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This Coconut Poke Cake is a creamy cake recipe made from scratch. Coconut cake is soaked with sweetened condensed milk and cream of coconut, then topped with coconut whipped cream! It’s a coconut lover’s dream!
Coconut Poke Cake
So if you’re a subscriber to my email list and get emails with each new post, then you may remember getting an email in December with a survey about what you’d like to see in 2017. I got such a great response and am SO thankful that so many of you took the time to respond. Yes, there was a giveaway involved, but still. 🙂 The feedback was awesome and there were quite a few things that many agreed on – videos, some flavor suggestions, etc.
One of those suggestions was more coconut flavored things. It’s funny because I totally felt like I had a fair amount of coconut on the blog. I LOVE coconut! Yet when I went and looked I realized there isn’t that much coconut. How could that be?!? I have a Toasted Coconut Chocolate Ice Cream Cake, a Coconut Blondie Cheesecake, a Chocolate Coconut Layer Cake and a few other things that have coconut but aren’t predominately coconut-y and like, that’s it. WHAT?! Although to be fair, there are some pina colada flavored desserts, and honestly isn’t that the best way to eat coconut? 😉
So yea, today I begin to fix the lack of coconut. And I started with this super simple and oh-so-easy poke cake. It’s pure coconut all the way. Lot’s of coconut, a bunch of flavor and ready in a flash! If you need a coconut fix, this is your cake.
How to Make Coconut Poke Cake
To begin, there’s the coconut cake. It’s totally from scratch, but you could use a box mix if you prefer. Truthfully though, there shouldn’t be any need to. This is basically the easiest cake to put together. Mix together the dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately, combine them, add some water, bake. Bam! You’ve got a super moist and fluffy, delicious cake!
Poke the cake with holes all over (hence the name “poke cake”). I use a big knife sharpener rod – it’s super old school and I don’t even know where I got it – but it’s the best poke cake tool ever. You could use a straw, the end of a spatula handle, whatever you have handy. Just get some holes in there.
Combine some sweetened condensed milk and cream of coconut and pour the mixture over the cake, spreading it all over to make sure some goes in all the holes. This gives the cake even more moisture and even more coconut flavor. I love it! It’s one of the best parts of a poke cake – so moist it’ll stay awesome for daaaayyyssss.
On top of the cake is the homemade coconut whipped cream. Again – super easy. Toss everything in a bowl and whip until you’ve got stiff peaks. You could go the easy route and use a ready made whipped topping and add some coconut flavor, but once you’ve made homemade whipped cream you probably won’t ever go back. Just sayin’.
The cake is topped off with some toasted coconut for extra flavor, texture and because it’s pretty. 🙂 The final cake is to die for! So much coconut, so little time. Grab a fork and dig in!
More Coconut Dessert Recipes
- Coconut Cheesecake
- Coconut Chocolate Cake
- Coconut Macaroon Cupcakes
- No Bake Salted Caramel Coconut Macaroons
- Coconut Custard Cake
Coconut Poke Cake
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 28 minutes
- Total Time: 48 minutes
- Yield: 12-14 Servings
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
This Coconut Poke Cake is a creamy cake recipe made from scratch. Coconut cake is soaked with sweetened condensed milk and cream of coconut, then topped with coconut whipped cream! It’s a coconut lover’s dream!
Ingredients
Coconut Cake
- 2 1/2 cups (325g) all purpose flour
- 2 cups (414g) sugar
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup (240ml) milk
- 1/2 cup (120ml) vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 tsp coconut extract
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup (180ml) water
- 3/4 cup (180ml) sweetened condensed milk
- 1/2 cup (120ml) cream of coconut
Whipped Cream and Coconut Topping
- 2 cups (480ml) heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup (115g) powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp coconut extract
- 1 1/2 cups toasted coconut
Instructions
To Make the Coconut Cake
- Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C). Prepare a 9×13 inch cake pan with non-stick baking spray and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Sprinkle the shredded coconut on the baking sheet in a thin layer. Place the tray in the hot oven until the coconut is light golden brown and fragrant, approximately 8-10 minutes. Let cool.
- Add the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt to a large mixer bowl and combine. Set aside.
- Add the milk, vegetable oil, coconut extract and eggs to a medium sized bowl and combine.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and beat until well combined.
- Slowly add the water to the batter and mix on low speed until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to make sure everything is well combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for 28-30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs.
- Remove the cake from the oven and poke holes all over the top of the cake.
- In a small bowl, combine the sweetened condensed milk and cream of coconut.
- Pour sweetened milk mixture over the top of the warm cake, allowing it to soak into the holes. Let cake cool completely.
To Make the Whipped Cream and Finish the Cake
- Place the heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar and coconut extract into a large mixer bowl. Whip on high speed until stiff peaks form.
- Spread the whipped cream over the top of the cooled cake and cover with toasted coconut.
- Refrigerate the cake until ready to serve. Cake is best for 3-4 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Slice
- Calories: 564
- Sugar: 52.2 g
- Sodium: 258.9 mg
- Fat: 28.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 72.3 g
- Protein: 7.8 g
- Cholesterol: 73.2 mg
Categories
Enjoy!
Can I add a a layer of coconut pudding on top after cream mixture sets in and then Cool Whip?
Sure!
I made this recipe last night and it was a disaster. The recipe has to be wrong. I have made these cakes plenty of time and never had an issue. The cake never baked correctly. It was gross.
I Love coconut. And this cake was pure perfection. Not too sweet, no need for added ice cream, it’s Moist and perfect on its own. Such a winner!
Awesome! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Do you have a white cake instead of yellow
I don’t.
Great recipe! I made it GF. So moist and good!
Absolutely amazing! Cake is so moist. We made this with a gluten free blend. The entire family loved it!
Hi Lindsay,
Do you happen to have a white (not yellow) cake recipe that would work well with this? In 9×13?
Thanks!
Sara
I don’t have a specific white cake recipe at this time, sorry!
OK, thanks for getting back to me. Hope you’re feeling well!
can I substitute gluten free flour for the all purpose flour
I haven’t tried it, but I think it would work.
Hi,
The cake looks superb. I wana try this one for my friend who is a coconut fan however a vegetarian. Could you please provide an alternative to eggs?
I took a gamble and used this cake recipe for cupcakes. They turned out PERFECTLY! I know I’m *very* late to the party, but after making your Lemon Cake with Bavarian Cream TWICE (it was so good, I had to make a second one a week later), I am HOOKED on your website! You’re such a talented baker, and your blog posts are a joy to read. Can’t wait to buy your cookbook! Thank you!!
Thanks so much Brie! So glad you enjoyed them!
Hi…what can be used instead of eggs??
Thanks Brie…I was wondering if it would work for cupcakes!
Worth every calorie
So glad to hear it!
How can I make this into a three layer cake instead of a sheet cake?
Check out this cake – it’s the same but vanilla. Just swap out the vanilla for coconut and you’ve got the same cake in three layers.
hai Lindsay,
If i may ask, is the end result will be super sweet? if i cut the sugar amount, will it change the cake texture?
I don’t find it to be super sweet, but that’s probably a preference thing. You could try reducing the sugar, but reducing it by too much would likely affect the texture and moisture of the cake.
Hi Lindsay, can I use coconut milk instead of coconut cream? This cake looks delicious and i want to try it ASAP! Thanks for your response
I haven’t really used coconut milk before, but I believe they are probably a bit different in consistency and flavor. You could certainly try it, I’m just not sure if it’d give the same flavor to the cake.
Hi Lindsay,
Can coconut emulsion be used instead of coconut extract?
That should be fine.
Just made this and it was a huge success. Thanks Lindsay!
I just made this cake for my mother in law’s birthday and it was a hit! Will definitely be making this again. Thanks!
So glad you enjoyed it!