What could be better than this fluffy white Keto Coconut Cake? It’s easy to make, and it’s so light and airy, it’s like biting into a fluffy coconut cloud. Nut-free and sugar free.
If you love baking with coconut flour, this is the cake for you!
Coconut lovers, stop what you’re doing and go check your pantry. Go make sure you’ve got everything on hand to make this gorgeous keto coconut cake. And if you don’t, then make a trip to the store and get what you need.
Trust me, you’ll thank me later. This might just be the perfect coconut dessert recipe. A light airy white cake with a rich and creamy frosting – it’s so divinely coconutty, it will make you swoon.
I already had recipes for keto coconut cream pie and keto macaroons. It was high time I added keto coconut cake to that list!
5 reasons to love this recipe
- Moist, tender crumb. This ain’t no dry coconut flour cake, my friends. The butter, coconut cream, and the eggs all come together to make it wonderfully moist.
- Easy to make. Don’t be fooled by the long ingredient list. Since this is a bundt cake recipe, it’s easy to whip up in one bowl and bake in a single pan.
- Great coconut flavor. Made with coconut flour, shredded coconut, coconut cream, and coconut extract. That’s quadruple coconut!
- Super creamy frosting. This is a whipped cream frosting, stabilized with a little softened cream cheese so that it stays in place.
- It’s totally nut free! I now have a whole section devoted to keto nut free recipes. Be sure to check it out!
How to make keto coconut cake
This is an easy bundt cake recipe that looks and tastes like you slaved for hours in the kitchen. Here are my best tips for getting it right:
- Grease the pan well. Bundt pans can be tricky, especially if they have a lot of deep peaks and points. I prefer the classic fluted bundt pan as it’s less likely to stick. Just make sure you work the grease into every corner of the pan.
- Whisk the dry ingredients. If you’re using a coconut flour that tends to have clumps, you may want to sift it.
- Add the wet ingredients. Be sure to use more egg whites than whole eggs, so that the cake will be more white in color. If the coconut cream is too solid to mix in easily, liquify it a bit in the microwave.
- Don’t overbake! Coconut flour recipes can dry out quickly if you leave them too long in the oven. Once the top is firm to the touch, take it out.
- Cool in the pan. Don’t try to remove it too early or it may break apart. About 30 minutes is right.
- Soften the cream cheese. It should be quite soft to the touch before you try to beat it. Otherwise it won’t mix in with the whipped cream properly.
- Whip the cream to soft peaks. The peaks should fall over when you lift the beaters.
- Slowly beat in the cream cheese. This is essentially a stabilized whipped cream frosting. Dollop the cream cheese over the soft whipped cream, then start the beaters on slow. Increase the speed slowly, until the frosting holds stiff peaks.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can use any bulk crystalline sweetener for the cake, but do be forewarned that allulose sweeteners make the outside of cakes VERY dark. You can use any sweetener in the frosting but powdered and liquid are best to avoid grittiness.
You don’t HAVE to, but if you skip it, the cake won’t rise as nicely and may be more fragile and prone to falling apart.
The cake itself is easily made dairy free by using egg white protein powder and melted coconut oil. The frosting will be more tricky, but you can make some coconut whipped cream and use dairy free cream cheese, and try that. But I can’t guarantee it – I always have trouble making coconut whipped cream that’s thick enough to frost a cake.
This recipe would make great cupcakes! It will probably make 12 of them and they won’t take as long to bake. Set them for about 20 minutes and check on them frequently.
Storage instructions
Because the frosting is mostly whipped cream, I recommend storing the cake in the fridge. If you’ve cut into it already, simply cover the cut ends with plastic wrap so that they don’t dry out.
I have not tried freezing this cake but I am not sure the frosting would fare too well.
Keto recipes for leftover egg yolks
Since keto coconut cake uses egg whites, I thought I would suggest a few recipes for those leftover yolks. Waste not, want not!
Keto Coconut Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Cake:
- ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoon coconut flour
- 1 cup granulated Swerve Sweetener
- ⅓ cup unflavored whey protein powder (or egg white protein)
- ⅓ cup shredded coconut
- 2 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup butter melted
- 1 cup coconut cream (liquified if it's too firm)
- 4 large egg whites
- 2 large eggs
- 1 ½ teaspoon coconut extract
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 to 4 tablespoon water as needed
Frosting:
- 4 ounces cream cheese very well softened
- 1 ¼ cup heavy whipping cream, divided room temperature
- ½ cup powdered Swerve Sweetener
- 1 ½ teaspoon coconut extract
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup shredded coconut
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350F and grease a large bundt pan (10 cup capacity) well.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the coconut flour, sweetener, protein powder, shredded coconut, baking powder, and salt.
- Stir in the melted butter, coconut cream, egg whites, eggs, and extracts. Whisk in water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the batter is thick but pourable.
- Spread in the prepared pan and even out the top. Bake 35 to 40 minutes, until the cake is risen and the top is firm to the touch.
- Remove and let cool at least 30 minutes in the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Frosting
- In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese with 2 tablespoons of the heavy cream to lighten it up a bit.
- Beat the remaining heavy cream with the sweetener and extracts until it holds soft peaks.
- Dollop the cream cheese mixture around the bowl with the whipped cream. Start beating on slow, then increase speed slowly and beat until it holds stiff peaks.
- Spread the frosting over the sides of the cake and sprinkle with the shredded coconut.
Sheri Miller says
Oh my gosh! This was so good! I love using coconut flour for most of my keto recipes, and this one was no exception!! I ended up using the entire can of coconut cream instead of the water that the recipe called for. It was so delicious, and so coconutty!!! One of my all-time favorite flavors! I wish I could live on a tropical island and just survive on coconuts! Thank you so much for all you do for the Keto community. Having access to these recipes is such a life-saver (I’ve lost over 100 lbs myself!) since cutting out regular sugar. Thank you again!
Sheri Miller
Carolyn says
I am so glad the recipes help! Congrats on your health journey.
Dana Handbury says
Help! I’m making it right now, but I’m having a very difficult time greasing my “simple” bundt pan with my solidified coconut oil, and I’m not sure if I should warm it because then it won’t be as thick. Your instructions don’t talk about what to grease the pan with – I do have some Crisco shortening on hand, but I believe that keto does not really like it. (I use it when I bake non-keto things for my neighbors.) Please talk about best practices for greasing the bundt pant – if liquified coconut oil is okay, then I would presume that avocado oil would also be at another time? I know that not sufficiently greasing (and usually flouring) a bundt pan can make it almost impossible to get the cake out of it in one piece! Thank you.
Fran says
Hello – this cake looks amazing and I plan on making it for Valentine’s Day. I have the Whey Protein Concentrate. The link on this recipe goes to Whey Protein Isolate. Can I use the Concentrate or should I buy the Isolate? Thank you!
Carolyn says
You can use what you have. They bake very much the same way.
Fran says
Thank you! Made the cake and it’s so good. Light and airy, just as you described. I find baking a bit intimidating, as you have to be so precise with the measurements, unlike cooking. Your tips and tricks are so helpful (don’t overbake…). Appreciate the effort you put into these recipes.
Raechel says
This cake was so good! I cut back on the sugar because I like it less sweet. Adding to my list of favorites!
PAM SYKES says
Carolyn, I can’t wait to try this coconut cake! It sounds wonderful. I have everything, but wanted to be sure it would be ok to use Thai kitchen brand coconut milk for this recipe. It is low carb and unsweetened. Thanks, Pam
Carolyn says
Yes, it should be fine.
Alma says
Came here wanting to ask the same! Thanks!!
Kelly says
I made this for a dinner party. Four of us are on keto and one has nut allergies. This cake is amazing! It was requested that this be the dessert I bring to every dinner.
Carolyn says
That’s fabulous!