Coconut Coffee Cake.
Why have I waited so long to bring coconut coffee cake into our lives?
I HAVE NO IDEA.
It was the wrong decision. Waiting, that is. Because now I don’t want coffee cake any other way. If you’re a coconut lover like I am, you.are.in.for.a.treat.
Quite literally.
I’ve talked about Mother Lovett’s coconut cake for YEARS, but have never actually made it here for the blog. Her actual recipe writing was lacking – I mean, she baked cakes totally from scratch! Everything was a “suggestion” and she went by how things looked and felt as she stirred, adding flour by spoonfuls, unmeasured. Isn’t that mind blowing? I have such a hard time developing my own baking recipes from complete scratch that is seems impossible. It’s truly an art form, that I’m sure of.
She was living the wild life, right? Recipe rebel.
So I haven’t exactly got to a point that I can replicate that yet. But. We were talking about that cake a few months ago and thought about how amazing it would be if it could be turned into a breakfast cake. Could we do OTHER things with her coconut cake?
Now let me get something straight – no one on my mom’s side needs an excuse to eat cake for breakfast. It’s basically their life motto. Even just yesterday morning, I picked up my mom and she told me that she’d just had the last slice of my chocolate tres leches cake for breakfast. This is real life. And I love it.
All that to say that it got me wondering why I’ve never put coconut in my coffee cake, the huge coconut freak I am. So I made it!
If possible, the coconut added to the batter makes the cake even more tender.
This greek yogurt coffee cake is so, so good. Definitely our favorite out of any other coffee cake. I’ve made this using plain greek yogurt and also using coconut yogurt – amazing every time. And it’s such a hearty cake that it’s acceptable for dessert too. Not only breakfast. Of course.
It’s such a lovely little treat for this spring weekend… and one you should definitely make for yourself.
Coconut Coffee Cake
Coconut Coffee Cake
Ingredients
streusel
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup cold unsalted butter cut into pieces
cake
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon coconut extract
- 1 cup plain greek yogurt, full-fat or 2% is best
- 1 cup sweetened, shredded coconut
coconut glaze and toasted coconut
- 1 (heaping cup) powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon coconut extract
- 1/4 to 1/3 cup coconut milk
- 1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 10-inch bundt cake pan and set aside. Butter and flour is key or use a nonstick baking spray with the flour in it.
Streusel
- Whisk together the sugar, flour, cinnamon, cocoa, espresso powder and salt. Add the butter pieces and using your hands, mix together the flour and butter until the flour is incorporated and in tiny pieces. It’s okay if the mixture looks like SAND!
Cake
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, soda and salt. In the bowl of your electric mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy, then add the sugar and beat for 4 to 5 minutes on medium speed until fluffy, scraping down the sides if needed. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well for a minute or so after each addition. Add the extracts and beat well. Beat in the yogurt, again scraping down the sides if needed.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients with the mix on low speed. Beat until they are just incorporated. Stir in the shredded coconut. Spoon half of the batter into the greased bundt pan. Sprinkle the batter with two thirds of the streusel. Add the remaining batter on top then, swirl in the remaining streusel with a knife. Bake until a wooden pick inserted into the cake comes out clean, about 45 to 55 minutes. My cake needed the full 55 and it was perfect.
- Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Invert the pan on a wire rack and allow the cake to cool completely. Don’t attempt to move it or it will break apart!
- Once cool, drizzle the cake with the coconut glaze. Sprinkle with the toasted coconut. Let set for about 30 minutes then slice and serve.
coconut glaze
- Whisk together the powdered sugar, extracts and coconut milk (start with ¼ cup!) until combined and smooth. If the mixture is too thin, whisk in more powdered sugar about ¼ cup at a time. If it’s too thick, drizzle in more coconut milk 1 tablespoon at a time.
- To toast the coconut, add the flakes to a skillet over medium-low heat. Toss and stir (and shake the pan!) until the coconut is golden and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Don’t walk away! Keep your eye on it the entire time. Remove the skillet and let it cool slightly before sprinkling on top.
Did you make this recipe?
Be sure to follow @howsweeteats on instagram and tag #howsweeteats. You can also post a photo of your recipe to our facebook page.
I appreciate you so much!
Just loooook at that middle.
37 Comments on “Coconut Coffee Cake.”
Pingback: Coconut Coffee Cake - Coconut Coffee Cake Recipe - Kitchenpedia.co
Oh this looks Amazing. I love dense moist cake and my husband is a completely coconut man – just found your blog and will have to try this. Not to mention cocoa and espresso in a streusel!!
thank you K!!
xoxo
:) thanks for the reply. I did make it, and we loved it. The kids ranked it as “the best cake ever” second to Grandma’s cake (although the next morning they found it a little too sweet if that’s possible) and my husband was suitably impressed (and ate it for days).
wow that is so pretty ! what a great bundt pan !
thank you tara!
Looks so delicious! Nothing is better than a homey bundt cake for the weekend with a cup of coffee. Delicious!
thank you natalie!
OMG YES! This looks so good! You mentioned summer Fridays a few posts back…do you think you’ll be doing them again, I loved reading them! Have a happy mother’s day :)
yes yes yes! summer fridays are coming back starting in june. :)
Pingback: Coconut Coffee Cake. – recipequicks
Jessica ~
Wondering if I could replace the flour with Gluten Free flour? Any thoughts.
Thanks.
Corky
i think you probably can! i have not tried it personally though!
Hi there! Love your blog. I read through everything. Your Coconut Coffee Cake caught my eye. I had all ingredients on hand except instant expresso powder. I hot footed it over to the store and luckily found some. I plan to make this delicious sounding coffee cake in my bundt pan for Mothers’ Day. I know it’ll be a big hit and I’ll be making it again and again. Thanks for sharing.
And ~~~ Happy Mothers’ Day!
thank you nancy!
Jessica, this looks so so good!!! Trying this super soon.
thank you sheenam!
I love anything with coconut and this looks delicious. Who could resist a cake that swirls like that bundt pan does. It’s my favorite of all the bundt pans, and makes everything baked in it taste amazing!
thank you so much vicki!
I made this today and it’s delicious! My grandkids begged me for seconds. It was like an amped up amazing coconut donut. I didn’t have yogurt so I used sour cream.
so glad you guys loved it!! xoxo
Wondering if okay to make the night before, or if it’s best just-made?? Thx!
Pingback: This and That - Two Peas & Their Pod
Looks good! Perfect for Sunday brunch with family :)
Every now and then, you make something and I just know that I have to make it ASAP. This was one of those recipes. It’s fantastic and I’m so glad I rushed to make it.
That is a super gorgeous looking cake. Perfect for an afternoon snack with my latte. Thanks for sharing – this has gone straight to the top of my list to try!
Pingback: Paleo Cranberry Coffee Cake | Stress Baking
Have you tried freezing this? Thank you
Hi Jessica,
Do you think I could replace the yogurt with buttermilk? This looks amazing!!
Thanks!
Instant espresso powder…Can I use instant coffee instead??? If so, I can get at this bad boy right now!
Pingback: 23 Recipes to Make at Home for Mother’s Day. – yumism.site
Pingback: Bí quyết làm mứt dừa cà phê THƠM NGON NGÀY TẾT | Bonjour Coffee
Its look so yummy ,try this super soon
Do you think I could replace the butter with advocado oil?
I made it using gluten free flour and came out great. I love it. I can keep on eating it. I love coffee cakes.
this is the BEST cake. i made it for my family this weekend and it got absolutely rave reviews! i only had unsweetened coconut so i used that in place of sweetened in the cake batter, and i also didn’t have time to get coconut extract so i just used more vanilla in its place. it was still perfectly coconutty and wonderful! 10/10 recommend and i will absolutely be making again!
Wow what a great coffee cake…I’ve made a few times and it’s so delicious!