Paleo in PDX

Living, moving & eating well in Portland, Oregon

Coconut Cake with Lemon Coconut Frosting

Coconut cake with lemon coconut frosting.
As you may know, Jesse’s 32nd birthday was New Year’s eve. I always like to do something special for him and this year, I let him choose his cake. Usually I pick it completely, but I guess I still kind of picked it because I showed him different options, but he made the final decision and settled on coconut cake.

Anyway, the cake recipe is compliments of The Food Lovers Kitchen from their cookbook, Make it Paleo. I’ve made this cake two other times, but it turned out the best this time around. Three’s a charm, right? Don’t get me wrong, it was delicious before, but there were a few things I needed to toy with to perfect it. The only ingredient change I make with this recipe is that I swap out the maple syrup for raw honey since maple is a no-go for me. In terms of directions, I bake the cake for less time than the recipe states, and instead of a four-layer cake, I stick with two layers.

Two layers is easier to work with than four.
The lemon coconut frosting is compliments of The Detoxinista. I doubled her recipe after realizing a single batch was not enough for the whole cake. I listed the double recipe below. This frosting is fantastic by the way. It’s the first time I’ve ever made it. When I’ve made this cake before, I made a frosting from dripped 24-hour yogurt. This makes the yogurt a bit thicker and sort of cream cheese-like (a little runnier though). Making The Detoxinista’s recipe was actually a lot less fuss. Plus, I didn’t have any yogurt ready and didn’t have enough time for all the waiting. I think the lemon coconut frosting will be my go-to whenever I make this cake from now on though.
IMG_2736

Coconut Cake with Lemon Coconut Frosting

For the frosting:

  • 3/4 cup coconut oil, melted
  • 2/3 cup full-fat coconut milk, at room temp (or almond milk, which the recipe calls for, but I didn’t have any made)
  • 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp raw honey
  • 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup coconut flour
  • 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
  1. Measure out all the ingredients and toss into the blender. Make sure to measure out the coconut flour exactly — it’s dense, so a little extra can throw the recipe off. Also, this can not be done with a hand mixer or whisk. You need to use a blender and be patient!
  2. Blend for 30-45 seconds or until everything is mixed together well. Pour into a bowl once done. FYI it will not be thick yet.
  3. Place in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours to set. The frosting will be runny after you first mix it, but it does firm up in the refrigerator. Just be patient! I recommend letting it sit overnight.
  4. Before using, remove from refrigerator and mix well. Then, let the frosting soften to room temperature a bit. This will make it easier to spread.

For the cake:

  • 3/4 cup coconut flour, sifted
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 1 cup coconut oil, melted
  • 1 cup raw honey (or maple syrup)
  • 10 eggs, preferably pasture-raised (Yes, 10 eggs! Coconut flour needs a lot of moisture.)
  • 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut plus a little extra for garnishing, if desired

The cakes, post baking.

  1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
  2. In a small bowl, add sifted coconut flour, salt, and baking soda.
  3. In a large bowl or kitchen mixer, combine eggs, vanilla, honey and melted coconut oil. If you don’t have a kitchen mixer, use a hand mixer. It works just fine.
  4. Add dry ingredients to wet and continue blend.
  5. Once batter is blended and smooth, stir in shredded coconut by hand.
  6. Line two 9-inch cake pans with parchment paper and grease the sides of the pans with coconut oil. Pour batter evenly into both pans.
  7. Bake for 25 – 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. My cakes were perfect after about 26 minutes.
  8. Remove cakes from the oven and cool.
  9. Frost one of the cake tops with the lemon coconut frosting and then, stack the other cake on top (stack it top-facing up, flat side down). Then, frost the entire top and sides of the cake. Garnish with a little unsweetened coconut flakes, if desired.
  10. Store any uneaten cake in the refrigerator, as it is perishable.
Wonder what he wished for...

Wonder what he wished for…

Birthday cake beauty.

Birthday cake beauty.

Reader Interactions

Comments

    • It definitely is! It’s my favorite grain-free dessert that I’ve tried. It’s a great special occasion cake, especially since it’s kinda pricey to make, but it’s worth every penny.

      Reply

  3. That’s partly why I deem it a special occasion cake. It’s expensive to make! 1 cup coconut oil, 1 cup raw honey and 10 pastured eggs. Ingredient-dense! It’s totally worth it though!

    Reply

    • Haha 😉 Maybe I get it from mom … like the year she picked a “healthy” brown oatmeal cake that had zero frosting. I think that was my 12th birthday. What 12-year old wants that?

      Reply

  13. One thing I’ve learned (and I just learned this, I’m firmly a baking amateur) is to trim the cake after baking in order to get smooth vertical sides and a flat top if the domed look isn’t your favorite. I did this and the finished cake looked bakery-perfect!

    Reply

    • Good to know! I don’t worry too much about it being perfect, especially when it’s just for Jesse and me. I like it looking a bit more rustic with a domed top anyway 😉 I don’t have a real frosting spreader, so trimming the cake and spreading the frosting on with a spatula or butter knife could be detrimental. I’d be kind of afraid of trimming it anyway since it’s coconut flour, which tends to be a bit more delicate. I’m glad it worked out for you though!

      Reply

  14. I’m looking for a basic cake recipe and remembered how good this one looked…could you tell me a bit about the texture? Is it a heavier, moister cake or lighter/spongier? Thanks!!!

    Reply

  15. I made this cake for a friend’s birthday this weekend and it was such a hit. My friend is diabetic so I halved the amount of honey and replaced it with a bit of stevia in both the cake and the frosting. I upped the lemon juice a bit to hide the bitterness of the stevia. (And I added an extra egg to make up for the lesser amount of liquid provided by the honey.)
    This recipe is a keeper. Thank you!!!! Satisfied the myriad of allergies/aversions that I’m avoiding on behalf of family and friends.

    Reply

    • Wonderful! I’m glad you were able to successfully modify it for your friend! I agree, this recipe definitely is a keeper! I think I’m going to make it again for Easter 🙂

      Reply

  17. Hi! I would LOVE to make this for Easter but I’m on a completely sugar free diet right now due to candida. How much “Just Like Sugar” would I use to substitute the honey? Thanks!

    Reply

    • Sorry, Corinn, but I really don’t know the answer to that. I have no idea what, “Just Like Sugar” is and have never heard of it. Try searching online to see what the equivalent is to 1-cup of liquid sweetener.

      Reply

      • OMG it was so delicious!!! We’re ecstatic!!! I was even inappropriately licking out the blender after I made the icing. :-/ lol For anybody else the does a keto paleo diet, honey is 25% sweeter than sugar. The substitute we use “Just Like Sugar” is all natural & converts cup for cup with sugar. For the icing, in place of the honey, I used a little more than half a cup of my sugar sub & added 2 tbsp extra coconut milk. For the cake, I used 1 and 1/4 cup of my sugar substitute & added 2 tbsp of coconut milk instead of the honey!!! 🙂

        Reply

    • I’ve never had that problem, so I’m not sure. Did you veer off the directions by chance and not blend it in a blender? Mine has always come out smooth when I’ve made it. The only thing I can think of is that your coconut flour didn’t get mixed well enough. This could happen if you mixed it by hand.

      Reply

Trackbacks

  4. […] One that note, let me present a Paleo version of one of the earliest recipes to catch my eye after downloading the app: A Healthier Carrot Cake! I took David & Luise’s brilliant concept of a naturally-sweetened cake packed with carrots, fruit and spices and riffed on it with a grain-free flour combination and subtle other tweaks of my choice. I kept the simple, striking styling from the Green Kitchen Stories but added a dash of cinnamon for good measure. The frosting is a remix of the Lemon Coconut Frosting from Paleo in PDX!  […]

    Reply

  5. […] One that note, let me present a Paleo version of one of the earliest recipes to catch my eye after downloading the app: A Healthier Carrot Cake! I took David & Luise’s brilliant concept of a naturally-sweetened cake packed with carrots, fruit and spices and riffed on it with a grain-free flour combination and subtle other tweaks of my choice. I kept the simple, striking styling from the Green Kitchen Stories but added a dash of cinnamon for good measure. The frosting is a remix of the Lemon Coconut Frosting from Paleo in PDX!  […]

    Reply

  6. […] One that note, let me present a Paleo version of one of the earliest recipes to catch my eye after downloading the app: A Healthier Carrot Cake! I took David & Luise’s brilliant concept of a naturally-sweetened cake packed with carrots, fruit and spices and riffed on it with a grain-free flour combination and subtle other tweaks of my choice. I kept the simple, striking styling from the Green Kitchen Stories but added a dash of cinnamon for good measure. The frosting is a remix of the Lemon Coconut Frosting from Paleo in PDX!  […]

    Reply

  7. […] Make It Paleo’s, grain-free coconut cake. I make it with raw honey instead of maple syrup and use a dairy-free lemon coconut frosting instead of the option they suggest in the book. It is straight up divine. You can check out my variation here. […]

    Reply

  8. […] fruit – and most pies involve cooked fruit.  So, when push comes to shove, I’ll pick Alisa’s Paleo Coconut Carrot Cake.  I do prefer something not so sweet though…I suppose I have too much sweetness in other […]

    Reply

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