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Coconut Sheet Cake with the sweetest whipped white chocolate frosting. Light and fluffy, lemony vanilla cake made with a mix of almond flour, vanilla, lemon, and creamy coconut milk. Then all mixed with sweet flakes of shredded coconut. Once baked, generously frost this simple sheet cake with everyone’s favorite frosting. A whipped vanilla made with melted white chocolate to make it even more special (and delicious). Then simply decorate with additional coconut, and if you can, add edible flowers to create the perfect cake for spring and summer!
How about one last Easter recipe for you all? I know we’re down to the wire, but I had to share my recipe for coconut cake with you all ahead of this weekend! The second I decided I wanted to create a coconut sheet cake, I knew exactly how I wanted it to be.
The cake itself needed to be sweet, light, and moist—so moist. I’ve found many vanilla-based cakes to be on the drier side, which is no good.
The cake itself had to be the main focus. It had to have a subtle sweet coconut flavor—not too overpowering, but just right! Then there’s the frosting—something that would complement the delicate flavors of the cake—and something whipped!
In my head it all sounded so yummy!
This cake was inspired, oddly, by the bunny cake my Nonnie used to make over Easter. Her cake was a boxed vanilla cake baked in a bunny cake mold. She frosted it with the classic Betty Crocker vanilla frosting and then piled on sweetened, shredded coconut. Then she gave the bunny some eyes and called it a day.
I am sure many of you are familiar with “The Bunny Cake.” My Nonnie did it well, and we all loved it every year she made it.
I remember loving the mass amount of shredded coconut on top. Her cake reminded me that I’ve never shared a simple coconut-focused sheet cake!
Here Are All The Details
Step 1: the cake batter
To make this cake, you’ll need coconut oil, plain Greek yogurt, eggs, honey, brown sugar, lemon zest, vanilla, and canned coconut milk.
For the dry ingredients, I used a mix of all-purpose flour, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and shredded coconut. You first mix the wet ingredients, then stir in the dry.
Some Cake Batter Notes:
Almond flour is used for added moisture and flavor. If you do not regularly use this ingredient, you can use the same amount of all-purpose flour.
Now the coconut. I prefer to use shredded, unsweetened coconut. This is more a personal preference than anything else. If you already know you like your treats on the sweeter side, I recommend using sweetened coconut.
Step 2: bake
Now, pour the batter into a rectangular baking dish and place it in the oven. You’ll smell the coconut and lemon as the cake bakes; it’s wonderful. It will take about 30 minutes.
Step 3: make the frosting
When the cake comes out of the oven, start making the frosting. You’ll need butter, sugar, lots of vanilla, melted white chocolate, and additional coconut milk. Beat that all together and you’ll have one of my favorite cake frostings.
No one ever knows there’s white chocolate in the frosting. But it’s what makes this buttercream extra special and leaves everyone wanting more.
Step 4: frost and decorate
What I love so much about sheet cakes is just how easy they are to frost and decorate. I slathered the frosting all over the cooled coconut cake. Then I piled on yummy shredded coconut.
The beauty of a sheet cake is that you don’t have to cut or layer anything. Just bake, frost, and enjoy!
Add a few edible flowers to make this so cute for spring, summer, Easter, and Mother’s Day!
Looking for other sweet cake recipes? Here are some favorites:
Swirled Blueberry Lemon Thyme Cake
Retro-Style Chocolate Sheet Cake
Swirled Blackberry Lavender Sheet Cake
Lastly, if you make this Coconut Sheet 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 Sheet Cake
Servings: 18
Calories Per Serving: 437 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 melted coconut oil
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt or sour cream
- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup canned coconut milk
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups almond flour (or additional flour)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup shredded unsweetened or sweetened coconut
White Chocolate Frosting
- 2 sticks (16 tablespoons) salted butter, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 3.5 ounces white chocolate, melted and cooled
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups shredded unsweetened or sweetened coconut
Instructions
- 1. Preheat oven to 350° F.  Line a 9×13 inch baking dish with parchment paper.2. In a large bowl, beat together the coconut oil, yogurt, eggs, honey, brown sugar, lemon zest, and vanilla. Add the flour, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix until just combined, then slowly beat in the coconut milk until fully combined. Stir in the shredded coconut. 3. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake 30-35 minutes, until the top is just set and no longer wiggly in the center. Remove and let cool.4. To make the frosting. In a large bowl, beat together the butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Add the melted white chocolate and vanilla. Beat until combined.5. Frost the cake all over. Top with shredded coconut. Slice, eat and enjoy!
Excited to make this! Could i substitute all purpose flour for gluten free flour?
Hi Tori,
Sure, that should work nicely for you! Please let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
Hi Tieghan! Can I use almond meal instead of almond flour?
Hi Tina,
I haven’t tested this, but it should work for you! Let me know if you give this recipe a try! xT
Hi Tieghan!
Thank you for the reply.
I made almond flour by blanching the almonds. Baked the cake today. Didn’t bother for the frosting to avoid calories and hassle. The cake alone was so flavorful! The combination of almond flour and lemon zest was fantastic. Thank you so much for this recipe!
So glad to hear this, Tina!!
I made this cake for Easter and it was a hit. I followed the instructions and didn’t modify, except for the almond flour, because we have a tree nut allergy in the family. I wish I could include a picture but I’m not on instagram. It was beautiful and got a lot of compliments! Coconut is one of my faves. Next time I’ll try it with lime zest which is another one of my faves! Thank you for sharing the recipe.
Hey Alison,
Amazing!! I’m so glad to hear that everyone enjoyed this cake, thanks so much for making it! Happy Monday! xT
I made this recipe, the flavors are great, but it turned out very dense. Any thoughts about where I went wrong? I did all all purpose flour, as I didnt have almond flour.
Hi Gretel,
Happy Monday!! Thanks a lot for trying this recipe and your comment, I love that it was enjoyed! I would try the almond flour next time, it does make it a bit lighter:) xT
Delicious coconut cake! Easy to follow directions, my cake turned out perfect. Thanks for the fantastic recipe!!
Thanks so much Brooke!! I’m so glad to hear this recipe turned out well for you! Happy Monday! xT
Cake was moist and delicious however the lemon was more prevalent than we wanted. It was a great lemon coconut cake and would make again but reduce lemon by half.
Hi there,
Thanks for giving this cake a try and sharing your feedback! So sorry to hear about the lemon! xT
Received fantastically by everyone at work. Cake was moist and with the lemon zest, very flavorful. Thanks for the recipe.
Hey Christopher,
Thanks a lot for giving this cake a go! I love to hear that it was a hit! Happy Easter! xT
I made this for Easter and it was a HIT! The cake was so moist and had so much flavor. I did make my own icing using coconut milk to cut down on the sweetness but this will be on rotation for future brunches. I also made your everything egg bake which was also absolutely delicious. As always, thank you!
Hey Melissa,
Happy Easter!! Thanks a lot for giving this cake a try and sharing your feedback! So glad to hear it turned out nicely for you! xT
Delicious cake! Did not use lemon zest. Used evaporated coconut milk. So very good! I’m adopting this as my Easter Cake for my future Easters.
Hey Ann,
Love this!! Thanks so much for choosing to make this cake and sharing what worked well for you, so glad it was enjoyed! Happy Easter! xT
Any suggestions for making the dairy free??
Hi Hannah,
You can use a dairy free yogurt for the cake batter. I have never tried the frosting with a plant based butter, but you could certainly give it a try! xx
Just made this today. Very tasty! I love how the cake recipe is just a variation of so many of the other great cakes on this site (I particularly love the blackberry swirl cake!). Because of the order of ingredients and me not reading the recipe carefully enough, I added the coconut milk before the dry ingredients, but it didn’t matter at all. It was still delicious! Thank you!
Hi Amy,
Happy Easter! Thanks so much for trying this cake and sharing your comment, so glad to hear that it was enjoyed! xT
I made this cake today because I love coconut. I also had most of the ingredients. It was so easy to make and so delicious. This was the first time to make my own frosting. How easy was that and so much better than store bought. Thanks for the recipe, Tieghan. Another winner!!
Hey Theresa,
Wonderful! I am so glad to hear this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it! Happy Easter! xT
Would this recipe work well in 9 inch rounds?
Hi Melissa,
Yes, that would work for you! You might also like these recipes:
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/coconut-pecan-caramel-butter-cake/
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/coconut-carrot-cake/
Let me know if you give the recipe a try! xT
quick, simple recipe that turned out great!
My modifications:
– subbed coconut milk with whole milk
– doubled the unsweetened coconut flakes
– skipped the lemon zest and added almond extract instead
can’t wait to frost it with earl grey frosting using infused butter and serve it up for Easter
Hey Morgan,
Awesome!! Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing what worked well for you! So glad it was enjoyed! Happy Easter! xT
If I wanted to add some pineapple to the cake, what would be your suggestion? Thanks!
Hey Megan,
I have never tried this before, but sounds delicious! I would do pineapple chunks and make sure they are drained well. Let me know how this turns out for you! xT