Coconut Poke Cake is a cool creamy dessert full of sweet coconut flavor! Sheet cake soaked in cream of coconut with a whipped cream topping.
Summer potlucks wouldn’t be complete without a big, creamy Cake Recipe to share! From colorful Rainbow Poke Cake to rich Chocolate Poke Cake to this light, moist Coconut Poke Cake, we have the perfect poke cake recipe for your Summer gatherings.
Table of contents
Sabrina’s Coconut Poke Cake Recipe
This amazing poke cake is full of light, delicious flavor of coconut and sure to be your favorite cakes for the summer or anytime you are craving coconut. Much easier than our Classic Coconut Cake, this sheet cake comes together in minutes. There’s no need to wait for hours to cool and assemble it. Instead you add the filling to the still warm cake. By the time you whip up the creamy frosting, the cake will be cool enough to add the topping and serve.
One thing that sets this delicious Coconut Poke Cake apart is that the cake base is made from scratch, no box of cake mix needed! It’s a flavorful, easy butter cake that comes together with simple baking ingredients. The filling is a combination of cream of coconut and condensed milk, then it’s topped with an old fashioned stabilized whipped cream frosting. The finished cake is perfect for sharing at your next summer potluck or backyard BBQ party.
Ingredients
- Cake Base: This delicious cake takes just a couple more minutes of prep work but the flavor and tender, soft cake are worth it. The 1 cup of butter, 3 eggs and 1 cup milk give this cake a rich, buttery flavor and make it extra moist. It is lightly sweetened with 1 ½ cup of sugar and 2 teaspoons of vanilla. The dry ingredients are a simple blend of 2 cups of flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, and ¼ teaspoon of salt that you’ll want to sift for a lighter cake.
- Cream of Coconut: Cream of coconut is a sweet, syrupy liquid that is different from coconut cream, which is much thicker and usually unsweetened. It is usually sold near the drink mixers because it’s most often used in drinks like pina coladas. You’ll need 14 ounces cream of coconut, or about ¾ of a regular size bottle.
- Condensed Milk: The sweetened condensed milk adds extra sweetness to the cake and a sticky, thick syrup to make the cake super moist. You use an equal amount, 14 ounces of condensed milk, to the cream of coconut to balance out the bold coconut flavor.
- Stabilized Whipped Cream: The creamy frosting for this easy cake is actually a stabilized whipped cream recipe. This recipe uses 2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin, dissolved in 2 tablespoons of water, to stabilize and thicken up the whipped cream. The whipped cream is made with 2 cups of heavy cream and 1 cup of powdered sugar. The gelatin keeps the cream from melting or losing its shape, making it a great cake for making the day before a party. If you don’t have gelatin, you can also make a similar topping with our Stabilized Whipped Cream recipe that uses cream cheese.
- Shredded Coconut: To add some extra coconut flavor and a little chewy texture to the creamy cake, we added 2 cups of sweetened coconut shreds to the top. Toast the shreds beforehand to bring out more nutty coconut flavor and give the shreds some crunch.
Kitchen Tools & Equipment
- Baking Dish: This baby sheet cake is made in a 9×13 baking dish so that it is thick enough to soak up the filling without getting soggy. The larger, flat cake makes it easier for sharing with a crowd.
- Stand Mixer: We used a stand mixer to cream the butter and to whip up the cream to semi-firm peaks. You can mix everything by hand but you will need to use a whisk to get the whipped cream right.
How to Make
Time needed: 50 minutes.
- Prep for Baking
Preheat the oven. Grease a 9×13 baking pan with baking spray or use regular cooking then dust lightly flour.
- Make the Cake Batter
Cream the butter and sugar in a stand mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl. Add the eggs one at a time to the butter mixture then add the vanilla. On low speed, add the flour mixture and milk alternately, until everything is just combined.
- Bake the Cake
Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and spread to even out. Bake the cake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean with moist crumbs.
- Add the Creamy Fillings
While the cake is still warm, poke holes across the top evenly over the top, about 25 times, using a fork or small dowel. Pour the cream of coconut evenly over the top of the cake into the holes, then repeat with the condensed milk.
- Prep the Topping Ingredients
Mix the gelatin in the cold water in a small bowl and let it bloom for 5 minutes. Add the heavy cream and powdered sugar to a stand mixer. Melt the gelatin in the microwave for 5-10 seconds.
- Make the Frosting
Using the paddle attachment, begin beating the cream and sugar while the gelatin cools. Once cool, add the gelatin to the whipped cream mixture and beat to soft-stiff peaks. The tip of the peak will curve over slightly.
- Frost the Cake
Pour the whipped cream mixture over the cake and spread to an even layer. Sprinkle the shredded coconut evenly over the top. Serve immediately or chill in the fridge.
Can Coconut Poke Cake be made ahead of time?
Some parts of Coconut Poke Cake can be made in advance. You prepare the cake batter the night before but you want to add the cream and condensed milk right after the cake is baked while it’s still warm. You can make the whipped cream topping the night before but if you are serving it for a party, it’s best to add it right before serving.
Nutritional Facts
Coconut Poke Cake Tips & Tricks
Soak the Cake when Warm
The key to getting the cake to soak up all the creamy sauce without getting soggy is to soak your poke cake while the cake base is still warm.
Bloom the Gelatin
You want to “bloom” the gelatin in cold water before heating it and adding it so that it has time to loosen up and dissolve so it doesn’t clump when you add it to whatever you are setting. If you don’t let it bloom, your creamy topping won’t be as smooth and it won’t set properly.
How to Store
Store: When you aren’t serving this cake, it’s best to keep it in the fridge so the whipped cream frosting stays chilled, but it can be at room temperature for up to 2 hours. Store the cake pan covered with plastic wrap, or the lid, in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Freeze: You can freeze this cake, but it’s best to freeze it without the whipped cream topping. If you want to freeze it with a creamy topping, use Cool Whip instead of the stabilized whipped cream. It will keep in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Frequent Questions
If you add too many holes to your poke cake, it will let the liquid pool in places and cause your cake to be soggy. This also happens if the holes are too big, so it’s best to use a fork and just do about 25 pokes over a regular 9×13 cake.
A poke cake is simply a cake that has small holes poked over top of the warm cake and then a liquid, usually creamy like condensed milk, is poured over the cake and allowed to slowly soak into the cake.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
Butter Cake:
- 1 cup unsalted butter , softened
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup whole milk
- 14 ounces canned cream of coconut , this is different than Coconut Cream
- 14 ounces canned sweetened condensed milk
Stabilized Whipped Cream:
- 2 teaspoons unflavored Knox gelatin
- 2 tablespoons cold water
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 3 cups sweetened shredded coconut
Instructions
Butter Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9×13 baking pan with baking spray.
- To stand mixer, add butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, 1-2 minutes.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.
- Add in the eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla extract.
- Alternate adding in the milk and the flour mixture, until just combined.
- Spread into baking pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, until lightly browned and cooked through.
- Poke holes on the top of the cake using a fork, about 25 times all over the cake.
- Pour the cream of coconut and condensed milk over the holes.
Stabilized Whipped Cream:
- Add the gelatin to your cold water in a small bowl and mix. Let it sit, to bloom, for five minutes.
- In your stand mixer add the heavy cream and powdered sugar.
- After the gelatin has set, put it in your microwave for 5-10 seconds to melt the gelatin.
- With your paddle attachment for a minute to start building the peaks of the whipped cream and giving the gelatin time to cool a bit.
- Add in the gelatin and continue beating until you have soft-stiff peaks (where the tip of the peak will still fall but it otherwise holds the same shape).
- Pour the topping onto your cake.
- Spread over the cake and top with the shredded coconut.
Nutrition
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Variations
Boxed Cake Mix: Instead of the cake batter, you can use a box of mix, preferably yellow cake, and follow the box instructions for what ingredients to add. Add an additional egg to whatever the box calls for and replace the water with milk for better tasting cake.
Chocolate: Add delicious chocolate flavor by adding ½ cup mini chocolate chips to the cake batter and to the topping. You could also replace ¼ cup of flour with cocoa power or drizzle your finished cake with Chocolate Ganache.
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