Your sweet tooth has met its dream cake in my old-fashioned coconut buttermilk cake! Creamy, tangy buttermilk and vibrant coconut combine to create an out-of-this-world buttermilk cake that puts to shame all other fruit cake recipes.
You may need more than one slice to fully believe this flavor — go ahead and indulge! Cake recipes won’t tell!
If you’re a coconut nut I hope you’ll try my coconut cupcakes, coconut cake, coconut pound cake, and my coconut sheet cake!
Let’s bake this!
What I Love About This Recipe
I most love that just the name — coconut buttermilk cake — makes my mouth water! Who knew two simple ingredients could be so good together?
- Perfect buttery, chewy texture!
- Coconut flavor at its best
- Great for parties, barbecues, and more
- Crowd favorite!
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How To Make Coconut Buttermilk Cake Recipe
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Spray a 9X5-inch loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
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Make the cake: Combine flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside.
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In the bowl of a stand-up mixer, add butter and granulated sugar and beat on medium for 8 minutes.
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Add vanilla and coconut extract to the bowl. Add the eggs one at a time and mix well, scraping down the bowl, after each addition.
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Add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with two- 1/2 cup additions of buttermilk and mix until incorporated.
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Mix in 1 1/4 cups of the coconut.
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Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake in preheated oven for about 60 minutes. Allow the cake to cool in the loaf pan set on a wire rack. Remove from pan and allow the cake to cool completely.
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Make the topping: Spread the remaining 1/4 cup of coconut in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake until the coconut is golden. Remove from oven and cool.
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In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and 1 1/2 tablespoons of the remaining buttermilk. Add an additional buttermilk until you reach a nice thick pour-able consistency. Drizzle glaze over completely cooled cake and top with toasted coconut!
Buttermilk Coconut Cake Ingredients
- Buttermilk: Buttermilk is a magic baking ingredient. Tangy but creamy, it helps baked goods rise without being overpoweringly sour.
- Coconut Extract: This is very important for the flavor of your cake — get coconut extract, not coconut oil or flavoring. The ratios of the actual flavors vary with each, and coconut extract will give you the smoothest coconut flavor for this cake.
- Ingredient Addition: Follow the steps when adding your ingredients! Baking is a science. If you just dump all the ingredients together, you’ll end up with a dense, inedible cake. Remember chemistry!
Tips
- Oven: Do not overbake your cake! If your skewer comes out clean, the cake will be slightly overdone, and you will miss the fabulous moistness the cake is supposed to have. If your oven temperature tends to run a bit hot, either turn it down or check the cake for doneness a few minutes earlier than the recipe calls for.
- Pan: You need a 9X5-inch pan to accommodate the volume of batter in this recipe.
- Glaze: When making the glaze, add the second tablespoon of buttermilk slowly so you can control the thickness of the glaze. You may not need the entire second tablespoon.
Storing + Freezing + Make-Ahead
- How Long Can You Keep This In The Fridge? Wrapped or in a container, your cake can sit in the fridge for up to a week, no problem! This is the best storage option if you’ve put the glaze on. It keeps the glaze nice and chilled!
- Can You Freeze This? Yes! This cake stores wonderfully in the freezer. Wrap it in cling wrap or put it in a sealed container, and you can let it sit in the freezer for up to 4 months.
- To thaw, let it sit in the fridge until it’s slice ready. I know a lot of people who like their pound cake a little on the frozen side, so use your judgment!
- Make-Ahead Tips: Unfortunately, like most cake recipes, this cake can’t really be made ahead. Once you start adding one ingredient, the others have to follow soon after! But! This cake does store very well, so if you need to make it a day or two before an event, it can sit at room temperature with no problem — just withhold your glaze until serving if you plan to do that! The dairy in the glaze cannot be outside of the fridge.
- Food Safety: If you’d like more info on food safety check out this link.
More Delicious Cakes To Try
- Sock It To Me Cake
- Lemon Buttermilk Cake
- Berry Chantilly Cake
- Red Velvet Bundt Cake
- Butterfinger Cake
- Hummingbird Cake
- Louisiana Crunch Cake
- Apple Bundt Cake
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Coconut Buttermilk Cake
This Coconut Buttermilk Cake is incredibly moist, tender, and loaded with coconut flavor. The texture is beyond incredible! You're going to love this one!!
Servings: 8 people
Ingredients
Cake:
- 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon coconut extract
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 1/4 cups sweetened shredded coconut
Topping:
- 1 cup powdered sugar sifted
- 2 tablespoons buttermilk
- 1/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut divided
Instructions
Cake:
- Spray a 9X5-inch loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray. Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C).
- In a medium bowl combine flour (2 cups), baking powder (1 1/2 teaspoons), and salt (1/2 teaspoon) and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand-up mixer, add butter (1 ½ sticks) and granulated sugar (1 cup) and beat on medium for 8 minutes (Yes, 8 minutes!). Scrape down the bowl as needed.
- Add vanilla (1 teaspoon) and coconut extract (1/2 teaspoon) to the bowl. Add the eggs (3 large) one at a time and mix well, scraping down the bowl, after each addition.
- Set the mixer to low and add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with two- 1/2 cup additions of buttermilk (You will be adding 1 cup total of buttermilk), and mix until incorporated.
- Using a large spoon mix in 1 ¼ cups of the coconut.
- Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and bake in preheated oven for about 60 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Allow the cake to cool in the loaf pan set on a wire rack. Remove from the pan and allow the cake to cool completely.
Topping:
- Spread the remaining 1/4 cup of coconut in a single layer on a baking sheet. Place in a 350°F (177°C) oven for 5-10 minutes, stirring often, or until the coconut is golden. Remove from oven and cool.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar (1 cup) and 1 1/2 tablespoons of the remaining buttermilk. Add an additional 1/2 tablespoon of buttermilk a couple of drops at a time until you reach a nice thick pour-able consistency. Drizzle glaze over completely cooled cake and top with toasted coconut!
Fans Also Made:
Notes
- Oven: Do not overbake your cake! If your skewer comes out clean, the cake will be slightly overdone, and you will miss the fabulous moistness the cake is supposed to have. If your oven temperature tends to run a bit hot, either turn it down or check the cake for doneness a few minutes earlier than the recipe calls for.
- Pan: You need a 9X5 inch pan to accommodate the volume of batter in this recipe.
- Glaze: When making the glaze, add the second tablespoon of buttermilk slowly so you can control the thickness of the glaze. You may not need the entire second tablespoon.
Nutrition
Serving: 1/8 of the recipe | Calories: 552kcal | Carbohydrates: 74g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 111mg | Sodium: 253mg | Potassium: 242mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 49g | Vitamin A: 674IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 93mg | Iron: 2mg
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Source: Martha Stewart
Very experienced baker here. I really liked this snaking cake. It’s full of coconut flavour, a subtle sweetness and beautiful texture, (as long as you don’t over bake). Be sure to toast the coconut that you sprinkle on top. If you don’t have coconut extract, just substitute a little of the butter with solid coconut oil. I see this has been adapted from Martha Stewart’s recipe, I am surprised this turned out so nice as I find her recipes terrible in general. Thank you!
Thank you for your tips, Christina. I’m glad you like this cake!