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This Coconut Pound Cake is an easy loaf cake with triple the coconut flavor! It’s soft and sweet and the perfect pound cake for coconut lovers.

sliced coconut pound cake


Best Coconut Pound Cake

I absolutely love coconut, and this coconut pound cake recipe is the best way to enjoy it! It always reminds me of spring and all things tropical. I love it all year, but especially when spring and Easter are just around the corner. This recipe has triple the coconut flavor: coconut milk, coconut extract, and toasted coconut!

It’s reminiscent of my Coconut Cupcake recipe, but it’s entirely from scratch. I’m no stranger to pound cake recipes on this blog (lemon and champagne are my two favorites), but this coconut pound cake with glaze is edging those out as the most popular in Dorothy’s dessert repertoire.

Why you’ll love this recipe

  • One of the things I love about pound cake recipes is that you can make them in a loaf pan or bundt pans. I like making them as loaves because it’s only half of a whole cake. 
  • This coconut milk loaf cake recipe is adapted from my Orange Pound Cake recipe. This recipe today makes a nice and simple coconut pound cake loaf that’s perfect for an easy dessert or even brunch.
  • Using nondairy milk and vegetable oil means that this cake is accidentally dairy-free, which is excellent for those with allergies or those trying to avoid dairy. It was all I could do not to eat this entire coconut pound cake loaf!

Ingredients in Coconut Loaf Cake

  • Vegetable Oil: Keeps the cake moist, but you can use melted butter
  • Granulated Sugar: Typical in a pound cake recipe
  • Eggs: Be sure to buy large eggs.
  • Extract: I used a combination of vanilla extract and coconut extract – the coconut is necessary to give it tons of flavor.
  • Baking Powder: Helps with a moist and tender cake.
  • Flour: I love using all-purpose flour in pound cake recipes.
  • Coconut Milk: Use the refrigerated kind, not the canned (like Almond Breeze Coconut Milk)

Be sure to see the recipe card below for full ingredients & instructions!

How to Make a Coconut Pound Cake

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and coat an 8×4” loaf pan with baking spray.
  2. Mix the oil and sugar in a large bowl. Add the eggs one at a time and then mix in the extracts, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the milk and flour until just combined.
  3. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake the cake for 50 to 60 minutes. Leave the pound cake in the pan to cool before turning out.
  4. While the cake cools, make the frosting. Whisk the powdered sugar, vanilla, coconut extract, and milk in a bowl. Drizzle the frosting over the cooled cake and then top it with the toasted coconut.
  5. Let the frosting set before slicing and serving.
loaf of coconut pound cake

How to Know When Loaf Cake is Done Baking

Use a toothpick or cake tester to check the center of the loaf cake. When you pull it out, there should only be a few moist crumbs sticking to the toothpick.

Tip From Dorothy

Expert Tips

  • If you don’t have coconut almond milk, you can use regular milk in this recipe, but almond milk adds a lot of coconut flavor.
  • I like to use vegetable oil because it gives the coconut pound cake a lovely light texture. You can also use melted butter if that’s what you have on hand.
  • The key to the best coconut flavor is to use coconut extract in the batter and the frosting. Please don’t skip it!
  • I love to top the cake with tons of toasted coconut. It adds color, texture, and flavor! Learn how to toast coconut – it’s really easy.

FAQ:

Can I substitute coconut oil for butter in pound cake?

I haven’t tested coconut oil in this recipe. If you do, please let me know how it works!

Can I use regular milk or almond milk?

Yes, dairy milk or almond milk will work.

How to store coconut pound cake?

Keep the cake wrapped in plastic wrap at room temperature. It will keep for two to three days.

Can you freeze pound cake?

Yes, tightly wrap the unfrosted cake and place it in a freezer bag or container. It will keep for two to three months in the freezer.

sliced coconut pound cake

Coconut Pound Cake

3.79 from 37 votes
Homemade Coconut Pound Cake is an easy loaf cake full of triple the coconut flavor! It’s soft and sweet and the perfect pound cake for coconut lovers.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Yield 12 servings
Serving Size 1 slice

Ingredients
 

For the cake:

  • ½ cup (119 ml) vegetable oil (or melted butter)
  • 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon (5 ml) coconut extract
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup (119 ml) refrigerated coconut milk (such as Almond Breeze almondmilk Almond Coconut Blend Original Unsweetened)
  • 1 ½ cups (186g) all-purpose flour

For the frosting:

  • 1 cup (113g) powdered sugar
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon coconut extract
  • 2-4 tablespoons (30-60 ml) coconut milk
  • 1 cup (64g) toasted coconut

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 8×4-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray. (I like using the kind with flour in it.)
  • Stir oil and sugar in a large bowl. Stir in eggs, one at a time, then stir in extracts, baking powder, and salt. Add the almondmilk and flour and stir just until combined.
  • Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out almost clean. Cool completely before removing from pan.
  • To make frosting: whisk powdered sugar, extracts, and almondmilk in a medium bowl. Drizzle over cooled cake and immediately top with toasted coconut. Let set, then slice and serve.

Recipe Video

Recipe Notes

  • If you don’t have coconut almond milk, you can use regular milk in this recipe, but almond milk adds a lot of coconut flavor.
  • I like to use vegetable oil because it gives the coconut pound cake a lovely light texture. You can also use melted butter if that’s what you have on hand.
  • The key to the best coconut flavor is to use coconut extract in the batter and the frosting. Please don’t skip it!
  • I love to top the cake with tons of toasted coconut. It adds color, texture, and flavor! Learn how to toast coconut – it’s really easy.

Recipe Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 261kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 47mg | Sodium: 863mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 26g
Nutritional information not guaranteed to be accurate
Course Dessert
Cuisine American

Every bite of this cake is tropical coconut bliss! It’s seriously the best coconut loaf cake recipe so try it soon. I know you will love it!

Coconut Favorites

Last Updated on March 17, 2023



Dorothy Kern

Welcome to Crazy for Crust, where I share recipes that are sometimes crazy, often with a crust, and always served with a slice of life.

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13 Comments

  1. If I only have salted butter, do I leave all the salt out, or maybe add a small amount? Also, if I only have canned Coconut milk can I use that in place of coconut milk in a carton? Thank you

  2. Thank you for sharing your recipe Dorothy. I never do a review unless I’ve actually made the recipe. We really LOVED the icing, but the cake itself (we thought) was very dry. And we really did follow directions exactly. Any suggestions for next time?

  3. This looks amazing and I love that you used oil. I know butter fans will disagree but I find butter-based cakes to be drier than oil-based ones and dry anything doesn’t work for me!