This Coconut Sheet Cake is easy to make and is loaded with delicious coconut flavor! This cake is the perfect potluck dish, it’s extra moist with a simple and delicious frosting.
I’m always on the lookout for a good sheet cake recipe. The simplicity of sheet cakes has always been attractive to me—just mixing the batter, spreading it, baking it, and topping it. What could be easier? And yet, many typical “potluck” sheet cakes just aren’t all that good. They’re either too dry and crumbly or too plain. (Or worse, both.) So, when I find a recipe like this one, I have to share it. This coconut sheet cake recipe is seriously one of my favorite cake recipes out there. It’s sweet, dense, and super moist. (Everything I love in a cake!) But it doesn’t lose that simplicity that makes sheet cakes so darn awesome.
Give it a try. You won’t be able to resist that second slice.
Recipe Notes:
- Use eggs at room temperature for this dish so they don’t cook when added to the saucepan.
- Use full-fat sour cream. While that isn’t a typical ingredient for me, it is the exact right choice for this recipe as it adds a really nice (and necessary) richness to balance out this sweet cake.
- The completed batter will seem pretty runny. Don’t worry, you didn’t make a mistake. It’s supposed to look like that, I promise.
- A full 10 x 15 pan is necessary for baking. You might be tempted to try a 9 x 13 pan instead. Don’t. In a smaller pan, the cake just won’t cook right.
- It is important to cook this cake all the way through. A cake with this moist of a texture won’t stay together—or taste very good—underbaked. Cook the coconut sheet cake until the top has a nice golden color. The old toothpick method will help here as well. Just insert a toothpick into the very center of the cake. If it comes out completely clean, then your cake is cooked through.
More Coconut Love?
- Coconut Layer Cake – one of my favorite coconut cakes!
- Coconut Banana Cream Pie – a triple dose of coconut
- Coconut Pie Bars – rich coconut cream filling!
- Easy Coconut Macaroons – sweet, sticky & oh so good!
- Ultimate Coconut Cream Pie – deliciously fluffy
Coconut Cake
Ingredients
CAKE
- 1 cup butter
- 1 cup water
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 ½ cups sweetened flaked coconut
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon coconut extract
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
ICING
- ½ cup butter
- ¼ cup milk
- 4 ½ cups confectioner's sugar
- 1 teaspoon coconut extract
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 1 ½ cups sweetened flaked coconut
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 Degrees. Spray a 15X10X1 inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- Bring butter and water to a boil in a large saucepan. Remove from heat and mix in flour, sugar, flaked coconut, eggs, sour cream, coconut extract, vanilla, salt, and baking soda. Stir until mixture is evenly combined.
- Pour batter into prepared baking pan and bake 18-22 minutes (until the top is nicely golden and a toothpick comes out clean).
- Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, add milk and ½ cup of butter and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in confectioners sugar, coconut extract, and vanilla until smooth. Pour icing over warm cake then immediately sprinkle with flaked coconut. Cool completely before serving.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
Like our recipes?
Follow us on Pinterest!
I would love to try the sheet cake but I would love make a healthy version can you please give me advice on how to without losing the yummy.
Maggie
I’ve have only made this as written. Let us know how it works out if you try it.
Hi
I am writing to you from the UNITED KINGDOM.
We do all our baking by measuring the ingredients, please tell me how many grams or ounces are in your 2 cups of flour?
1 cup of flour her is about 5 ounces or 140 grams.
Thanks
This was good as I LOVE coconut, but WAY too sweet!!! I will try it again with half the sugar that recipe calls for next time and let you know.
Love all things coconut! I always wanted it as a kid for my birthday cake. Can’t wait to try this one!
Enjoy Debbie!
So glad I popped over here for this recipe, because I also discovered your coconut layer cake. I’m trying both! Thanks!
I hope you enjoy them Jodi! :)
Coconut cake is my favorite. It was even our wedding cake! Sheet cakes are also my favorite because I’m kinda too lazy for layer cakes. I want to try your version!
I love that your wedding cake was coconut!! :) I hope you enjoy this one!
The recipe doesn’t show eggs but it mentions them in the directions after the ingredients. How many eggs?
Thank you Marie, the post has been updated and you will require 2 eggs.