**Originally posted July 2015 – updated July 2021**
Eek! Today I’m super excited to share this Triple Coconut Rum Cake for Zainab‘s virtual baby shower! It’s no secret that Zainab LOVES coconut, so some other bloggers and I got together to share a BOATLOAD of coconut recipes. I’m serious, there’s like thirty of them.
I knew I needed to make something overflowing with coconut flavor for Z’s baby shower. It’s funny because I didn’t used to like coconut, and actual shredded coconut still isn’t exactly my favorite thing. But it has definitely grown on me, and I love coconut when it’s toasty and crunchy. And pretty much anything with coconut rum in it, so there’s that.
Zainab and I also share a great love of baking and cakes, so I knew immediately that I had to make a layer cake. This Triple Coconut Rum Cake was made using three 6 inch pans, but you could use two 8 inch pans instead. I love making 6 inch cakes because I can make them taller without creating a HUGE, massive cake. Like I really don’t need a three layer 8 or 9 inch cake taunting me in my apartment for a couple days, right?
To pack as much coconut flavor into this cake as I could, I used coconut extract, coconut milk, shredded coconut, and toasted coconut. The extract flavors the cake and the frosting. The rum is in the frosting as well, and a coconut rum soak is brushed on the cake layers before they’re frosted. There’s shredded coconut in the cake batter and toasted coconut between the layers. And instead of buttermilk, which I like to use in most of my cakes, I used coconut milk. But you can totally use buttermilk if you’d like!
But let me tell you, all that coconut pays off because this cake turned out wonderfully on the first try! It’s the perfect way to celebrate Zainab’s little blahnik baby and this exciting time for her and her family. Zainab has always been so great and helpful to me, including me in blogging groups and those kinds of things. She is always so willing to help whenever I have a question or need blogging advice. I feel so lucky to consider her a blog friend! She totally deserves the best and I wish her SO much luck in this new phase of her life. 🙂
MORE COCONUT RECIPES
Toasted Coconut Key Lime Pie
Coconut Dream Cake
Coconut Margaritas
Triple Coconut Rum Cake
Ingredients
coconut cake
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup shredded coconut
- 1 cup butter softened
- 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp coconut extract
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup coconut milk (or buttermilk)
- 1/4 cup coconut rum to brush on cake layers
coconut frosting
- 1 cup butter softened
- 1 tsp coconut extract
- 2 tbsp cream or milk
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 2 cups toasted coconut
Instructions
for the coconut cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line three 6 inch cakes (or two 8 inch cakes) with cooking spray and parchment paper.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and shredded coconut.
- In another bowl, cream butter and sugar together on medium speed with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add the coconut extract and the eggs. Mix until completely incorporated.
- Add half of the flour mixture and half of the coconut milk, and mix well. Repeat with the second half of the flour mixture and the coconut milk.
- Divide cake batter among the prepared pans and bake for 20 minutes, or until the center is set and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean. Let cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- When cakes are cool, brush the top of each cake layer with coconut rum.
for the coconut frosting
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter until smooth and there are no lumps. Add the coconut extract, cream, then add half of the powdered sugar. Mix on low speed until just combined, then medium-high speed until powdered sugar is incorporated. Repeat with the second half of the powdered sugar.
assembly
- Place one cake layer on a cake stand and top with coconut frosting and a layer of toasted coconut. Repeat with the other two layers.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Check out the rest of the wonderfully coconut-crazy recipes in the group. Get your bakeware and cooking utensils ready, there’s a whole lot of delicious going on here!
Blackberry Coconut Cupcakes, by Baking a Moment
Blueberry Coconut Meusli Bars, by The Spiffy Cookie
Blueberry-Ginger Coconut Cheesecake Popsicles, by Floating Kitchen
Caramel Coconut Cluster Bars, by Eats Well with Others
Chocolate Coconut Cake, by Brunch with Joy
Coconut Breakfast Pudding with Sauteed Nectarines, by Cooking and Beer
Coconut Cake, by I am Baker
Coconut Cream Pie Ice Cream, by The Recipe Rebel
Coconut Energy Bites, by The Kitchenarium
Coconut Key Lime Angel Food Cake Roll, by Flavor the Moments
Coconut Key Lime Pie Cookie Bars, by Two in the Kitchen
Coconut Key Lime Macarons, by Life Made Sweeter
Coconut, Lime, and White Chocolate Milkshake, by A Clean Bake
Coconut Pineapple Banana Smoothie, by The Bitter Side of Sweet
Coconut Pineapple Fried Rice with Shrimp, by Healthy Nibbles and Bits
Coconut Sweet Potato Muffins, by Luci’s Morsels
Double Chocolate Chip Cookies with Toasted Coconut, by The Cooking Actress
Key Lime Coconut Button Sandwich Cookies, by Culinary Concoctions by Peabody
Key Lime Coconut Pound Cake, by Grandbaby Cakes
Lavender Coconut Macarons, by Broma Bakery
Macaroon Tarts with Ginger Coconut Whipped Cream and Pineapple, by A Cookie Named Desire
Mango Coconut Donuts, by Chez Catey Lou
Mango Coconut Smoothie, by Jessica in the Kitchen
Mango Summer Cake, by Keep it Sweet Desserts
Mini Coconut Cream Pies, by Hip Foodie Mom
Pina Colada Pie, by Life, Love, and Sugar
Skinny Blueberry Lime Scones, by Club Narwhal
Spiced Lentils with Toasted Coconut, by This Gal Cooks
Toasted Coconut Banana Meringue Pie, by The Sweet {Tooth} Life
Triple Coconut Rum Layer Cake, by bethcakes
Tropical Pineapple Coconut Sangria, by Shared Appetite
White Chocolate Coconut Key Lime Cookies, by Culinary Couture
This is so sweet to throw her a virtual baby shower!! I love this overload of coconut, it looks so moist and amazing!
Thanks, Julia! Virtual baby showers are so fun 🙂
Such stunning photos of a beautiful cake!
Thanks, Lauren!
Oh my gosh girl- you weren’t kidding! This is coconut to the max and Zainab would absolutely adore it! Love this fabulous creation and LOVE the cake stand too! (I always have such a hard time finding stands for 6-inch cakes; where did you get it???) Thank you so much for being a part of this today! Z is so thrilled! xo
I never kid about cakes, Allie. 😉 Thanks so much for organizing all this & including me, so fun!!
I forgot to answer your question! I can’t remember where I got this cake stand, but I’ve gotten one at Target and another one at Marshall’s. 🙂
What a gorgeous cake! Love the coconut + rum combo, very tropical 🙂
Thanks, June!
Delicious! Love the addition of rum here. Perfect baby shower food 🙂
Completely acceptable baby shower food 😉 Thanks, Sarah!
I love naked cakes! This one is truly a stunner!
Thanks, Meriem! Sometimes a naked cake is the way to go!
awesome looking cake Beth. ill bet it tasted great!
Thanks! I’ll have to make one for you sometime 🙂
Yay for gorgeous coconut cakes like this! I’m in love!
Thanks, Laura!
I’ve only made coconut cake once and it was before I saw the light and liked coconut (I made the cake for a friend). I must try this one, it sounds awesome!
Double EEEK! This cake is gorgeous. And yes, boatloads of tropical recipes today. I’m loving it! XO
Oh how I love coconut!! This cake sounds dreamy! And it’s so pretty too! I always love the way cakes look when the sides are unfrosted!
I love the theme of the virtual shower and this cake looks stunning! Love all the flavor packed into it and the photos are lovely 🙂
I LOVE all the layers of coconut flavor in here! I can imagine how delightfully moist it is! Such a fun roundup of coconut recipes for Z today!
Luci’s Morsels | fashion. food. frivolity.
What a truly beautiful cake Beth! So many gorgeous layers and coconut everywhere! Zainab is one lucky lady! 🙂
This cake is gorgeous I’m loving all the coconut (and the rum too, of course!)!
THIS CAKE!!! It’s epic Beth. You know how to make this coconut lover happy because all the layers of coconut flavor are just making me drool. Thank you so much for the shower 🙂 xoxo
Obsessed with this cake! I’m a coconut addict, and it looks right up my alley. With rum? Yes, please!
What a stunner of a cake.
Beautiful and I bet it tasted great too! Happy baby shower Zainab!
This cake is stunning, Beth! The layers are gorgeous! I love all the coconut you packed in here! So perfect for Z’s shower!
BETH! this cake is GORGEOUS!!!! I’m going to make this!!! and thank you so much for joining the celebration today!!!! I know Z felt the love!
I also love toasty, crunchy coconut and this cake looks like the perfect way to celebrate Z and Mr. j and their lil baby!
Wow, this cake is a stunner!! I love “naked” frosted cakes where the sides peek out. I don’t know what it is about them but they are so simple and rustic and endearing to me. I totally share your affinity for 6″ pans, for the same reason. Unless I know I am cooking for a crowd, a 6″ layer cake is the perfect size!!
This is such a gorgeous cake!!!
Beth I am dying over this cake – it is s coconut lovers dream come true!!! And I love how you styled it – so amazing!
I just discovered Coconut Rum in Hawaii and I’m HOOKED. It’s the best stuff ever! This cake is gorgeous!
This cake looks SO GOOD, Beth! Love the splash of rum in here!
I made this cake last week and it was delicious my family loved it, thanks so much for sharing it with us, I definitely will continue making it in the future.
Hi, your instruction say to line three 6 inch cakes (or two 8 inch cakes) with cooking spray and parchment paper, do I line just the outside edges of the pan with the parchment paper and spray the bottom, or line sides and bottom and spray?
Thanks! Can’t wait to bake this!
Hi, David! I’m sorry my wording on that is weird and could definitely be clearer. Cut a circle of parchment paper to lay flat in the bottom of each cake pan. Or a square that fits flatly into the bottom is fine. It doesn’t need to go up the sides. Then spray the paper and the sides of the pans. Sometimes I will spray the bottom of the pan before the parchment paper too, so the parchment will stick to it, and then spray over it again. I hope this helps!
I would love to make this however, I would have to double it. What size cake pans would I need to double it in size?
Hi Beth,
I just found this recipe and I can’t wait to make it for my mom’s birthday tomorrow! She loves coconut buuut she also love pineapple…do you think it would work to throw some small caramelized pineapple pieces in to the batter? Or maybe they’d be better in the middle frosting layer? Let me know your thoughts on incorporating a little pineapple flare into this gorgeous recipe! 🙂
Sam
Hi Sam! I think you could totally throw some pineapple in the batter! Sounds great in the batter or the frosting, really. 🙂 Enjoy!
Despite a scew up on my part (accidently put chicken stock into the batter instead of coconut milk for the first addition) this cake came out perfectly and got rave reviews. The person whose birthday I had made it for said it wasn’t just delicious, it was the best cake he’d ever had. I never told anyone about my oops secret ingredient. I just subscribed to your mailing list and am looking forward to making more of your creations. Thank you for this fantastic recipe…Elise
Hi Beth,
Would you recommend using in the cake batter tiny flakes of coconut or coarsely shredded coconut?
Thanks,
Maya
Hi Beth. This cake looks divine. I am wondering if you have the recipe in metric instead of cups?
thanks.
Can you run me through making the icing? The icing ingredients list cream, but then the directions don’t use that — is the cream the amount of rum instead that is mentioned in the directions?
The 1/4 cup of rum in the cake directions — is that the amount you brushed on?
Hi! Sorry for the confusion! I adjusted the wording in the recipe so hopefully it makes more sense. There isn’t any rum in the frosting (sorry for the typo!) and yes, the 1/4 cup rum is reserved for brushing onto the baked cake layers. Hope this helps!
This triple coconut rum cake recipe is a tropical paradise in every bite! So delicious and perfect for any occasion.
Thanks for sharing Beth