipes:
- Super Flavorful Tiramisu Cake
- Tres Leches Cake
- Ultimate Banana Cake
- Perfect Spice Cake
- Strawberry Champagne Cake
Chocolate Coconut Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- ¾ cup (105g) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (50g) cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup desiccated or shredded coconut (unsweetened)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (240 ml) coconut cream
- ½ cup vegetable/canola oil
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Chocolate Ganache Glaze
- 130 g/4.5 oz. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate , finely chopped
- ½ cup (120 ml) coconut cream
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350°F/180°. Grease an 8×8-inch pan
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In a large bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Mix in coconut. Set aside.
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In another medium bowl, whisk eggs and sugar until well combined. Add coconut cream, oil, and vanilla extract, and whisk until combined. Add egg mixture into flour mixture and fold with a rubber spatula just until combined. Do not overmix—the less you mix, the lighter the cake will be.
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Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow cake to cool completely on a wire rack.
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To make the chocolate ganache: place chocolate and coconut cream in a medium heat-proof bowl, and microwave in 20-30 second-intervals, stirring in between each interval, until melted. Alternatively, set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring occasionally, until melted. Pour ganache evenly over the cake. Refrigerate for 1 hour until the ganache is set.
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Cake can be kept in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
2pots2cook says
Absolutely irresistible ganache !!! Brilliant idea to use coconut cream. Keeper it is ! 🙂
Georgia says
What can I replace coconut cream with?
Norlida Abdul Hamid says
It’s wonderfull recipe. I also like coconut.
Amy says
Ques – do you use sweetened or unsweetened shredded coconut in the cake batter? Thank you!
Shiran says
I use unsweetened.
Leyla says
What can I use instead of coconut cream which is not available in my country ??
Hannah B says
wow this recipe is sooo delicous!! made it the other day as a welcome gift and had some cupcakes spare to taste. Just wow. And the coconut genache just tops it off perfectly. Thank you:)
gyorgyi bardi says
Easy and brilliant! Thank you. 🙂
Janet Purwanto says
I just made this and it’s delicious!
Susan Harrison says
Is the coconut cream sweetened or unsweetened? Can’t wait to make this!
Shiran says
unsweetened coconut cream 🙂
Jowie says
This recipe is really amazing! Love it so so much
Carmela says
Very nice , but not sure why it did not rise like your
Shannon says
This recipe looks amazing! I’m considering making it for my husband’s birthday, and I was wondering if it had to be a single layer sheet cake or if I could double the recipe to make a triple layer cake. Do you think it would stack well?
Shiran says
It should be ok for a layer cake!
Jemma Brook says
I’ve made this cake twice now and both times if was perfect! Hubby doesn’t like icing so I skipped the ganache but it’s still delicious without it. It reminds me of lamingtons and chocolate cake put together.
Christina Hartley says
Hi Shiran, I’ve just been told my blood sugar and cholestrol are too high but I love making your cakes. I have all the engrediens ready for this one . Do you have any ideas for making it more healthy. I have a sugar substitute but cant get the shredded coconut only desicated.
Thanks
Tina
Shiran says
I don’t have experience baking without sugar so unfortunately I can’t recommend anything. But desiccated coconut works here!
Pat says
Am I reading this right that there is only 3/4 of a cup of flour?
Hannah says
Wow! This looks incredible. Im thinking of making for mums birthday. can i substitute for coconut sugar?
Shiran says
You probably can but keep in mind that it will change the texture and flavor of the cake.
victoria says
i made this for thanksgiving and my family loved it it really brought up the room and the sad faces because of covid they all told me i would be a junior chef lol and i’m about to be 15 next week so happy bday to me!
Ralitsa says
I made this cake yesterday when friends came to visit. It was amazingly delicious! Everyone asked for a second piece. I love this recipe.
Sue says
This has become our go-to chocolate cake. The only thing I’m still tinkering with is the baking time. Sometimes it seems to come out a little dry if I leave it in for more than 30 minutes but undercooked if I do less than 25. Either way I love this cake. I can’t find coconut cream so I just use coconut milk in a can. Then I melt chocolate chips in the remaining coconut milk to make a rich and creamy ganache to pour over the top.
Bec says
Omg this recipe.! It’s my go- to for special occasions or bday. It’s so easy to make and fool proof , super moist, delicious, can’t stop with one slice , rich but light and turns out perfect every time . Love this recipe – it’s deliciously naughty .
Andrea says
Can I leave out the actual coconut? I love the taste but not the texture. What would I use in place of the coconut?
Talia @ Pretty. Simple. Sweet. says
Hi Andrea, you can leave out the coconut flakes and the recipe will still work. If you want to add some extra chocolatey goodness, try adding chocolate chips instead!
Renuka says
Made this cake as a weekend treat. I love that this is a nice small cake with no need to have any decorating skills. The recipe was perfect. That coconut cream ganache…oh my word. I use a mix of zero sugar dark chocolate and milk chocolate for the ganache. This one is a keeper!
jackie says
What do you mean swap out half the oil for coconut oil. The recipe calls for both – 1 cup (240 ml) coconut cream
1/2 cup vegetable/canola oil. Help!!
Thanks
Lulu says
Coconut *cream* is a very different product to coconut *oil*!
Sarah says
Hello! Eager to try this recipe but would like to make two six-inch layers instead. Do you think the amount of batter would be adequate for two small layers? Thank you!
Talia @ Pretty. Simple. Sweet. says
Hi Sarah, check out my blog post about converting recipes for different pan sizes.
Christianah says
I’ve made this cake several times now, so delicious.
Thank you for the recipe
Cristina says
Hello. Can I pipe the ganache at all?
Talia @ Pretty. Simple. Sweet. says
Hi Cristina, this ganache is too liquidy to pipe and is meant to be used as a glaze:)
Cristina says
Thank you! I will top with a normal ganache. Can I freeze this cake until ready to dress?
Chrystal Imam says
So good!
I followed the recipe but baked it in a loaf pan.
I did 60min at 175 and it was slightly too much, I will try 50min next time (newborn made me miss the alarm)
Taste and texture was still fantastic!
Linda Jackson says
Love this cake! So easy . .and the ganache is perfect. “Thank you!”
alice says
im out of vegetable oil and canola oil. can i use coconut oil instead?
Stephanie @ Pretty.Simple.Sweet. says
Hi Alice, I’m not sure. I haven’t used that as a substitute in this recipe. I do often substitute olive oil for veg/canola oil in many recipes, however.
Bernadette says
Can i substitute the coconut cream into coconut milk in a can? Thank you. Want to try this for a change of a chocolate cake with a twist.
Stephanie @ Pretty.Simple.Sweet. says
Hi Bernadette, I haven’t tried that with this particular recipe, but I do have a very similar chocolate cake recipe that uses coconut milk in a can: https://prettysimplesweet.com/vegan-chocolate-cake/ This is one of my favorite cakes and it’s a highly requested recipe at parties.
gregory l gates says
hi i tried this recipe but it did not turn out it did not bake all the way through it was liquid from about 1 inch from the sides i let it bake 15 minutes longer but no luck i followed the recipe i have been baking for over 30 years and this has never happened to me have any idea what went wrong thank you greg
Stephanie @ Pretty.Simple.Sweet. says
Hi Greg, I’m not sure what went wrong for you. Did you use coconut cream from a can? I usually stir the whole can until the mixture is homogenous before I use it in baking. Were the eggs you used fresh? I often whisk my eggs first before adding to the batter. Again, not quite sure how to help. Did the cake firm up after refrigeration? What size pan did you use? I’m not sure why it didn’t bake correctly for you.
Melissa Schaff says
We used 100% Dutch-Process cocoa, and I felt the chocolate flavor was too intense; I didn’t taste any of the coconut. 🙁 Should I have used “regular” cocoa? Or decrease the amount of Dutch-Process? Thanks!
Stephanie @ Pretty.Simple.Sweet. says
Hi Melissa, regular cocoa would give you a less intense chocolatey flavor. Alternatively, you could use less cocoa as well. The coconut in this cake is subtle and won’t be an in-your-face coconut flavor. If you wanted to punch up the coconut, I suggest adding some coconut extract for baking.
Curious says
Hi, is it possible to describe the viscosity of the coconut cream you used please? The coconut cream available where I live is quite solid and has a 65% fat content. It isn’t liquid enough to measure in mls / cups.
Stephanie @ Pretty.Simple.Sweet. says
Hello, I use the Thai Kitchen brand of coconut cream. (Found here: https://amzn.to/47XWL1T) When you open the can it is very thick and not extremely malleable, but if you send a butter knife through to loosen it and pour the contents into another bowl, the bottom of the can has more liquid. I whisk together the liquid and solid portion from the natural separation in the can. That is what I measure for coconut cream. It is liquid enough to be poured. Similar in consistency to regular cream.