Coconut Milk Snack Cake is a quick and easy treat that's ideal for after-school snack, coffee breaks, and late night study sessions. This lightly sweet cake has a soft, tender texture that's delicious any time of day.
Why you'll love this recipe
- This easy coconut cake recipe is quick to make with just a few basic ingredients.
- The flavor of coconut milk cake is mild and the fluffy texture of the moist crumb is amazingly silky.
- Packed in the foil baking pan, this cake can be shipped in care packages.
Coconut milk baking recipes have been very popular on The Monday Box. Baking with coconut milk gives a lovely tropical flavor and a soft, tender texture.
I'm always looking for ways to use this delicious ingredient. The Coconut Milk Cookies recipe was followed by Coconut Milk Chocolate Chip Pound Cake and Coconut Milk Toffee Blondies. Now, Coconut Milk Snack Cake!
The cake is beautifully golden with a heavenly smell. It's simultaneously sturdy enough for shipping yet soft and tender, with such a lovely vanilla-coconut flavor, that adding frosting would be a crime.
Coconut Milk Snack Cake is delicious and 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, this perfect coconut 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!
Ingredients
Instructions
This is an overview of the instructions. The full recipe is in the recipe card below.
- Combine the contents of the canned coconut milk THOROUGHLY. The thick, heavy fat separates from the thin milk and MUST be recombined before using.
- Stir together the dry ingredients with the coconut milk mixture to form the batter.
- Pour batter into a gresed pan and bake for 30-40 minutes.
- Remove the cake from the oven and let the cake cool completely in the pan before cutting or storing.
Storage
Wrapped well or stored in an airtight container at room temperature, Coconut Milk Cake remains fresh for up to 1 week.
If shipping, leave the cooled cake in the disposable pan and ship uncut. Wrap the entire pan first in foil, then in plastic wrap.
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Tips
- Taking the time to thoroughly homogenize the can of coconut milk is essential for best results.
- Coconut Milk Cake has a very mild coconut flavor, almost neutral. For more pronounced coconut flavor add ½ - 1 teaspoon coconut extract.
- Powdered sugar can be added on top right before serving. For shipping include a small ziplock bag of powdered sugar.
- 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.
Related recipes
Made with cocoa nibs for crunch and chocolate flavor, Coconut Milk Cookies are fluffy, cake-like cookies made from a Thai recipe.
Soft, chewy Coconut Milk Toffee Blondies have the tropical taste of coconut.
Coconut Milk Chocolate Chip Pound Cake is a soft, fluffy treat that you'll want to enjoy for breakfast, snacks, and dessert.
Gluten Free Chocolate Cookies are flourless treats with chewy coconut deliciousness.
Coconut Macaroons are chewy coconut cookie balls with no flour and no condensed milk.
Toasted coconut gives Coconut Crunch Cookies lots of great flavor.
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Coconut Milk Snack Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsweetened coconut milk, canned full fat, not low fat
- ¼ cup coconut oil melted
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup unsweetened coconut shredded
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375° F. Grease an 8×8 inch pan with cooking spray (If shipping, use a disposable foil pan.)
- Open the can of coconut milk and combine the contents THOROUGHLY. The thick, heavy fat separates from the thin milk and MUST be recombined before using. This is most easily done in a blender, food processor, or in the bowl of a stand mixer, but can also be done with vigorous whisking. When the fat is completely blended with the liquid the consistency should be similar to dairy cream or milk.
- In a large bowl, stir together the homogenized coconut milk, melted coconut oil, eggs, granulated sugar, and vanilla.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, shredded coconut, and baking powder, then add to the wet ingredients. Mix until just combined.
- Pour 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 on a wire rack before cutting or storing. If shipping, leave the cooled cake in the disposable pan and ship uncut.
- When cooled, the top of the cake can be sprinkled with powdered sugar (optional).
- Wrapped well or stored in an airtight container at room temperature, Coconut Milk Snack Cake remains fresh for up to 1 week.
Notes
Nutrition
First Published: August 27, 2017. Last Updated: December 12, 2023. Updated for additional information and better reader experience.
Anne
Does this cake freeze well? I'm looking to gift this to a mom having her second child. It's for her to freeze until the family wants to eat it. Directions on freezing & thawing out is greatly appreciated.
Wendy Sondov
To freeze the completely cooled snack cake, wrap in plastic wrap then place in a large freezer weight ziplock bag. Thaw at room temperature. For gifting, you might consider baking the cake in a disposable foil pan and wrapping the whole pan for freezing. The pan probably won't fit in a ziplock bag, so double wrap in plastic wrap instead.
Marie
One of my favourite cakes. So easy and delicious.
Alexandra
Made this cake....It was moist and absolutely delicious! My whole family loved it. Thanks!
Tereza
I made this cake and it was absolutely delicious. It was a bit in the dry side buy nice with a cup of tea. Maybe my cup measurements were not too precise. The family enjoyed it too.
Wendy Sondov
I'm glad you enjoyed the flavor. The cake really shouldn't be dry at all. Next time, either weigh your flour (1 1/4 cup = 150grams/ 5.3 ounces) or spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level the top with a knife.
Jodi DeVore
To balance out your comments section, I used your recipe and made a double batch.
My cakes look exactly like your photo.
I bake and post on free item buy nothing groups for low income.people to pick it up, so I will not eat them myself.
I did lick the spatula and it was delicious.
I suggest people make two cakes,.it uses up the whole can of coconut milk.
Thank you for this recipe.
Annu
I am a vegetarian what is the substitute of egg
Wendy Sondov
Sorry. This isn't a vegan website and I have no experience with vegan baking or egg substitutes that might work with this recipe.
Judy
Tried this and was hopeful but it did not come out well. It tasted ok (bit like an impossible tart) but had a dense looking texture. Followed the recipe exactly. Unsure what its meant to be but it wasn’t great, unfortunately.
Wendy Sondov
Sorry to hear that your snack cake did not come out as it should. As you can see from the photos, and read from the other reviews,it should be very clear what this cake is meant to be. This should be a light, fluffy cake and not dense at all. Though I can't know for sure what happened when you were baking this recipe, trouble shooting for others has found that those who don't thoroughly blend the contents of the coconut milk in the can don't get the desired results. The fats separate in the can and if not reincorporated will not distribute properly while mixing (to create air bubbles for fluffy texture) and baking. It is also essential that you use full fat, canned coconut milk (NOT reduced fat, NOT coconut cream, NOT coconut condensed milk). I hope this helps you figure out why your snack cake did not turn out well.
Judith
I figured out the error. I saw the one cup of canned coconut milk but used one can.
I’ve tried it again, doubling the mix so as to not have a random bit of coconut leftover.
The outcome was a bit better texture wise but I now need to adjust baking time as over 30mins seems too long for me.
Will make again as the flavour is really good and it’s relatively simple to make (despite my struggles 😅)
Tania Baldacchino
I’ve just realised after I read your comment, that I too used a whole can of coconut milk! My cake is in the oven now, I guess it won’t come out as good as it should! I’d never have known what I did wrong if I hadn’t read your comment 🤔
Thanks for the recipe anyway, I’ll try it again and I’m sure we won’t throw this one away either!
Tineke
The taste is great but forgetting the flour isn't helpful to make a cake. Now it's a bit like coconut soup LOL. Next time I'll pay more attention to what ingredients I need haha!
Wendy Sondov
Oh no! We've all done something like that at one point or another. You look at the batter and say, "That's awfully thin (or thick or dry)." Then you put the item in the oven and find the forgotten ingredients on the counter. UGH! Better luck with you next try!
Pavi
What is your 1 cup measurement in grams please 🙏
Wendy Sondov
It depends on the ingredient. One cup is a volume measurement and grams is a weight measurement. One cup of coconut milk is 240 grams. I just ask Google, "How many grams in 1 cup of coconut milk".
Christine
I'd like to try this recipe but can I sub the coconut oil? Maybe with olive oil? Or grapeseed oil? Or butter?
Wendy Sondov
I haven't tried making this cake with anything other than coconut oil, however, there have been readers who have commented that they used butter with success. The fat you use in baking can change the texture of the finished product.
Patty
Hi.
I have made this cake and it is absolutely delicious. I have 8 oz crushed pineapple in its own juice left from another recipe. Do you think I could add it to this recipe and if so what changes would I have to make?
Thank you,
Patty
Wendy Sondov
Patty, these are my guesses as I haven't tried adding pineapple. The flavors sound great and I think it would work, however, I think a full 8 ounces may be too much for the cake to hold and it would probably sink to the bottom. You will have to play with the quantities. Maybe start by reducing the added shredded coconut to 1/4 cup and add 1/2 cup of the pineapple. Also, be sure the pineapple is well drained and blotted to remove excess moisture. I hope this helps. I'd love to know how it turns out!
CK
I made it with olive oil since I don't have coconut oil. Came out just fine!
Wendy Sondov
Good to know!
Jada Gauen
So good!
We use instead of shortcake with strawberries.
Cindy St. Peter
Can I use “just egg” product as I am vegan?
Wendy Sondov
I haven't tried baking this cake with an egg substitute, so I'm not sure how it will come out. Have you baked fluffy cakes with "just egg" before? I don't know if egg substitutes help with rise in a cake. You could try it and if the cake is too flat (more like a blondie) then maybe try increasing the baking powder slightly.