This Coconut Custard Cake is a vanilla cake flavored with coconut and layered with a decadent creamy coconut custard and frosted with cream cheese frosting. Cover this cake with shredded coconut for the ultimate coconut cake.

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This recipe was originally posted in 2016 and has been updated in 2019.

I first got to try this cake at Croissant Bakery in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina during a retreat I attended in 2016. Heidi, the owner of Croissant Bakery also wrote a wonderful cookbook, and I just couldn’t wait to share this recipe with you. It’s a coconut lover’s dream.

This Coconut Custard Cake is a vanilla cake flavored with coconut rum and coconut cream. It’s layered with a decadent creamy coconut custard and frosted with cream cheese frosting. To finish it off, this cake is covered toasted coconut for the ultimate coconut cake. There’s no shortage of calories here.

It’s been years since I made this cake and I wanted photograph it again and add some helpful tips for making this cake because it’s such a popular recipe. Needless to say, I treated myself to more than one slice.

The texture of the cake is so light and delicate because it uses cake flour. Normally I don’t make with cakes using cake flour, but it really makes for such a great texture.

The filling is a simple coconut custard, which I could just eat it with a spoon. It’s made with heavy whipping cream, butter and sugar and of course, shredded coconut.

You will mix some of the heavy cream with the corn starch in a small dish. Make sure it’s a liquid consistency because it will better incorporate into the custard and prevent any clumps of corn starch in the filling.

When I pulled it off the stove, it was thick but still a liquid consistency. As it cooled it thicken to the point where I could spread it with a knife.

I actually made it ahead of time and refrigerated it over night before I used it. In order to spread it easily, I let it sit out for about 30 minutes before using it, but if it still is too thick to spread, pop it in the microwave for less than 30 seconds. It shouldn’t be too warm.

The original cake is 4 layers. It was two 9-inch cakes split in half. I decided to use three 8-inch pans instead. So, I had a little bit of leftover filling and frosting.

When it comes time to frost the cake, you’ll be making a traditional cream cheese frosting, but you will not need a lot of powdered sugar. Once you have the cake coated in frosting, use your hands to pat the coconut onto the sides and top of the cake.

This cake is pretty massive, but it’s insanely good and worth the effort.

Helpful tips for making this Coconut Custard Cake

• Measure your dry ingredients. This is really important when you’re baking from scratch because improper measurements can really throw off a recipe. This is my favorite scale, I use it all the time.
• For the cake flour, go to the brand’s website, look up the weight in grams for 1 cup of cake flour to determine the final weight you need for the flour. In my research, there isn’t a straight forward weight for cake flour and it differs by brand. The brand I used was Swan’s Down and 1 cup is equal to 100 grams.
• Start with softened butter, at least 30 minutes at room temperature. Cut you butter into cubes about 1 tablespoon each to help the butter soften faster.
• The recipe calls for the butter and sugar to be beaten for 4-5 minutes, don’t skip this step
• If you don’t have coconut rum, you can substitute with spiced rum

Helpful tips for baking this Coconut Custard Cake

• Do not use bake even stripes when baking this cake, it doesn’t work with this recipe and causes the center of the cake to bake very weird.
• In order to bake even cakes, measure your batter. I used about 2 ¼ cup of batter per pan. There’s a lot of batter in the bowl, so remix frequently and you’re measuring out the batter
• This cake will shrink, I made it 4 times and each one shrank, as this is not my original recipe, I am not sure how to adjust it to prevent the shrinking.
• I rotate my pans in the oven halfway through baking because the bake of my oven is a hot spot, that the cakes bake more evenly. Not all layers will bake for the same amount of time, if one of your layers is done before the others, pull it out of the oven to prevent over baking.

Helpful tip for decorating this cake

• Both the frosting and the filling can be prepared ahead of time and kept in the refrigerator. The cream cheese frosting was still very much spreadable even after sitting the fridge overnight.
• If you find your cream cheese is still too thick, just let it sit out with filling for 30 minutes before using.
• Use your hands to shave off any hard edges or crusts on the outside edge of your cake
• You will have a little bit of leftover frosting and filling since this was originally a 4-layer cake and I turned it into a 3-layer cake. Don’t overfill your layers.
• If you prepared the coconut filling ahead of time and refrigerated it, it might be a little too firm to spread. So, pop it in the microwave for 15-25 seconds until it’s a spreadable consistency. It should not be warm when you spread it.
• Pipe a boarder of frosting around the outside edge of the cake before you fill the center with the coconut custard.
• This is frosted with a rustic, thin layer of cream cheese frosting. That’s okay because we’re covering it in coconut.
• Toasting the coconut is optional, but I love the texture it provided.

Do I need to use cake flour?

Yes, you do have to use cake flour for this recipe. Cake flour and all-purpose flour are not the same. Cake flour has a lower protein content, but bakes up very light and tender cakes.

If you do not have cake flour, you can make a homemade cake flour substitute.

Where do I buy coconut cream?

Coconut milk and coconut cream are not the same thing. Coconut milk is much thinner and a more liquid consistency. Coconut cream is thicker. Both are usually found in the Asian food section at the grocery store. My preferred brand is Thai Kitchen, as it’s the most readily available.

I have baked this recipe with coconut milk when I have not been able to find coconut cream.

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Coconut Custard Cake and Blog N Bake Retreat

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★★★★★ 4.7 from 7 reviews

• Author: Julianne Bayer
• Prep Time: 60 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins
• Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
• Yield: 8-12 slices 1x
• Category: Cake

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Description

This Coconut Custard Cake is a vanilla cake flavored with coconut and layered with a decadent creamy coconut custard and frosted with cream cheese frosting. Cover this cake with shredded coconut for the ultimate coconut cake.

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Ingredients

For the cake:

• 11 tablespoons (158g) unsalted butter
• 2 ½ cups (475g) granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 ½ cups (355ml) heavy whipping cream
• 1 tablespoon (15ml) vanilla extract
• ¼ cup coconut cream
• 2 tablespoons (30ml) coconut (or spiced) rum
• 2 ½ cups (250g) cake flour (I used Swans Down)
• 4 teaspoons (15g) baking powder
• 1 teaspoon (5g) salt

For the filling:

• 1 ¼ cup (296ml) heavy whipping cream, divided
• 4 teaspoons  (13g) corn starch
• 1/2 cup (114g) unsalted butter
• ¾ cup (142g) granulated sugar
• 2 ¼ cups (170g) shredded coconut, sweetened
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

For the icing:

• 1/2 cup (114g) unsalted butter, softened
• 16 oz (452g) cream cheese, softened
• 1 teaspoon (5ml) vanilla extract
• 3 cups (390g) powdered sugar
• 2 cups (151g) shredded sweetened coconut, toasted

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Instructions

1. For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare three 8-inch cake pans by generously greasing the bottom and the edges, and dusting with a coating of flour. If you prefer, you can line the bottom with parchment paper.
2. In a large mixing bowl, fitting with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and sugar and cream together for 4 to 5 minutes until the mixture is lightened in color.
3. Slowly add eggs, one at a time and beating until incorporated. Scrape down the bowl as needed.
4. In a large measuring cup, combine the heavy whipping cream, vanilla extract, coconut cream and rum.
5. In a medium-sized bowl, combine the cake flour, baking powder and salt and whisk until combined.
6. Alternate adding the dry and wet ingredients, starting with the dry ingredients and ending with the wet ingredients. Continuing beating the batter for 2 to 3 minutes until well combined.
7. Divide the batter evenly between the 3 cake pans. Bake at 350° F for 25 to 30 minutes until the cake are done, rotating in the oven halfway through baking. Check for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of the cake. If the toothpick comes out clean, the cake is done. Allow the cake to cool completely. Remove from the pan after 30 minutes or so.
8. For the filling: In a small bowl, combine 3 tablespoons of heavy whipping cream and corn starch and whisk until thickened. Add additional heavy cream if necessary to get a liquid consistency.
9. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat and add remaining heavy whipping cream, sugar and shredded coconut. Heat the mixture, stirring occasionally just until the mixture is nearly boiling.
10. Lastly, add the corn starch mixture and continuing to heat over medium high heat until the mixture is thickened, stirring constantly. Whisk in the vanilla extract last.
11. Set the mixture aside and all it too cool completely.
12. For the frosting: Once the cake and filling has cooled, prepare the frosting. In a large mixing bowl, combine the butter and cream cheese and beat on medium-high speed using the paddle attachment. Beat until smooth and creamy.
13. Gradually add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time. As the mixture thickens, add the vanilla extract.
14. To assemble the cake: divide the coconut filling in half. Place the bottom layer of cake on an 8 or 10-inch cake board. Pipe a dam of frosting around the outside edge of the cake using a large round piping tip.
15. Fill the center with the coconut filling and gently spread evenly. Place the second layer of cake and repeat the above steps.
16. Place the final layer of cake on top. Ice the top and sides of the cake with the cream cheese icing, you don’t need a very thick layer.
17. Use your hands to gently pat the shredded coconut into the frosting, covering the cake as thoroughly as possible.
18. Refrigerate the cake for at least 30 minutes before serving.  Keep covered in an airtight container to prevent the cake from drying out.

Notes

• Recipe from Bonjour Y’all
• Be sure to read through all the tips and tricks shared

More Coconut Cake you might like:

Lemon Coconut Cake