Coconut Milk Snack Cake is ideal for after-school snack, coffee breaks, and late night study sessions. Lightly sweet, with a soft, tender texture, this cake is back-to-school fuel!
I didn’t plan on a series of four recipes using coconut milk. The Thai recipe for Coconut Milk Cookies fell into my lap because I am forever intrigued by cookbooks with international cookie recipes. Every culture has baked goods developed to stay fresh as long as possible, and I’m hunting for them all! For those searching the internet for coconut milk recipes, the Coconut Milk Cookies have been very popular. So to meet the demand, I continue to find ways to use this delicious ingredient. The cookies were followed by Coconut Milk Chocolate Chip Pound Cake and Coconut Milk Toffee Blondies. This recipe for Coconut Milk Snack Cake was a lucky fail turned into a win.
As I was working on the recipe for coconut milk blondies, one version looked like a fail when I took it out of the oven. Though beautifully golden with a heavenly smell, the supposed-to-be blondies had risen while baking. The texture was sure to be un-blondie like. I was disappointed, until I tasted this creation. Definitely not blondies, the cake is simultaneously sturdy enough for shipping yet soft and tender, with such a lovely vanilla-coconut flavor, that adding frosting would be a crime.
To mail Coconut Milk Snack Cake in a care package, I recommend baking in a disposable foil pan and wrapping the cake in the pan, uncut. The foil pan provides protection. Leaving the cake uncut, keeps the cake from drying out while shipping.
Coconut Milk Snack Cake was never destined to be a blondie. It’s a delicious, easy to make (no mixer needed), snack cake that compliments a glass of milk or a mug of coffee or tea. With a shelf-life of about 7 days, Coconut Milk Snack Cake can be enjoyed all week as an after-school snack, or shipped to your favorite college student for a sweet start to the semester!
MORE COCONUT MILK RECIPES
Coconut Milk Chocolate Chip Pound Cake
Coconut Milk Snack Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup coconut milk, canned and full fat not low fat
- 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- Confectioners’ sugar optional
Directions
- Preheat oven to 375° F. Grease an 8×8 baking pan (If shipping, use a disposable foil pan.)
- In a large mixing bowl, stir together the coconut milk, coconut oil, eggs, granulated sugar, and vanilla.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, shredded coconut, and baking powder, then add to the liquid mixture. Mix until just combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30-40 minutes until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of the pan comes out clean.
- Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool completely in the pan before cutting or storing. If shipping, leave the cake in the disposable pan and ship uncut.
- When cooled, the cake can be sprinkled with confectioners’ sugar (optional).
- Wrapped well or stored in an airtight container at room temperature, Coconut Milk Snack Cake remains fresh for up to 1 week.
Packing Tips
Bake the snack cake in a disposable pan. When completely cool, wrap the entire pan (with the cake uncut) first in foil, then in plastic wrap. Include plastic knives in the care package.
Tricia @ Saving Room for Dessert says
The texture looks wonderful Wendy! After school fuel – sounds like a winner to me. Simple and tasty and perfect when you need that little something sweet. Great recipe thanks for sharing!
Chris Scheuer says
This looks so moist and delicious Wendy! I love the flavor of coconut milk and with a double dose of coconut, I’m sure these are amazing!
cheri says
Oh I love snacking cakes like this, sounds like this turned out to be something very special.
saltandserenity says
Even though you didn’t plan on a series of 4 recipes using coconut milk, I am so glad you posted them all. Too much coconut is never a problem for me. Can’t wait to give this one a try. Loving the black slate background. The cake really pops agains it.
Helen Reynolds says
I am definitely giving this recipe a try! Thanks for sharing!
Jhuls says
Wow! This sounds absolutely awesome! I will surely try this one. Thanks for sharing!
Monica says
What wonderful kitchen experiments are happening at your house! No offense to blondies but I would far rather have this snack cake. It just looks amazingly light, tender, and moist…so moist! And I love coconut milk and would love to try it in baking. It’s always nice to bake a snack cake and I’m looking forward to doing some of that in the fall.
The Monday Box says
Thanks, Monica! So many times experiments are frustrating. This time, for a change, the experimenting gave me two recipes instead of one. Snack cake is a delicious change from my usual cookies and bars! Fall and holiday baking season are here! 🙂
Ashley@CookNourishBliss says
This cake has my name alllll over it Wendy!! I’ve been having some major issues with dairy lately so I especially love that I can enjoy this!! Plus, coconut milk anything is just the best! haha
The Monday Box says
Thanks, Ashley! I am finding that baked goods that don’t include dairy, actually stay fresh and moist longer! Coconut milk is a great substitute!
Reeni says
I love when a cake is called “snack” because then I don’t feel bad eating it all day long! The texture is so light and fluffy – it looks delicious Wendy.
The Monday Box says
Thanks, Reeni. The texture is really lovely. It seems to be a characteristic of baking with coconut milk. I’m loving it!
Miz Helen says
I just pinned your awesome after school treat, this looks awesome! Thanks so much for sharing with us at Full Plate Thursday. Have a great weekend and come back to see us real soon!
Miz Helen
April J Harris says
I love it when “failures” turn into surprise successes, Wendy! Your Coconut Milk Snack Cake looks so tender and luscious. I love that it keeps and ships so well too. Thank you so much for sharing with The Hearth and Soul Link Party. Pinning and sharing later today on the Hearth and Soul Facebook page. Hope you are having a lovely Labour Day weekend!
Abby says
What do you do with the 1/2 cup of Shredded coconut???
I don’t see it in the instructions
The Monday Box says
Hi, Abby. I’m sorry the shredded coconut got lost! I fixed the recipe. The coconut gets mixed with the flour and baking powder before combining with the liquid mixture. This recipe is very forgiving and you really could have mixed the coconut in anywhere and still ended up with lovely snack cake! 🙂 Thanks for pointing out the missing ingredient! Happy baking!
Abby says
Thank you!
I left the coconut out because i didn’t know what to do with it 😣
But it’s delicious!
Next time will definitely incorporate the coconut.
Again, thank you!
Jennie says
Can I make this with sweetened coconut and just cut the sugar by 2 Tablespoons or so?
The Monday Box says
Hi, Jennie! You can definitely make the snack cake with sweetened coconut. You could make it with the 1 cup of sugar as written in the recipe or maybe just take out 1 tablespoon of sugar to start. The sugar in a cake recipe does more than sweeten. Sugar bonds with the liquids to keep baked goods moist and tender. So, I would start by taking out only 1 tablespoon. If you find the snack cake too sweet, maybe next time take out 2 tablespoons and see if the texture is effected. I hope this helps and answers your question! 🙂 Enjoy!
Boyo says
Is it coconut milk from the can or coconut milk carton in the refrigerator? Thanks
Wendy Sondov says
Hi. I used coconut milk (full fat not low fat) from a can. I hope you enjoy the cake!
Brenda says
Really delicious
Wendy Sondov says
Glad you enjoyed the cake, Brenda!
Jas @ All that's Jas says
That cake looks so fluffy! Wonder if I could replace the flour with coconut or almond flour. YUM!
Wendy Sondov says
Hi Jas. I am not a flour expert but I have used both coconut flour and almond flour in different recipes. I am pretty sure that all coconut flour would not work. The cake would be very dry. Almond flour might work but the texture would be completely different. Let me know if you experiment!
Tina says
I didnt know what to make with the left over coconut milk that I had and came across the recipe. I love that the cake is easy to make and delicious. Everyone loved it. Simply good treat.
Wendy Sondov says
Hi, Tina! I’m so glad you enjoyed this cake! This recipe is a great way to use up extra coconut milk. I would really appreciate it if you would leave a star rating for this recipe, so that other readers will give this recipe a try! 🙂
Tina says
5 star treat 😀
Wendy Sondov says
Thank you!!!
A O says
Hi there,
This recipe looked great, but every time I try it, it doesn’t come out right. Thr center just doesn’t bake through and the cake doesn’t rise much. Ive tried multiple times and am following recipe exactly. What am I missing?
Wendy Sondov says
Hi, Tina. I’m sorry you are having trouble with this recipe. It’s hard to say exactly what might be happening, as I am not in your kitchen, but these are some questions. Are you using an 8″ x 8″ pan? (There is a photo in the blog post of my cake in the pan for reference.) Are you using the exact ingredients that the recipe calls for with no substitutions? Using another kind of oil or butter may not work in this recipe. The 2 large eggs and the baking powder are needed for rise. Is your baking powder expired? That said, this is a snack cake and not a tall loaf cake. As you can see in the photo, the cake doesn’t rise above the 2″ tall pan. The times given in a recipe are always based on an oven calibrated with an additional thermometer. Perhaps your oven is heating to slightly lower than 375 degrees and your cake will have to stay in the oven longer to bake through. Keep your cake in the oven until a toothpick poked in the center comes out clean. I hope this is helpful .
Jenny Trott says
Delicious. Definitely need to line the tin though!
FunmiO says
Just tried this recipe…deliciously moist🤗
Wendy Sondov says
I’m glad you enjoyed the snack cake! I would really appreciate it if you would leave a 5 star rating so that other readers will know to try this recipe too. Happy baking!
Irena says
I baked this cake yesterday. I replaced sugar with coconut sugar. In addition, I sprinkled the top of the cake with almond flakes. Coconut sugar gave the cake a light brown color. The cake smells beautiful, it’s moist and very tasty. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Wendy Sondov says
Hi, Irena. I’m so glad that you are enjoying this cake! Thank you for sharing your substitutions and for leaving a 5 star rating. Happy baking!
Katheirne says
HI there!
Can you use coconut flour instead of All Purpose Flour?!?
Trying to keep this as healthy as possible 🙂
Thanks!
Wendy Sondov says
Hi, Katheirne. No, I don’t think your cake would work with all coconut flour. Coconut flour is very dry and had none of the gluten to hold the cake together. You might be able to sub a little bit (1/4 cup?) , but I would start very small to see the effect.
Joyce says
Thank you for this! I made this today but made it into a lighter “snack bread”. Instead of the coconut oil, I used 1/8 cup vegetable oil, and I cut the sugar amount to about 2/3 cup in total. Turned out perfect with a hint of sweetness. Moist and fragrant!
Wendy Sondov says
So delighted that you enjoyed the cake, Joyce! I’m glad your adjustments gave you the snack bread you were trying for! Happy baking!
Muringi says
Love. Love. Love. Success. Thank you
I love coconut milk. I always have leftover. My fave recipes are coconut rice(I could eat this all week long), rice flour coconut milk cakes and mahamri (beloved Kenyan and Tanzanian snack)
Wendy Sondov says
Hi, Muringi! I am so glad you enjoyed the cake. As a coconut milk lover, I recommend you try my Coconut Milk Cookies too. 🙂 I am a coconut milk lover too and coconut milk rice is a favorite. After reading your comment, I immediately looked up mahamri, as I had never heard of them before. Now I am excited to try the little puffy donuts! I am so intrigued to taste them with savory foods as well as sweet! Thanks, for bringing them to my attention!
Becca Gilgert says
I make this cake often. When I’m craving something more decadent and after the cake has slightly cooled, I poke holes in it and pour sweetened condensed coconut milk over the top. Its delicious, you gotta try it. T-you for this wonderful recipe! ~BG
Wendy Sondov says
Hi, Becca! Your adaptation does sound amazingly decadent! The idea reminds me of a Tres Leches cake with all coconut milks! I don’t know if I have ever seen sweetened condensed coconut milk, but I’m going to look for it now! Thanks for sharing your adaptation!