Packed full of triple coconut (coconut milk, coconut extract, and shredded coconut!), this Coconut Bundt Cake is incredibly moist and delicious. Don’t forget the coconut milk glaze and toasted coconut on top! Perfect to welcome spring, celebrate summer… or fight away the winter blues!
Today, one of my favorite recipes on Bunsen Burner Bakery is getting a bit of a refresh! After four years, this coconut bundt cake deserved new photos and some new, helpful tips.
I spent more time developing this cake than any other cake that I’ve made – it took no less than five tries to get it just right. (And I have a lot of cake recipes on my site!)
And it totally paid off. I know a lot of you guys love this cake just as much as I do. I routinely get comments like this from people who have made it in the past:
Plus, I have some great substitutions from people who have made it before and adapted the cake to be gluten-free and egg-free, which I’ll include below!
If you’re a coconut fan, I highly encourage you to give this cake a go. It’s perfect for spring (Easter brunch, perhaps?) and summer, but really – coconut cake is appropriate any time of year.
First, let’s go over exactly what you need to make this coconut bundt cake!
I tend to get a lot of questions about how I develop new recipes like this when I’m starting from scratch, and the answer is simple: ratios. (Math and science nerd for life!)
Ratios provide you with the perfect starting point to bake a cake with the right structure. I always call this section Kitchen Chemistry, but maybe today it should really be Kitchen Math instead!
Kitchen Chemistry
The base of a cake should contain sugar and flour at a roughly equal ratio (by weight, not volume). The eggs and fat should be roughly equal (again, by weight). The liquid in the cake (including the eggs) should weigh roughly the same, or a little more, than the sugar.
Boom. Follow these rules for a traditional sweet, moist, light-crumbed cake. (Plus leavening and a pinch of salt… about a teaspoon of baking powder per cup of flour.)
But, you know, rules are made to be broken… or at least bent a little, in the case of this coconut bundt cake.
My biggest complaint about flavored cakes, like coconut, is that the flavor is often way too mild. If I’m eating a coconut bundt cake, I want the coconut to be the foremost flavor. And so, I pushed all the limits.
Add in some coconut milk! Pour in half a bag of shredded coconut! How much coconut flavor can we pack into this cake and still keep a cake structure?
The answer took five tries. Let me tell you, each of the “failed” cakes was delicious. Like, outrageously so.
But they collapsed into the pan or crumbled when I tried to cut them. And while I will happily eat a crumbly, moist, super coconutty cake, if I’m going to share it… it should resemble a cake when it’s done, right? Right.
So back to the drawing board we went again (and again) (and again) to make the most coconut-filled cake possible, while still maintaining a cake-like structure after cutting into it. And this coconut bundt cake was well worth the effort because I’m going to go ahead and call it perfect.
To maximize coconut flavor, we’re using coconut milk, coconut extract, and shredded coconut in the cake. And topping it all with a coconut glaze.
After the cake is baked and cool, it’s topped with a simple coconut glaze, made from confectioners’ sugar, coconut milk, and coconut extract. Before the glaze sets, we’ll sprinkle some toasted coconut across the top.
Toasting coconut brings out a whole new range of flavors and adds a tiny little crunch, which is the perfect contrast to the tender, moist cake.
There are three ways you can toast your coconut:
Thanks to readers who have made this cake, I now have tips for how to adapt the cake to be gluten-free, egg-free, and dairy-free!
This recipe was written for a 12-cup metal bundt pan. A 10-cup bundt pan can be used as well, but only fill until roughly 4/5th (80%) of the way full; discard any extra batter. Alternatively, this coconut bundt cake can also be baked in two well-greased 9 x 5-inch loaf pans, baked at 350 °F for 40-50 minutes.
The recipe was written using sweetened coconut and I prefer the flavor, but unsweetened coconut can be used instead if desired.
The answer to all of these questions — and more — can be found in my post about how to bake the perfect bundt cake!
The cake can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 4 days. To freeze, tightly wrap the cooled cake in a layer of plastic wrap, followed by a layer of aluminum foil. The cake can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months and should be defrosted at room temperature.
Packed full of triple coconut (coconut milk, coconut extract, and shredded coconut!), this coconut bundt cake is incredibly moist and delicious.
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This recipe was originally published March 2018 and updated with new photos and helpful tips March 2022.