Next Post
This post may contain affiliate links, please see our privacy policy for details.
Southern-style Coconut Pecan Caramel Butter Cake. Taking some cues from the south with this DELICIOUS coconut layer cake. Picture a buttery vanilla cake made with sweet coconut and toasted pecans. Each layer of fluffy cake is covered with a delectable, roll your eyes back good – brown sugar frosting that’s sweet and creamy with notes of caramel and coconut mixed throughout. The cake is then topped with a light and creamy vanilla cream…and plenty of toasted coconut. Sooo much to love here! Every bite is sweet, nutty, light and fluffy, and truly delicious. The perfect cake to enjoy any day, but especially fun and fitting for Easter.
Happy Friday, happy weekend guys! I am 100% ready for the weekend ahead. ‘Twas a very long week to say the least, but not in a bad way, just a busy way! Thankfully we get to end the week with cake, so all is good.
And this cake? It really is something special. It’s one I have been dreaming up for well over a year now. Yes, over a year. I first had the idea to make this cake around early March of last year. A coconut cake for Easter sounded just right with everyone home baking. I also figured cake was greatly needed.
Long story short, I made the cake, but it didn’t end well and I never ended up sharing the recipe. Yes, I told you guys, I too have recipe fails and that cake I made a year ago was a fail. I was bummed. But sometimes recipes just don’t work out the way I envision them and then they have to be scrapped.
And that’s what brings me to the cake we have here today. It’s a version of that cake from last year, but this one is better. It has been adjusted and perfected…IÂ finally got it right.
So you see, I’m excited! This cake has been such a long time coming.
Here are all the details
For the cake itself, I adapted my vanilla butter cake to be a vanilla coconut butter cake, adding in coconut and toasted pecans. It’s very simple, just beat the butter with the sugar, then add in all the wet ingredients, then the dry.
The key I’ve found is to finely grind the coconut and pecans until they are fine crumbs. If you have a food processor, this is super easy to do. If you don’t have a food processor, give everything a very fine chop, the smaller the better.
For the filling, I like to use my go-to brown sugar frosting that has notes of sweet caramel.
The brown sugar melted down adds hints of warm molasses and really deepens the flavor to create an icing that’s perfectly rich and caramel-like. And when you add a touch of vanilla and sea salt along with sweet shredded coconut? Well, it’s hard to say no to a second piece.
The final step is to finish off the cake with a creamy layer of whipped vanilla cream. Then cover the whole cake in toasted coconut for that classic coconut cake look.
Slicing those cake layers…
The trickiest part of this cake is slicing the layers in half. Please don’t let this deter you from making this cake. If this step sounds like too much, simply leave the cake as a two-layer cake. It may not be quite as fancy…but still very pretty, and of course delicious!
If you’re willing to give the slicing a try it’s really not that hard. Let me walk you through it.
One, don’t stress about creating a perfectly even cut. As you can see, my layers are nowhere near perfect, but all turned out OK.
Two, use a long serrated bread knife to cut the cake in half. This helps so much with making an even cut all the way through.
Three, make sure to cool the cake completely before slicing.
Bottom line, don’t stress about having to cut the cake layers in half. It’s not as scary as it may seem and once you layer everything together the cake is going to be beautiful no matter what. And, if you do have trouble and the cake crumbles a bit, don’t worry, those crumbs make for a delicious snack. So embrace those uneven layers…imperfect is in these days. The uneven layers, make each and every cake unique and beautiful.
And with that, I’m hoping you now have the inspiration you need to jump up and spend a couple of hours in the kitchen baking this sweet, extra special, coconut cake. Not only is it fun and pretty, but it’s also amazingly good. I mean four layers of coconut pecan cake, caramel/brown sugar icing, and whipped vanilla cream, plus all the toasted coconut you can find – yep…delicious!
Perfect for spring and upcoming Easter!
Looking for other Easter cake recipes? Here are a few to try:
Coconut Carrot Cake with Jam Swirled Buttercream
Lemon Poppyseed Cake with Citrus Honey Glaze
Lemon Coconut Naked Cake with Whipped Vanilla Buttercream
Lastly, if you make this Coconut Pecan Caramel Butter Cake be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Coconut Pecan Caramel Butter Cake
Servings: 20
Calories Per Serving: 544 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 cup shredded coconut, unsweetened or sweetened
- 3/4 cup toasted pecans
- 2 1/3 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter, at room temperature
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups canned coconut milk, well stirred
Brown Sugar Icing
- 2 sticks salted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2 1/2-3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup shredded coconut, unsweetened or sweetened
Whipped Cream
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1-2 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups toasted sweetened shredded coconut
Instructions
- 1. In a food processor, pulse together the pecans and coconut until finely ground. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Pulse to combine.2. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Butter 2 8-inch (9 inch works too) round cake pans and line with parchment paper. 3. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla, beating until smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until combined. Add the flour mix, beat to combine. Stream in the coconut milk, beating until just combined. Pour the batter among the 2 cake pans.4. Bake for 28 to 30 minutes, until the center is just set. Let cool 5-10 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the cake and invert the cake onto a plate, flip it back over onto a cooling rack. Let the cake cool completely before assembling.5. To make the brown sugar frosting. Melt together the butter, brown sugar, and cream in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook 2 minutes or until the sugar has dissolved. Add a pinch of salt. Remove from the heat and add to the bowl of a stand mixer. Sift in the powdered sugar, then add the vanilla. Beat until well combined. Stir in the coconut. If it feels too runny, add more powdered sugar to thicken it.6. Optional - for a four-layer cake: Using a large serrated knife, carefully cut each cake in half horizontally. Place one cake layer on a serving plate. Spread 1 cup of the icing over the cake. Repeat with the remaining 3 cake layers. 7. For a two-layer cake: Place one cake layer on a serving plate. Spread 1 cup of the icing over the cake. Repeat with the remaining cake layer. * You will have extra frosting.8. Using an electric mixer, whip the cream, sugar, and vanilla until soft peaks form. Spread the cream on the top and sides of the cake. Sprinkle the coconut all over the cake. The cake will keep for up to 4 days in the fridge.
I want to make this recipe, but I need to make cupcakes. Any tips for me before to attempt this tomorrow. Thanks!
Hey Allie,
Wonderful! Thanks a lot for making this recipe, I am so glad to hear that it was enjoyed! xxTieghan
Made this for my husband’s birthday and it had a lovely flavor but we ran into a couple of issues. First, we followed the directions exactly but this cake hardly rose. The layers were definitely not high enough to slice in two. I even double checked the expiration dates on my baking powder and baking soda afterward to be sure, but the baked layers were only an inch high. It made for a dense moist cake, more like a pound cake than what was pictured — great tasting but wasn’t what I expected. The other thing is that while the whipped cream was delicious, even in our air conditioned house here in Georgia the kitchen was warm enough from the oven being on that the whipped cream was melting and drippy after a little while despite having been beaten enough to hold the peaks. Not a dealbreaker but a consideration for warm weather. As another reviewer noted it’s difficult to store because the fridge tends to dry it out but your can’t leave it out at room temp with the whipped cream on it. But the caramel filling was definitely a keeper — very delicious and easy to make and might go well with some other cake flavors. It solidified right away despite the warm kitchen — we used all of it even though we only had the two layers! I may try again on the cake itself and double the baking powder to get it to rise, but I’d love to hear your advice! Thanks for a yummy recipe.
Hey Kate,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try, sorry it did not turn out to your liking. I am not sure why the cake did not rise for you if you followed the recipe as is:) Was there anything you may have adjusted? xTieghan
Can you use lite coconut milk? It’s all I have at the moment 😉
Hey Steph,
Sure, that will work just fine. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
Delicious cake! I’ve made it twice. Moist and all of the flavors come through great! I could not cut this cake into four pieces, the first time I did it, it all fell apart. I salvaged most of it but didn’t work for me. Second time I made it, I left it as a two layer cake and that went so much better. I also always have to double the time on her recipes. It took me a solid two hours since I started making it, until it completely cooled and I finished assembling. What am I doing wrong? ? all in all, loved this recipe!!
Hey Darlene,
Awesome! I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe, thanks so much for making it! Sorry, you just have to be extra careful when cutting. Have a great weekend:) xTieghan
Does the buttercream go in the top of the cake as well or only the whipped cream?
Hey Roshni,
I only use the whipped cream for the outside of the cake. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
Fresh, this cake is great! Really delicious! But it does have to be stored in the refrigerator. Because it’s so large, there’s pretty much no way to avoid the fridge unless you’re having a pretty large gathering. Once it’s in the fridge, the cake gets pretty dry and hard :/ leaving it out on the counter before eating is a tricky game because the whipped cream will start to get sad. Just something to keep in mind if you want to have it across days— otherwise it’s great!
Hey Bianca,
Happy Friday!! I am so excited that this recipe was enjoyed, I appreciate you giving it a try!! xTieghan
Surprised my mom with this cake last weekend; rave reviews all around!
Hey Charley,
I am delighted that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for giving it a go! xxTieghan
Did you use unsweetened coconut milk?
Hey Annette,
I did! I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
I would love to try this recipe. Was thinking to cut the recipe in half and make cupcakes??? Thoughts?
Hey Karen,
Sure, that would work well for you! I hope you love them, please let me know how they turn out! xTieghan
I can’t wait to try this recipe this afternoon – it looks like perfection and your recipes have never let me down! ?
Quick question though- Would you store this in the refrigerator? (Even with my boyfriends best efforts and family around I’m thinking this won’t be gone in one sitting and don’t want it to go to waste!)
Hey Alice,
I hope you love this recipe! Yes, this cake will keep in the fridge for up to 4 days. xTieghan
Loved this recipe! I adapted to a gluten-free dairy-free version by replacing all butter with vegan butter and GF flour (I used Krusteaz all purpose), coconut cream instead of heavy cream! It turned out so well and was a big hit among even my non gf/df friends! Would definitely recommend this coconut cake for your next party! I went with the two layer option to make it easier for myself lol
Hey Liz,
I am so excited that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a bunch for giving it a try! ?Tieghan
Made this for Easter and there was two pieces left! I took them both home and ate one before bed and my daughter got to the other before i could. i will be making this time and time again! DELISH!!!
Hey Lauren,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad it was enjoyed. Have a great Wednesday! xTieghan
This cake was absolutely delicious!! Everyone was raving about how great it was!! Will for sure make again!! 🙂
Hey Caitlyn,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad it was enjoyed. Have a great Wednesday! xTieghan
This was the first cake my husband and I ever made. It tasted great! As a first time baker, I found the recipe hard to follow. I had to google a lot to find out what you meant by certain things. Roasted pecans? Do I roast them myself? What speed are we mixing things on? Are we toasting the coconut? How?
Hey Lauren,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try, sorry you found it to be confusing! I would definitely say this is a more advanced cake for a first time baker. You can purchase roasted pecans or lightly roast them in a skillet, same with the coconut. Usually medium speed works best for mixing. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
This was a huge Easter hit!! It will definitely be a new tradition. Thank you for an incredible recipe!
Hey Danielle,
I am delighted that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for giving it a try! Happy Easter ?Tieghan