Coconut lovers, stop whatever you’re doing and go check your pantry. Make sure you’ve got everything on hand to make this gorgeous Keto Coconut Cake. And if you don’t, then hightail it to the store and grab what you need.
If you love desserts like keto coconut cream pie, then you are going to adore this easy keto cake recipe.
There’s something undeniably elegant about coconut cake: a fluffy white cake topped with creamy frosting and sprinkled with shredded coconut. It’s the kind of cake you bring out for holidays or spring gatherings, and everyone gasps with delight.
And this sugar-free keto version is no different. You may think that something made with coconut flour can’t possibly rival the texture and flavor of a conventional cake. But THIS is the dessert that will change your mind!
It has a tender crumb and a light, airy texture, and all the luscious coconutty flavor you could possibly want. Finished with a rich, creamy frosting and a sprinkle of shredded coconut, it has all the visual appeal of the classic, without the sugar or carbs.
Reader’s Thoughts
“I love coconut and I know I will never go wrong when I make one of your recipes. This cake a delicious and the frosting was dynamite!! I will be using that recipe for the base of all my keto frosting flavors.” — Paula
Why You Will Love This Recipe
- Moist, tender crumb: No dry coconut flour cake here! The butter and eggs provide plenty of moisture and the protein powder helps it become light and fluffy.
- Big coconut flavor: Coconut flour, coconut milk, shredded coconut, and coconut extract ensure that every bite delivers.
- Super creamy frosting. This is a whipped cream frosting, stabilized with a little softened cream cheese so that it stays in place.
- Easy to make: One bowl for the cake, one bowl for the frosting, and the bundt pan shape gives it easy elegance.
- Super creamy frosting: The whipped cream frosting is stabilized with a little softened cream cheese for a light but decadent consistency.
- It’s totally nut free! I now have a whole section devoted to keto nut free recipes. Be sure to check it out!
Ingredient Notes
- Coconut flour: I usually use Bob’s Red Mill coconut flour.
- Sweetener: I recommend a granular sweetener for the cake and a powdered sweetener for the
- Protein powder: This makes the cake more light and fluffy so I don’t recommend skipping it. Whey protein or egg white protein work best.
- Shredded coconut: A little shredded coconut in the cake gives added texture, and some sprinkled on top adds visual appeal.
- Eggs: You will need a couple of eggs and several egg whites. This makes the cake more like white cake.
- Liquid: A little liquid helps thin out the batter properly. It can be water, thin coconut milk, or a mixture of cream and water (half of each).
- Coconut extract: You should be able to find this at most grocery stores in the baking aisle.
- Heavy whipping cream: This makes the frosting like biting into a coconut cloud.
- Cream cheese: Softened cream cheese helps stabilize the frosting so it stays in place and doesn’t deflate.
- Kitchen staples: Butter, baking powder, and salt.
How to Make Keto Coconut Cake
- Whisk the dry ingredients: Make sure to break up any clumps in the coconut flour and sweetener.
- Add the wet ingredients: Stir in the butter, egg whites, eggs and extract. Add the liquid to thin the batter and add more if necessary.
- Bake the cake: Transfer the batter to a greased bundt pan and spread evenly, smoothing out the top. Bake 35 to 40 minutes.
- Whip the cream: Beat the cream with the sweetener and extract until it holds soft peaks. They should fall over when you lift the beaters.
- Slowly beat in the cream cheese: 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.
- Decorate the cake: Spread the frosting all over the cake and sprinkle with shredded coconut.
Tips for Success
Coconut flour can vary quite a bit and some are more absorbent than others. I recommend using Bob’s Red Mill or King Arthur Baking for consistency, but if you use a different brand, you may need to adjust. If the batter is very thin, add another tablespoon or two of flour. Read my tutorial on baking with coconut flour for more information.
Using more egg whites rather than whole eggs allows the cake to be less yellow and more like a white cake. Save those yolks for making some Keto Creme Brûlée!
Make sure that the cream cheese is quite soft before adding it to the whipped cream, so it doesn’t clump up. Room temperature isn’t sufficient in most cases. I usually put my cream cheese in a bowl and give it 10 to 15 seconds in the microwave.
Sweetener Options:
I recommend using an erythritol-based sweetener, with no allulose in it, for the cake. Allulose can cause cakes to darken quite a bit on the outside, and they can almost taste burnt. Bundt cakes bake longer than other cake pans and you don’t want to risk it.
The frosting will work with any kind of powdered sweetener. You can also use concentrated liquid extracts like stevia or monk fruit.
More keto coconut desserts
Keto Coconut Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Cake
- 3/4 cup (90 g) coconut flour
- 2/3 cup (126.67 g) granular sweetener, erythritol recommended
- 1/3 cup (36 g) unflavored whey protein powder, (or egg white protein)
- 1/3 cup (26.67 g) shredded coconut
- 2 1/2 tsp (2.5 tsp) baking powder
- 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) salt
- 1/2 cup (113.5 g) butter, melted
- 4 large (4) egg whites
- 2 large (2) eggs
- 1 1/2 tsp (1.5 tsp) coconut extract
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup (157.73 ml) water, or thin coconut milk
Frosting
- 1 cup (236.59 ml) heavy whipping cream, chilled
- 1/3 cup (63.33 g) powdered sweetener
- 1 tsp coconut extract
- 4 ounces (113.4 g) cream cheese, very well softened
- 1/3 cup (26.67 g) shredded coconut
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and grease a large bundt pan (8 to 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, egg whites, eggs, and extracts. Whisk in the liquid until well combined. Add more as needed to thin the batter to a thick but scoopable consistency.
- 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 large bowl, beat the heavy cream with the sweetener and coconut extract until it holds soft peaks
- Dollop the softened cream cheese 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.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Frequently Asked Questions
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.
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.
This keto coconut cake recipe has 6.9g of carbs and 3.1g of fiber per serving. That comes to 3.8g net carbs per serving.
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
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So good!! Thank you!
5 stars all the way, if I could give 10 stars I would. My whole house smells like scrumptious coconut cake. I just made this for our Tuesday dessert even the cream cheese with coconut frosting is delicious. My family is keto low carb and we don’t have any nut allergies but I do stay away from gluten. I’m diabetic, hypertension, no thyroid and no gall bladder. It’s a challenge but I try really hard to eat healthy and not to eat process sugar and all the other unhealthy stuff in the stores. I followed the recipe exactly and my Bundt pan was silicon. The silicon pan worked perfectly, no need to spray it and didn’t use any parchment paper. The cake once cooled about 20-30 minutes the cake just popped out of the silicon. I was determined to make no mistakes with this cake so all ingredients were the same as yours, even the organic coconut cream. I decided to pre slice the cake getting about 18 slices and then store in lock and lock container for family and guest. Coconut has always been my all time favorite and this recipe was so yummy and it didn’t disappoint. Thank you so much I follow you and have made many of your recipes all have came out perfectly.
Looks great but I am confused. I thought coconuts were nuts. Dr. Westman implies they are. Set me straight.
Disregard my earlier comment. I see they are fruits.
Amazing! Tastes divine – so light and airy. Made as written and baked for 43 minutes. It’s a gorgeous cake, and it was really very easy to make.
This is delicious!! I always ask for a coconut cake for my birthday and this fit the bill. My bundt mold didn’t release well so I wound piecing it back together. I covered it with enough icing though so looks like a big, bumpy white donut.. lol! It’s amazing even so;)
I have made this before & love it. I recently baked it in a small sheet pan & cubed it to use in a trifle for a holiday gathering. Sooo good!
Which shredded coconut do you recommend?
The frozen one(of course defrosted.
Or the dry flakes?
Carolyn, I love your recipes, thank you for what you contribute to the low-carb lifestyle! Question – I’m trying to make this a very white cake – could I use all egg whites? Add an extra one? Substitute something else for the missing egg yolks?
Don’t sub anything for the yolks but use 7 total egg whites. Those two yolks that you don’t add will equal about the same as one egg white. Then hold back the extra water to see if you even need it, in case your whites were on the large side.
Made this for Thanksgiving and the taste was wonderful! The cake itself was very dense and wet. I use a silicone bundt pan, could that have contributed? Overmixing? Thank again Carolyn for the wonderful recipes!
It was the pan, absolutely. Please understand that metal conducts heat far better than any other material, like glass, ceramic, or silicone. You need to read up on how to adjust for this. While silicone muffin liners are fabulous (they sit inside metal so that helps), I do not recommend cooking fully in a silicone pan. It’s the worst conductor of heat.
Thanks, I will get the USA pan!
If you could only have one bundt pan, which one and what size would you get? I am looking for ONE and there are SOOOO many choices I have no idea where to start. Thank you in advance. I have been going through each of your bundt cake recipes, but there is only one link provided from 2016. I didn’t know if you could even recommend one without getting into trouble with people who want you to advertise for them.????
THANK YOU
Excellent question! Well, in my experience, bundt pans tend to lose non-stickness easily and I’ve tossed more than I care to count. But I now have a USA Pan and it is spectacular. As with all their pans, nothing sticks! It’s definitely pricier than most but worth it because you won’t be tossing it in a year or two. I have had mine for 3 years now and going strong! https://amzn.to/3FVxAQP (affiliate link).
THANK YOU!!!
Absolutely dreamy!! So moist and delicious!!
Because the recipe didn’t specifically say unsweetened coconut cream, I used sweetened Goya cream of coconut. I hope I did the right thing. I won’t be tasting the cake today.I didn’t even find unsweetened at my grocery store. If it calls for unsweetened, please put that in the recipe
I’m not on a keto diet myself and am making this cake for a relative’s birthday
This is a keto sugar-free blog. I think it would go without saying for my keto readers…
May I also point out that the very brand I used is linked right in the recipe. If it was in question, all you had to do was click the link…
Light & fluffy! So good! I feel proud serving this delicious Keto cake to my friends and family! It’s delicious and you would never know it’s keto! <3
Thanks!
I don’t usually see the words keto and cake in the same phrase… This was heavenly! Great flavor and texture. And best of all…worked perfectly with our dietary needs!
This was amazing! The texture was just perfect and the flavor was, too. Will definitely make this again soon!
I made this into cupcakes, which you mentioned in your blogpost could be done. They came out so fluffy, and light! the frosting is maybe the best tasting and softest whipped frosting I’ve made without sugar. I made them for my birthday, and they were such a treat. Thank you so much for another amazing recipe!