Sometimes, you just need a little cake. Something to go with your afternoon cup of coffee or tea that tastes great and lifts your spirits. Or something special for a brunch that’s quick to throw together and serve with fresh berries and a mountain of whipped cream. This Toasted Coconut Snack Cake is that cake.
A Scone-Like Coffee Cake Perfect for Dessert, Brunch, or Whenever You Need a Sweet Snack
This is a coffee-cake-style cake. But instead of cinnamon streusel, it’s covered in a heaping mound of toasted coconut topping. Its texture is a little dense and almost scone-like. It’s the perfect canvas for ripe summer berries, roasted peaches or plums, or a drizzle of chocolate. (Not to mention a ton of whipped cream.)
That’s not to say this cake isn’t great on its own. It is, especially alongside a strong cup of coffee. It’s the perfect afternoon pick-me-up for those days when you need something sweet to make it to five o’clock. It’s also an amazing addition to your brunch or potluck table. Essentially, it’s an “anytime” sort of cake.
If you’re a coconut fan, you’ll be thrilled with the sheer amount of coconut stuffed into this relatively small cake. It has a double dose of coconut: there’s coconut mixed into the cake itself, plus a HEFTY pile of coconut topping (if you think it’s too much…it’s not, trust me) that toasts up beautifully as the cake bakes. And if you like, you can add a third dose of coconut in the form of coconut extract.
There’s a whole festival of coconut happening in this cake.
Tips for Making Your Best Toasted Coconut Snack Cake
This is a fairly straightforward cake, but there are a few things that will help make sure yours turns out as delicious as possible.
- Lining the pan: I highly recommend lining your cake pan with a sling of parchment paper. By a “sling,” I mean that you’ll let the parchment hang over two sides of the cake pan. Then, once it’s baked and cooled, you’ll have two “handles” of parchment you can use to pull the whole cake from the pan. You don’t have to do this—you can simply cut the cake in the pan and serve it from there—but I think it makes it easier to cut and serve.
- Coconut extract: This is totally optional. I know not everyone likes the taste of coconut extract (or has it in their pantry, for that matter). I think it enhances the coconut flavor and adds a sort of creaminess, so I like using it. But if you prefer, you can skip it and just use the vanilla.
- Mixing tips:
- At the point when you’ve mixed together the butter, sugar, eggs, and extracts, you may notice the batter is a little lumpy. Small lumps are fine, but if yours are larger than pea-sized, you’ll want to want to continue mixing until they’re smaller.
- Then, alternate adding the flour mixture and the milk, starting and ending with the flour. First add 1/3 of the flour mix, then 1/2 of the milk. Repeat that, then add the remaining flour mix. Mix once more just until it’s combined.
- Type of milk: I used almond milk because that’s what I had on hand. Regular milk (skim/2%/whole) will work great also. Oat milk should be fine as well. And I can’t believe I didn’t think to try it, but I’m sure coconut milk would work beautifully here. Note: I did try making this cake with heavy whipping cream instead of milk (I was out of everything else) and honestly, it baked kind of weird, so I don’t recommend it.
- Toasted coconut topping: When making the topping, you want the butter to be COLD. Like, right out of the fridge cold. You’ll cut it up into 1″ chunks or so, then use your fingers to rub it into the rest of the topping ingredients (just like you would when making pie crust).
- Doubling the recipe: As written, the recipe makes nine big slices of cake, but you could get 16 if you cut them smaller. It will also double nicely if you’re baking for a crowd (just bake it in a 9×13 pan). It may take a little longer to bake, but still check it at 30 minutes or so and go from there. Bake just until a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
I hope you enjoy this Toasted Coconut Snack Cake! If you’re looking for more snacking cakes, try my Sunken Plum Snack Cake or my Devil’s Food Snack Cake.
Happy baking, friends!
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Toasted Coconut Snack Cake
Equipment
- 8×8 square cake pan
Ingredients
Coconut Cake Ingredients
- 1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
- 3/4 tsp kosher salt
- 2 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 c shredded coconut
- 1/2 c butter, softened
- 3/4 c granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp coconut extract, optional
- 2/3 c milk*
Toasted Coconut Crumble Topping Ingredients
- 1 c shredded coconut
- 1/2 c granulated sugar
- 5 T all-purpose flour
- 4 T COLD butter, cut into 1" chunks
Instructions
Coconut Cake Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉.
- Grease an 8×8 square baking pan with nonstick baking spray, oil, or butter. Line pan with parchment paper so that the paper hangs off the edges on two sides. (You're essentially making a parchment paper sling so it's easy to remove the cake from the pan once it's cool.)
- In a small mixing bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder, and 1/2 c coconut. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large mixing bowl using a hand mixer), cream together 1/2 c butter and 3/4 c sugar, mixing until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape bowl.
- Add eggs, vanilla extract, and coconut extract (if using). Beat until combined (about 1-2 minutes), scraping bowl as needed. Note: the batter may be lumpy at this point, but don't worry. As long as the lumps are no larger than pea-sized, you're all good.
- Next, add 1/3 of the flour mixture, mixing until just combined. Then add 1/2 of the milk, mixing until combined. Repeat. Scrape bowl, then add the remaining flour mixture. Mix until all flour is mixed in.
- Pour all batter into your prepared cake pan. Set aside while you make the crumble topping.
Toasted Coconut Crumble Topping
- In a small mixing bowl, combine 1 c coconut, 1/2 c sugar, and 5 T flour. Then add the cold butter chunks. Use your fingers to pinch/rub the butter chunks into the coconut mixture, working until butter chunks are about peanut-sized or so.
- Sprinkle crumble on top of the cake batter in the pan.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until coconut is nicely toasted and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Move to a cooling rack and let cool completely. Use the parchment paper to remove the cooled cake from the pan onto a cutting board. Cut into nice big slices (you should get 9), and serve!
- Store any leftover cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Notes
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