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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Haven’t cut into it yet, but if the frosting is any indication, this is going to be fabulous!
Excellent cake!! We all loved it and it was relatively easy. Thank you for your wonderful recipes.
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
I am so glad the recipes help! Congrats on your health journey.
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.
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!
You can use what you have. They bake very much the same way.
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.
This cake was so good! I cut back on the sugar because I like it less sweet. Adding to my list of favorites!
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
Yes, it should be fine.
Came here wanting to ask the same! Thanks!!
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.
That’s fabulous!
I just made this Keto Coconut Bundt Cake today, and it is seriously so yummy. The cake itself is so moist and sweet. It almost reminds me of a poke cake. The whipped cream cream cheese topping is to die for with its creamy light flavor. It pairs perfectly with the sweeter cake. I toasted my unsweetened coconut flakes with a little butter and powdered swerve in a skillet and this added a pleasant nutty crunch. I would definitely recommend making this cake. It is simple to throw together and uses keto staples you probably already have in your pantry. The only thing I did differently was added a couple tablespoons of vital wheat gluten in place of the protein powder because I was out. Idk how that affected the final product, but I have no complaints. This recipe will definitely help keep you on track on your keto diet, particularly if you love your sweet treats. Thank you Caroline for another fabulous recipe!
Thank you!
I find that the egg white protein gives the cake too firm a texture/almost too dry. (Unable to use whey.) How to adjust recipe for a softer texture?
Less protein powder, and then bake it a little less… that would be my best suggestion.
My cake came out awfully dark, any idea what happened? I used the NordicWare square Bundt pan that’s silver inside. I didn’t end up adding any water because the batter didn’t look like it needed any to be pourable, possibly because I used a different brand of coconut flour (Viva Naturals).
Did you happen to use allulose as the sweetener? It browns MUCH more quickly.
This recipe is EXCELLENT!!!!! I was actually shocked that a coconut flour cake could be so moist! I didn’t even make the frosting–another reviewer said it was fairly sweet, so since I was trying this for the first time, I left it out. My husband and I ate quite a bit of it already and he said it was the best cake I ever made (even better than the butter cake). The only changes I made was to use a mixture of sweeteners. I do not like that erythritol cooling effect, so I used 1/3 cup of Lacanto (essentially erithritol), 1/3 cup of Boca Sweet and 1/3 cup of Besti Monk Fruit/Allulose blend. I would like to try this without the shredded coconut and lemon or orange extract and see how that is.
Another dessert winner that’s simple enough that I can make it! So delicious!
This cake is so yummy. However, it’s a little sweet for my taste. How can I reduce the sweetness without compromising the texture of the cake?
I believe you could for the cake. Not the frosting as easily, though.
Would vanilla whey be okay?
Well, it may provide a very strong vanilla flavor… some of them are overpowering. But you can certainly try it!
Thank you! It’s baking right now, crossing my fingers!!
How did it turn out?
I used Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% Whey Protein Powder – Vanilla Ice Cream flavor (got from Target). The cake flavor was excellent! I didn’t taste any vanilla flavor from the protein powder, so the vanilla flavored whey protein powder didn’t affect the coconut flavor of the cake. The cake was moist and I baked it for 35 minutes. It was definitely one of the best coconut cakes I ever made. It didn’t taste any different from a “regular” coconut cake (you all know what I mean).
Ingredients I used:
– 1 cup (192g) Bocha Sweet Granulated Sweetener (I put this in my food processor to grind it into the consistency and size of regular granulated sugar BUT not to powdered sugar)
– Anthony’s Premium Organic Coconut Flour (use 4 tablespoons of water or almond milk)
– Bob’s Red Mill Unsweetened Coconut Flakes (I put in food processor to get smaller flakes)
– Heavy whipping cream (since I didn’t have any coconut cream); I just added some coconut flakes to the heavy whipping cream and let it sit so some of the coconut flavor would infuse into the heavy whipping cream. I strained it before I added the cream to the cake batter.
I also made a Keto Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting that was wonderful! I used salted butter to cut the sweetness of the sweetener.
Thanks Carolyn for the delicious cake recipe! I was soooo disappointed before when I thought I couldn’t really have sweets anymore.
Made 12 cupcakes @ 20 mins and the texture was perfect. The flavor was awesome! Very easy to make and my house smells fantastic. Thanks Carolyn!