1 Bowl Vegan Coconut Cake
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure here.
This is the easiest vegan coconut cake ever, made in 1 bowl with simple ingredients. Fluffy, light, oh-so-soft and topped with a creamy coconut frosting. If you are a coconut lover, this cake is for you!
I am beyond thrilled with how this cake turned out! It took a few attempts to get it just right, and I’m so excited to share it with you.
I worked hard to make the recipe as EASY as possible, with the end result still tasting like something you’d get from a bakery. I love 1 bowl recipes when it comes to baking, and I was able to achieve it here!
Vegan coconut cake is ultra fluffy and soft. It’s light and moist, instead of being heavy and dense. I used a simple vegan cream cheese coconut flavored frosting, with thin layers of frosting on the cake. This cake is truly delightful, and I can’t wait for you to try it!
How to make it
It really could not be easier!
- Whisk the dry ingredients in a bowl – flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt and sugar.
- Add wet ingredients and mix until just combined – oil, non-dairy milk, vinegar, vanilla and coconut extracts.
- Pour into greased pans and bake.
- Let cool, then frost.
Tips for the best cake
- Grease your pans well and line with a circle of parchment paper. This will prevent your cake from sticking and breaking.
- Do not over mix the cake batter! Your cake will lose it’s fluffiness if you do.
- Cool the cakes completely before frosting, or the cake will slip and break. Also, since this calls for vegan cream cheese frosting, you will need to keep the cake refrigerated so it doesn’t get melty.
- Don’t have access to vegan cream cheese? No problem! Follow the recipe for Vegan Vanilla Frosting instead, adding a teaspoon of coconut extract.
Want more vegan cakes?
- The Best Vegan Chocolate Cake
- Vegan Vanilla Cake
- Vegan Chocolate Sheet Cake
- Vegan Carrot Cake
- Vegan Lemon Cake
- Vegan Red Velvet Cake
- Vegan Strawberry Cake
1 Bowl Vegan Coconut Cake
Ingredients
Coconut Cake
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup neutral flavored oil or melted vegan butter
- 1 1/2 cups non-dairy milk (I used coconut milk, not from a can)
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon coconut extract
Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 ounces vegan cream cheese
- 1/2 cup vegan butter, slightly softened
- 3-4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon coconut extract
- 1 cup shredded fine coconut, optional for topping cake
Instructions
Make the cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease two 8 inch cake pans. I also like to place a circle of parchment paper on the bottom of each pan for easy removal.
- In a large bowl, add the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt and sugar. Whisk well to combine.
- To the bowl with the dry ingredients, pour in the oil, non-dairy milk, apple cider vinegar, vanilla and coconut extract. Mix with a large spoon until just combined, but be careful not to over mix the batter or your cake won't be soft and fluffy.
- Pour into prepared pans and bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Let the cakes cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then carefully remove them and place on a cooling rack. Allow the cakes to cool completely before frosting; you can move them to the refrigerator to speed this up.
Make the frosting
- To a large bowl (you can simply wipe out the bowl you used for the cake), add vegan cream cheese, slightly softened vegan butter (not too soft, or your frosting will be melty), 3 cups of powdered sugar, vanilla and coconut extract.
- With a hand mixer, or stand mixer, mix starting on low, then increase to high until all ingredients are combined and smooth. If the frosting seems too runny, add another cup of powdered sugar. If it still is a bit runny, you can stick it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or so until it firms up a bit.
- Frost the cake as desired, then sprinkle with shredded coconut and serve. Enjoy!
Notes
- You could substitute cake flour for all purpose if desired, but if you do omit the cornstarch as well. Gluten free all purpose flour may work, but I haven't tested it.
- I used melted coconut oil, but you can use canola oil or melted vegan butter as well.
- I loved the cake with a cream cheese frosting, but you could also use my Vegan Vanilla Frosting and add 1 teaspoon of coconut extract to it.
Nutrition
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. Read my full disclosure here
112 Comments on “1 Bowl Vegan Coconut Cake”
This recipe was amazing! So.moist and yummy. If I wanted to make a 9×13 cake though, how would I modify the recipe? Thanks.
You can definitely make a 9×13 cake, just bake it for longer, 35-45 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean in the middle. Thanks!
I wasn’t sure of how this would turn out, with my somewhat limited baking skills but it was so good!
I didn’t have vegan cream cheese but I still wanted my cake to have a nice little kick of some kind so I made the buttercream frosting but added the zest of a lime and some lime juice instead of the milk plus a tiny bit of coconut extract.
The result was a bit tropical and super fresh, everyone loved it!
That sounds totally wonderful, thank you for sharing!
This cake is SO delicious – the texture is unbeatable and the coconut flavor is to die for. I’ve made it several times, using canola oil and vegan butter on alternate occasions, and both have worked beautifully. I’ve started experimenting with replacing some of the flour with dried coconut shreds (the unsweetened kind) and have thus far gone as far as swapping 1/2c flour for 1/2c coconut with much success (and adding in probably another 1/4-1/2c more coconut at the end for good measure). We bake it in an XL loaf pan and leave it unfrosted to have as ‘coconut pound cake’ for breakfast. Thank you for another wonderful recipe!
You’re welcome!
What a treat! Thank you for adding the not over-mixing tip in the recipe. I poured my batter with lumps to make sure I got a moist fluffy cake and man did it deliver! Didn’t have coconut extract so just omitted it all together and added a bit extra vanilla extract instead. Went with a vegan vanilla buttercream frosting and it was delicious! Totally recommend!
Can I sub out the flour for almond flour because rice flour doesn’t work?
No, almond flour won’t work here, sorry! It doesn’t work the same way at all, your cake will be soggy and flat. A gluten free mix will work pretty well.
I’ve made this twice for a birthday party and a friend’s dinner—both times it got rave reviews!! Thank you.
You’re welcome!
It’s SO GOOD!! I used Bobs Red Mill Gluten Free Baking Flour and it turned out amazing. It’s even better 2 days later, surprised it’s even lasted this long!! Definitely making this again, maybe even as cupcakes!
Hi Nora
This looks delicious! What are your thoughts on using coconut sugar instead of the granulated sugar? Thanks!
You could, though the cake will come out brown instead of white, and have a different flavor. Thanks!
Has anyone tried making these as cupcakes? (And gluten free)
Hi , can I substitute the vegan butter with solid extra virgin coconut oil ( for the frosting )?
Thank you
I never have luck with coconut oil based frosting, but you can try it. It might be quite runny.
I halved the recipe to give it a trial run before making it for my mother’s birthday. The first time, it didn’t rise and was very dense, but I added everything together without whisking the dry ingredients and the batter wasn’t pourable. The second time, I made sure I followed the recipe correctly, but it still wasn’t pourable so I added more liquid- both oil and a splash of milk. Still no luck. I just bought the baking powder and the cornstarch isn’t expired. I have had these troubles before with other recipes. Do you have any suggestions?
It’s a little hard to know exactly what’s going on without being in the kitchen with you. If you have had these troubles with other recipes as well, it’s probably something about how you are measuring flour perhaps, or something else. When you measure flour, spoon it into the measuring cup, then level it off with a knife. Don’t pack it down, shake it down, or accidentally scoop a bit too much. Little extra amounts can really throw a cake recipe off balance. The other thing I can think of is if you are using coconut oil and cold milk, which would immediately thicken the oil, causing a thick batter. Hope that helps and you can find a solution!
First of all, thank you for sharing such delicious vegan recipes. My husband and I have loved everything we have made of yours. I am wondering if you could use this recipe as is but swap the coconut extract out for almond extract. We don’t have coconut extract on hand and love almond flavored cakes. Thanks!
Yes, I think that would taste wonderful. And you are so welcome! I’m happy you have been enjoying the recipes.
Can i used canned coconut milk?
I actually would not unless you have to. I tested it and the cake turned out too dense, I think because it is so rich.
Hi Nora! Do you think canned coconut milk would work if it was diluted say 1:1 or maybe 2:1 with water? Do you think that would give me something similar to coconut milk in a carton? I’m asking because I went to the supermarket but couldn’t find coconut extract. I was thinking I could still maybe make the recipe and omit the coconut extract because there’s only 1 teaspoon needed, but I don’t want to lose out on the coconut flavor. Would using coconut oil as the oil help give it a more coconutty flavor? Or should I wait until I have the extract to make this recipe? Thanks
Also, I forgot to ask in my previous comment if you think the diluted canned coconut milk might be better and less dense if I used cake flour instead of all purpose? I know these are a lot of questions and you might not have tried them out but I figured I would just ask
It might not taste quite as coconutty, but I think it will be okay. Using light canned coconut milk may help. But for a more intense coconut flavor, I might wait until you can find coconut extract. It makes a big difference! Hope that helps! Cake flour will be fine as well.
My daughter and I made this cake and frosting yesterday. We have tried to make several vegan cakes in the past and none of them have turned out great. This cake was amazing it gets better as it sits and it’s so delicious, it tastes like a bakery cake. Thank you so much for the recipe this will definitely be a keeper.
Thanks so much for the great comment!!
I have never left a review for any recipe before but you deserve a 5 star rating for this recipe. I made this cake for my son’s 14th birthday yesterday and it was absolutely fabulous. It was light and fluffy and the frosting was delicious! My husband just had a slice for breakfast – haha!
That’s so great to hear! Thanks for the lovely comment!
Can I use Unrefined coconut oil?
Yes, you can.
Could I bake this as one cake (adjusting the baking time)?
Thanks!
If you bake it in a 9×13 inch cake pan you could, and bake it for 45 minutes or so, until a toothpick comes out clean in the middle. Hope that helps!
Hello, this looks very good. ^-^ Do you think I could cut this recipe in half, or even in four? It’s just that I don’t have anyone to bake for and my things always get thrown out, so it would be good to make less. I have a brownie pan that I use to make square cakes in, so the problem of finding a cake pan that fits won’t be a problem. Thank you very much.
I don’t know about cutting it in fourths, maybe, but cutting it in half would work I think. Using a square 8 inch pan would probably be just right. Thank you!
This cake was amazing! I made a regular recipe, and then when I had another baking pan, I made a half recipe. In all, I ended up with a three layer cake. I frosted it with your cream cheese frosting and it was delicious! Definitely on my make again list.
Hi!!! This was my first vegan cake ever and the cake texture came out great but my cake was bitter. I don’t know what I could have possibly done wrong. The only thing I can think of is the coconut extract may have been too chemically? (Is that a word?) The cake rose very well, it was light and fluffy. I did everything according to the recipe list…thank you in advance.
Actually if the cake came out bitter I bet your baking powder has gone bad, or you got a bad batch. This has happened to me and it absolutely ruins a recipe. I don’t think it would be the coconut extract. Try it with different baking powder. Thanks, hope that helps!
The flavor of the frosting and cake was amazing. It was very light tasting and not overwhelming. The texture of the cake was also great. The frosting however was more of an icing for me. I put the max amount of powdered sugar and was scared it would be too sweet if I added more, so it was more of an icing for my cake. I let the frosting chill over night but it was still more of an icing. So I just poked holes in the cake and it became really moist and absorbed the icing really well. It was really tasty. I will make it again for sure
Hi there! I’m not quite sure what you mean by an icing versus a frosting, I think of icing as being very sweet and not using much “butter”, but very spreadable. But it sounds like you are describing that the frosting was too runny, is that correct? In that case, I would wonder what vegan butter you used, and also I would guess it was way too soft when you mixed the frosting. You shouldn’t need to add a ton of powdered sugar to the frosting, unless your butter was too melty and soft when you started. I’m glad you liked the recipe overall though! Next time make sure the vegan butter isn’t too soft when you start, and only add as much powdered sugar to taste, if you don’t like it very sweet.
Before I have seen the ingredients can convert into metric, but how come I don’t see them anymore?
Sorry about that, I forget to convert this recipe. It’s there now!
Thanks alot. Definitely gona try baking this cake?
Do you think this cake could be stacked into three 6inch layers, frosted and decorated? Or is it too delicate? Thanks in advance.
Yes, I do think it would work just fine. Enjoy!
Do any of your baking recipes work at high altitude?
They should work but they are not written for high altitude. I would follow these adjustments probably for success.
I’m currently at 7,000ft altitude and use King Arthur’s website for adjustments all the time…works great!!
Hi Nora, Can I use an almond coconut blend milk? Or canned coconut milk?
Almond coconut blend would be best. Canned coconut milk makes the cake too dense.
Thank you Nora!!
Hi Nora, for the blended coconut milk what’s the portion of water and shredded coconut?
I’m not exactly sure, but I’m talking about the kind in a carton like almond or soy milk comes in, not the can. But you can also use almond, soy or another non-dairy milk. Hope that helps!