Coconut Pound Cake with Easy Vanilla Icing

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Making this week a little bit sweeter with this Coconut Pound Cake…with an easy 4 ingredient vanilla icing, of course! This delicious cake is made in only two bowls, uses TWO types of coconut, and takes only minutes to prepare. Seriously the perfect cake to bake this spring, summer, fall, or even winter! It’s truly the perfect cake to enjoy all year long. Every bite is moist, perfectly sweet, extra coconutty, and melt-in-your-mouth delicious. The best part? This cake is effortlessly gorgeous, requires no real effort to make, and is a serious crowd-pleaser. So simple, but SO GOOD!

About The Recipe

Come springtime, one of our more popular recipes on the blog every year is our Coconut Layer Cake. It’s a stunning and delicious cake (one of my absolute favorites on the blog!), but it can take quite a bit of time/effort to make.

So, we wanted to share something that was equally delicious, but a little bit less effort to put together for all of your spring/celebration needs!

That was the inspiration behind this super sweet and simple Coconut Pound Cake.

Though, with this recipe, we still wanted an intense coconut flavor, similar to our coconut layer cake, but without the addition of the pastry cream. We knew we wanted shredded coconut in the cake, but we felt like that wasn’t quite enough.

We tossed around a couple of ideas, trying to figure out what would make this coconut pound cake extra coconutty and extra special.

Finally, we landed on using coconut oil as one of the fats in the cake! Not only does this add flavor, but it also creates a little bit lighter and moister cake.

Oh, and what is a cake without a little bit of icing?

Just for fun, we added a sweet vanilla icing on top with some shredded coconut to add an easy decorative element that also adds MORE flavor!

Honestly, we could not be happier with how easy this pound cake came out. It’s a quick mix-up, bakes in about an hour, is incredibly moist and flavorful…what could be better?!

What is a Pound Cake?

Pound cakes get their name from how they are typically made. A pound of butter, sugar, eggs, and flour. Yes, you read that right. A pound of EACH ingredient!

Nowadays, pound cakes are typically made with the same idea. Equal weights for each ingredient! So, you still get the deliciously rich and dense cake, without making your grocery bill sky-high!

This recipe doesn’t use a pound of each ingredient, but it DOES deliver on flavor, texture, and taste.

Reasons You Will Love This Coconut Pound Cake

• Made in a standard loaf pan!
• Uses two special ingredients to give this cake not only an incredible flavor, but texture as well.
• Extra coconutty, moist, and oh-so tender.
• Every bite just melts in your mouth!
• The perfect cake for spring, summer, fall, or even winter.
• A real crowd pleaser!

Equipment Needed

• Mixing Bowls
• Whisk
• Hand Mixer
• 9 Inch Loaf Pan
• Cake Tester
• Cooling Rack

Ingredients

(Full ingredient amounts and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the post)

For The Cake:

• All-Purpose Flour – For this recipe, we opted to keep it simple in terms of flour! This still creates a tender, moist, and delicious crumb.
• Unsweetened, Dried, Shredded Coconut – Gives this cake a subtle coconut flavor!
• Corn Starch – This is one of our “secret” ingredients with this recipe. Using corn starch yields in a more tender cake!
• Baking Powder – Leavening agents are essential in baking. Using baking powder provides just enough rise to make a lighter textured cake.
• Salt – Cuts some of the sweetness, as well as enhance the flavor of the coconut!
• Unsalted Butter – For this recipe, we opted to use unsalted butter to control the amount of salt in the cake.
• Coconut Oil – Our last “secret” ingredient to give this cake an incredible flavor! Not only does coconut oil add an incredible amount of flavor, but also makes this cake more moist and tender.
• Granulated Sugar – Adds the perfect amount of sweetness to this cake.
• Large Eggs – Make sure to set your eggs out ahead of time to allow them to come to room temperature before mixing!
• Vanilla Extract – A splash of vanilla enhances and compliments the coconut.
• Whole Milk – Makes this cake lighter and stronger! Though, if you’d like to enhance the coconut flavor in this recipe, try using coconut milk.

For The Icing:

• Powdered Sugar – Sift the powdered sugar to ensure no lumps in your icing!
• Whole Milk – Like stated before, you can actually use coconut milk to intensify the coconut flavor.
• Vanilla Extract – A splash of vanilla is a must-have for this icing!
• Unsweetened, Dried, Shredded Coconut – More coconut because why not?! This adds a little extra flavor while also making this cake look extra pretty (with no effort!).

How To Make This Coconut Pound Cake

Step 1: Make the cake batter

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, shredded coconut, corn starch, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

With an electric mixer, beat butter, coconut oil, and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.

Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Stir in vanilla.

Add flour mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture.

Step 2: Bake

Pour into prepared pan and bake for 55-60 minutes, or until cake tests done. Allow to cool in pan for 15-20 minutes. Turn out and place on wire rack to finish cooling.

Step 3: Make icing

In a medium bowl, combine powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla. Whisk until smooth.

Step 4: Top cake

Spread icing on top of cooled cake. Top with coconut.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does my cake batter look lumpy?
If the cake batter was properly mixed, then the “lumps” you are seeing in the batter are just the shredded coconut! If you suspect the lumps to be flour, use a rubber spatula to gently break the lumps against the side of the bowl and fold them back into the batter. You can use a small wire whisk to try to gently whisk them smooth, but this may over-work the batter.

Why did my cake not rise?
If the cake didn’t rise, this could be one of two things. Check your baking powder to make sure it’s in-date! If it’s expired, this is most likely the culprit. If your baking powder is in-date, then the cake batter was most likely over-mixed. This doesn’t mean the cake is ruined! It will still taste delicious, but it may be more dense than desired.

Why did my cake stick in the pan?
Again, this could be one of two things. If the pan wasn’t properly greased before adding the batter, this will cause a cake to stick (it happens to all of us sometimes!). Though, more likely than not, the cake may just be too warm to turn out. Try waiting until the cake is cool to the touch before turning out. This typically takes about 20 minutes after coming out of the oven.

How To Store

Once this loaf is cooled, you will need to keep it in a zip top bag and in the fridge! It’s a very moist loaf and won’t last very long if left at room temperature.

You can also freeze this loaf as a whole or in individual slices. Just be sure to wrap the slices in plastic wrap and place them in a freezer safe container or zip top bag!

Substitutions

• Want to make this cake extra coconutty? Use unsweetened coconut milk in the cake and for the icing!
• If you don’t have unsalted butter, you can use salted butter. Just omit the salt in the recipe!
• This recipe can be made vegan if unsweetened coconut milk, plant-based butter, and your favorite vegan egg substitute are used. Personally, we like to use aquafaba!

Looking for more recipes like this? Here are a few you may like: Coconut Layer Cake, Chocolate Chip Pound Cake, Chocolate Marble Pound Cake, Vanilla Pound Cake, Coconut Tres Leches Cake

Expert Tips

• Check the expiration date on your baking powder.
• Remember to preheat your oven!
• Be careful to not over-mix your cake batter.
• If you’re unsure if the cake is baked, use a cake tester or an instant read thermometer to check! A cake tester should come out clean with no crumbs once the cake is completely baked. If you use a thermometer, a completely baked cake should read about 210°F.
• Be sure to let this cake cool completely before icing.

When you make this Coconut Pound Cake with Easy Vanilla Icing, leave a comment down below! We love hearing from you and answering any questions you might have! Also, be sure to tag us on social media and hashtag it #BakersTable.

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