Name: Gluten-Free Coconut Cake
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 2
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2½ c gluten-free flour blend; 1 Tbsp baking powder; 1 tsp xanthan gum; ½ tsp salt; 4 eggs; 2 c sugar; 1 c oil; ¾ c + 2 Tbsp canned coconut milk; 2 Tbsp coconut extract; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 1 c unsweetened shredded coconut

close up of 2 layer gluten-free coconut cake with vanilla buttercream forsting coated in shredded coconut. white marble background

Gluten-free coconut cake has to be the most popular cake I make. When I developed this recipe I had trouble getting the coconut flavor to survive the baking process. But canned coconut milk along with plenty of coconut extract does the trick. This cake is dairy-free, gluten-free and soon to be one of your favorites. It passed my taste test when it became one of my most requested cakes by people gluten-free and not.

Gluten-Free Flour Blends

glass bowl with gluten free flour blend and metal measuring cup on burlap mat. strainer on left, wood spoon on right and milk and eggs in background

I have used several different gluten-free flour blends for this gluten-free coconut cake and they all worked well. My custom blend of sorghum, millet and brown rice flours with some starches is my favorite. Some of the depth of flavor in this cake comes from the variety of gluten-free flours I use. I know it’s a little more of a hassle to have a bunch of different flours lying around but I think it’s worth it. And us strictly gluten-free people really need to branch out beyond the regular rice flour blend. Vitacost.com has a big selection of CERTIFIED gluten-free flours at great prices and has all the flours I use in my blend.

Here is my special flour blend that I love for this cake recipe and many more of my gluten-free recipes:

1 c sweet white sorghum flour
3/4 c millet flour
1/4 c brown rice flour
2/3 c potato starch
1/3 c tapioca starch

If you prefer a store-bought blend, I like King Arthur Flour All Purpose Gluten-Free flour the best. See the notes in the recipe for a super simple DIY gluten-free flour blend or my blog post on gluten-free flours. You can save quite a bit by making your own flour blend.

Coconut Cake Ingredients

3 slices of 2 layer gluten free coconut cake on white plates with whole cake partially visible on right

To get a noticeable coconut flavor in the cake, canned coconut milk is key. Be sure that you use regular, not light coconut milk. In addition to the coconut milk, I use 2 TABLEspoons of coconut extract.

Shredded Coconut – I like to coat my gluten-free coconut cake with a combination of unsweetened toasted and untoasted coconut. With a sugary frosting, I feel like sweetened coconut is too much. To toast the shredded coconut, place it in a dry pan and toss until it begins to turn golden. Remove from the pan as soon as it browns! The residual heat of the pan will burn it quickly.

Gluten-Free Coconut Cake

Yield: 2 8" or 9" layers or 24 cupcakes

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

This gluten-free coconut cake is luscious and full of coconut flavor.

Ingredients

2½ c gluten-free flour blend
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp xanthan gum
½ tsp salt
4 eggs
2 c sugar
1 c oil
¾ c + 2 Tbsp canned coconut milk
2 Tbsp coconut extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 c unsweetened shredded coconut

Instructions

Pre-heat the oven to 350° line the pans with parchment and spray with oil.
Whisk the flour, baking powder, xanthan gum and salt together in a large mixing bowl.
Beat the sugar, eggs, oil, milk and coconut and vanilla extracts together in a small mixing bowl.
Pour the liquid ingredients into the flour mixture and mix until the batter is smooth.
Divide the batter evenly between the 2 pans. Or fill standard cupcake liners 2/3 full.
Bake for 35-40 minutes for 8" layers, 30-35 minutes for 9" layers or 18-20 minutes for cupcakes or until the top is set in the center and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool the layers or cupcakes in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Toast half of the shredded coconut in a dry pan until it begins to brown. Remove from the pan immediately!
Coat the layers with your favorite frosting. Chocolate Frosting or vanilla buttercream works well.
Immediately coat with shredded coconut.

Notes

Here is my special flour blend that I love for this cake recipe and many more of my gluten-free recipes:

1 c sweet white sorghum flour
3/4 c millet flour
1/4 c brown rice flour
2/3 c potato starch
1/3 c tapioca starch

For an easy DIY gluten-free flour blend, combine:
2 c brown rice flour
2/3 c potato starch
1/3 cup tapioca starch

Did you make this recipe? Tag @chefjanetk on Instagram

Recommended Products

Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour

Nutrition Information

Yield 16 Serving Size 4 oz
Amount Per Serving Calories 311Total Fat 16gSaturated Fat 2gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 13gCholesterol 47mgSodium 185mgCarbohydrates 39gFiber 1gSugar 25gProtein 3g

This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated using information from the Nutritionix database. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.