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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The frosting is wonderful, but the cake itself reminds me of cornbread. A little dry and crumbly.
If it was dry it means it got over-baked. Could be your oven or your bundt pan. Bundt pans are tricky as they aren’t really standard sizes and shapes…
I made this cake for a friend’s birthday. Although I had issues with the cake sticking in the Bundt pan, I was able to patch it together and the heavenly frosting made it look spectacular, especially with the added coconut on top. I wish I would’ve taken a picture. Anyhow, it was a hit, even from those not “doing” keto/low carb. The cake was easy to make, and the frosting was unbelievably delicious. A winner for sure!
Carolyn,
What are your thoughts on using Monkfruit granulated sugar ❓ I buy the Lankano Monkfruit Granulated sugar on amazon. I’m so anxious to try this recipe however, afraid of any bitter aftertaste.
If it’s the erythritol based one, then it’s pretty much the same thing as Swerve.
Untrained non-cook husband here…
I made this cake as the first cake I have ever made for my wifes birthday.
The cake looked fantastic! Everything went very well during the cooking process, but ran into an issue during eating. After about 3 bites a very bitter chemical like after-taste would creap up and that would be the end of wanting any cake. Because this was my first cake and I was nervous, I made sure to follow the ingredients and instructions to the letter. I really think that perhaps it had something to do with the coconut extract. This cake had the consistency and moisture of a million dollar cake, just an after taste. It was soo awesome, and even though it didn’t turn out well, I am absolutely determined to get this right and it gave me the motivation to try again. I plan to try on new year’s, do you have any thoughts or advice? I think I’ll make 2 smaller cakes, one original recipe and the other with half the coconut extract… your thoughts? 😁
Oh boy, that’s strange! I am so sorry that happened… I do think it has to be one of the ingredients you used. What brand of coconut extract was it? And what brand of sweetener did you use?
I used food club “Pure Coconut Extract” and Sweet Additions “zero calorie Sucralose sweetener”.
Oh boy… it’s almost certainly the sweetener. I do not use anything with Sucralose, it has a strong chemical aftertaste for me.
KK, I am 2 years later now, and I’m gonna try again with no Sucralose! 😁
Good luck!
One of the best cakes I’ve ever eaten! Keto or non-keto!
Great to hear!
Carolyn, do you recommend weighing all ingredients, or doing volume measurements? I made this cake a few days ago. Usually I weigh most ingredients for accuracy (exceptions are things like baking powder and salt), but I’m just not sure which approach you take when creating your recipes. Out of curiosity, for this recipe, I measured ingredients with measuring cups/spoons and then weighed them, and the weight was substantially different than listed for several ingredients listed. I’m not criticizing at all, just want to make your recipes as they’re intended to be made. After poking around on your website just now, I see that you do recommend the coconut flour be weighed in the Chantilly Cake recipe.
I had to add about 3/4 C water to make the batter anything approaching pourable so I’m going to guess I chose wrong when it came to going off of volume measurement vs weight!
My flub aside, this cake is amazing. Truly. So moist and flavorful and just wonderful! I feel like it would give a non-keto coconut cake a run for its money. I made the frosting as well. You make diabetic eating enjoyable, Carolyn! I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Being nosy here after reading your bio, did the same thing happen to you as it did to me? I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes during my second pregnancy, but it never went away. It turns out it was type 2 that developed during the pregnancy. I’ve been living with it for 2 1/2 years now, including through another pregnancy. I manage it through diet and was only on Metformin for the last 2 weeks of my third pregnancy. In your bio, it says the blood sugar issues stuck around, but I’m not sure if you’re diabetic or not.
Anyway, thanks again!
So… happy mistake?
I made the DF version but I messed up and mixed in all the “cream cheese” right off the bat. And then that with the coconut “whipping cream” just would not thicken up enough… so I added the tiniest sprinkle (maybe 1/4 tsp) of xanthan gum to the mix trying to save it.
The frosting turned out more like a jarred marshmallow topping. I was mortified, but decided to roll with it because it tasted ok and I just hoped my family would tolerate it when it was combined with the cake and coconut. It turns outs that the marshmallow texture is what they loved most!
Hey, glad it worked out!
This was amazing! I served it on easter with ham and Carolyn’s creamy cauliflower recipe. The bomb, both were perfect!!!
Absolutely amazing! Turned out perfectly.
I love this cake! The coconut extract in the frosting was a bit strong for my taste but the cake is moist and delicious, I will definitely make this many times. 🙂
Bless you, oh great creator of deliciousness, for this coconut cake recipe, which I made and sampled yesterday, was the best coconut cake I have ever had. We’re looking forward to another slice this evening. By the way, there’s a wonderful powdered Bourbon (an island in Madagascar) vanilla from Neilsen-Massey, about $30 a bottle, if you want to cut down on the liquid going into the whipping cream
I made this into cupcakes and they are AMAZING! So moist and tender and tons of flavor. It took about 23 minutes to bake if anyone is wondering. I brought them to a baby shower so I would have a sweet treat to enjoy and it turns out the mother to be has gestational diabetes so she was so happy to have one. Awesome! Great great recipe, will def make again. 10/10!
Hi Carolyn, this looks sublime! 😍 I do not own a bundt pan, however. What equivalent size springform pan would you suggest I use? Thanks ever so much!
A 9-inch springform should work. But the bake time will likely change so keep your eye on it!
Could I substitute lemon juice instead of water if I wanted to introduce a lemon flavour please?
Yes but you may want to add some lemon zest too for additional flavor.
Delish! I made a frosting with coconut butter, cocoa and powdered Swerve.
My Dad loves coconut so I made this cake for Father’s Day- it was an instant hit with everyone, truly moist and the frosting is amazing♥