This Coconut Oil Pound Cake is perfumed with coconut, moist, and just a tad springier than traditional pound cake, and it is absolutely delicious. Keep reading for more on Bundt Bakers this month! Affiliate links have been used for items I am discussing.
OK I have a question for the photography buffs and food bloggers, and then I will get to the cake. But I have spent half the night trying to understand Photoshop, and it is making my brain itch! I love Lightroom, but the time has come to upgrade. The $10/month Creative Cloud deal would be great (always updated versions of Lightroom and Photoshop) if I had the slightest idea what to do with Photoshop. Now don’t laugh at me but I spent like 2 hours teaching myself to make this college for Pinterest:
What do you think, was it worth 2 hours? Ha! Actually in all seriousness, are you more likely to pin the top image or the collage? And why am I going to all this trouble? Well if I don’t use Photoshop at all I just cannot see paying for the Creative Cloud… in which case I guess I am looking at buying the newest Lightroom. Or something. We’ll see. And I think I better fogure it out soon before I spend more time figuring out Photoshop. Talk about not intuitive! For me anyway.
So anyway, about this awesome cake! The theme this month for Bundt Bakers was Coconut, as chosen by our host Terri from Love and Confections (as always serious props to the host for hosting!). I am going to pause right here and talk a little bit about coconut. If you love shredded coconut, especially sweetened shredded coconut, you can skip this paragraph. But I hate the stuff. Passionately. It squeaks! And is too sweet! And as a result I always thought I hated coconut desserts. Nope, not true actually. I discovered extra virgin coconut oil and Bob’s Red Mill Unsweetened Flaked Coconut (Bob’s Red Mill is the easiest to find and the first I tried but I have enjoyed other brands as well)
and have never looked back. So if you think you hate coconut, I definitely recommend you check out these products out and see if you really hate coconut!
So referring back to said appreciation of extra virgin coconut oil, I knew I was starting with it. I came across this Coconut Oil Poundcake With Almonds and Lime Zest from Melissa Clark in the New York Times, and thought it looked wonderful. I changed it up a bit though because I also decided I wanted to amp up the coconut flavor and use flaked coconut. Because I was using a bundt pan, I could not bake the flakes into the cake as she does with the almonds. So instead I toasted the coconuts on the stovetop and then added sugar, salt and water to make a glaze.
This glaze was to die for. Both my girls had play dates over, and every kid in the house (except Sammy my coconut hater) was trying to swipe the dripping glaze off the counter (the spillover underneath the bundt cake). The toasted flaked coconut flavor permeated the glaze, and the salt kept it interesting. This cake was a huge hit and is long gone.
Be sure to check out the links down below for more awesome coconut bundt cakes!
- 1 cup extra virgin coconut oil
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 1/2 cups milk, room temperature
- 6 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 t vanilla
- Zest of 2 limes
- 3 1/2 cups (440 g) AP flour
- 3 1/2 t baking powder
- 1/4 t grated nutmeg
- 1/2 t fine sea salt
- heaping 1/2 cup unsweetened flaked coconut
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 cup water
- hefty pinch of kosher sea salt
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Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour (I use a combo baking spray) a 9-10 inch bundt pan. I recommend choosing a bundt design that is a little flat on top, to allow the coconut flakes somewhere to stick. If you use the smaller bundt pan, you will have a little batter leftover for mini loaf cakes. Set aside.
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Melt the coconut oil in a small pan or microwave. Add it to a large bowl and whisk in the sugar, milk, eggs, vanilla and lime zest.
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In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, nutmeg and salt. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until incorporated--but do not overmix. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan(s). Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, maybe 20 minutes for mini loaf cakes and about 60 minutes for the bundt cake.
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Let set in pan for 15 minutes before inverting onto a cooling rack with wax paper placed under it.
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While the cake is baking, make the glaze: toast the coconut flakes over medium heat until light tan in color and quite fragrant with coconut. Add the water, sugar and salt--much of the water will instantly evaporate from the heat which is fine, that is why there is twice as much water. Bring to a boil and stir until the sugar is dissolved and clear. Then remove from the heat.
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When the cake has been inverted onto a cooling rack, scrape the sticky coconut flakes onto the top of the cake. Just do your best to distribute them evenly and do not worry about it beyond that. Then pour the glaze over the flakes to help them stick and to allow the glaze to coat and permeate the cake.
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Let cool completely before slicing.
#BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on the BundtBakers home page.
We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.
If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send Stacy an email with your blog URL to foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com.
Here are today’s Coconut themed Bundt Bakers:
Almond Joy Bundtlettes from Sew You Think You Can Cook
Candy Bar Chocolate Coconut Bundt Cake from Love and Confections
Chocolate Italian Cake from Magnolia Days
Coconut & Banana Bundt Cake from Just One Bite Baking
Coconut Banana Bundt Cake from Basic N Delicious
Coconut Carrot Bundt Cake from Media Racion Doble, Por Favor
Coconut Cream Bundt Cake from Adventures in All Things Food
Coconut Hummingbird Bundt Cake from Patty’s Cake
Coconut Milk Bundt Cake from I Love Bundt Cakes
Coconut Oil Pound Cake from The Spiced Life
Coconut Sugar Banana Cake from A Kingdom for a Cake
Cranberry and Coconut Bundt Cake from La Cocina de Aisha
Cranberry, Orange and Coconut Bundt Cake from Kids & Chic
German Chocolate Bundt Cake from The Freshman Cook
Glazed Chocolate Macaroon Bundt Cake from Food Lust People Love
Gluten-free Coconut Orange Bundt Cake with Coconut Whipped Cream from Cassie’s Kitchen
Gizzada Mini Bundts from Passion Kneaded
Key Lime Coconut Cream Bundt from A Day in the Life on the Farm
Mini Samoa Bundt Cakes from Making Miracles
Orange & Coconut Bundt Cake from Living the Gourmet
Oreo Coconut Bundt Cake from Indian Curries/Stew
Pina Colada Bundt Cake from Jane’s Adventures in Dinner
Toasted Coconut and Sweet Potato Bundt from Tea and Scones
Toasted Coconut Lime Bundt Cake with Chili Lime Glaze from Brooklyn Homemaker
I love coconut in all forms and so I know I’d love this cake.
And I don’t know a thing about Photoshop. I use Lightroom and make collages with PicMonkey.
I do use Photoshop and learned everything from this tutorial: http://diethood.com/food-photography-edit-photos-photoshop/. For the collages, I make them in picmonkey, which is free and super easy. 🙂
I am a coconut lover, but i do really like that the infusion of it comes from coconut oil and not loads of shredded coconut. Such a gorgeous bundt!
Thanks for that link! I will check it out!
That is one absolutely stunning bundt! I love the big flakes of coconut on top, and it sounds so delicious! I have no clue about photoshop either and have been thinking about trying to get into it but haven’t gone for it just yet. Good for you for forcing yourself to learn. It’ll get easier and faster I’m sure! I do all my photo editing in iPhoto and Preview.
I know that longer photos tend to work better for pinterest – Thats why I usually take all my photos vertically rather than horizontally.
Oh how I struggle with Photoshop as well! I know there are tutorials online, I just need to find the time to sit down and work through learning it all… but I’d rather be baking. Your cake looks absolutely fabulous – love it!
I would pin the bottom photo! Your pictures are all so pretty. I couldn’t figure out photoshop either and don’t have the patience to learn it. I, like you, prefer lightroom. To make collages I use picmonkey.com – free and easy. Best of luck!
Your cake looks lovely whichever way you choose to look at it! I found Photoshop frustrating and time consuming and use PicMonkey for more or less all my editing. Having said that good photographers urge me to take some time and learn to use Pthotoshop
What a wonderfully looking moist cake, I also like your toasted coconut topping, yum!!
Gorgeous bundt! I love the look of the toasted flaked coconut on top. The top picture is my favorite, There are a lot of those super long collage pins that are getting really annoying. I like plain and simple one picture, but that’s just me. Thanks for participating!
It looks gorgeous & moisty 🙂
#BundtBakers may be my new favorite hashtag. I dig that scalloped pan you use; what a lovely looking cake. And I was not aware that, like olive oil, there is “Extra Virgin” coconut oil
I love all your photos. 🙂 I use LightRoom and PicMonkey but want more control over the text, so PhotoShop may be the next hurdle. There’s always something new to master on the technical side of blogging. Rome wasn’t conquered in a day, as the saying goes. I LOVE coconut and can’t wait to make this cake.
I love how you prepared this cake. It is almost glistening! I can only imagine how rich and moist is must taste. How I do wish I had a slice with some coffee right now. I hope you can figure out your new photoshop program. That all goes right over my head…I let my daughter handle all the ‘techy’ stuff for the blog. Have a wonderful day, Catherine xo
I think your pictures are lovely. I don’t understand photoshop but would like to take the time to learn how to use it. I love coconut and will have to try the coconut flakes you recommend and try them with this recipe.
i certainly can’t offer photo advice because I am the worst but I do know a pretty cake when I see it and your photos showcase it beautifully
I love coconut in baking and have been thinking about using more coconut oil. This bundt cake looks like a great place to start.
It looks delicious, and moist……
Gorgeous bundt!! I love it!!! May I have a bit of it? For sure, you have completely eaten it!!!
Lovely bundt and lovely pan!!!
This looks amazing! I love the look of the flaked coconut, and the lime ingredient~Yum!
Beautiful pictures of a perfect Bundt. Thank you!
We both use Lightroom and we like it.;)
Your Bundt looks and sounds great, we love coconut so this month was perfect for us 😉
Stopping by from YG to let you know I think this pound cake is divine and as I was just thinking about making one myself! I want to try this one really soon!
What a beautiful bundt!
I love coconut oil for its health benefits and flavor. This cake looks like a perfect way to use the oil!
Coconut is one of my faaaaavorite flavors, so I’m sure I’d love this.
I love baking with coconut oil, so much so that we always have a gallon bucket of it on hand at all times. I love this bundt – totally right up my alley with all that coconutty goodness!
I love the awesome shape of the bundt pan and the effect it gives to cakes. This cake is just fabulous Laura and tweaking it with some coconut flakes are just a perfect combination.
Thanks for sharing the recipe.
I adore Bundt cakes, and I love coconut. So, I’m all over this one! Yum!
None of the other commenters have made the cake, how odd to review a recipe based on a photograph without tasting. I made it, it’s okay but kind of meh. Not great and not something I’ll make twice. For the calories there are better pound cakes out there.
I’m sorry you didn’t love it the way my family and friends did. I am happy to troubleshoot if you want.
I love the moist coconut oil cake. anything related to coconut is my favorite.All ypur photos are beautiful
Great recipe but I don’t use a lot of coconut oil and I missed the part about warming it up first, so now I have to wait for it to melt in front of a heater on a cold day because I don’t want to microwave it, potentially cooking the eggs. Lol
Well I finally ended up making the cake. I have two suggestions. First, forget the milk and add a cup of coconut milk instead along with half a cup of coconut water. Second, when you make the glaze, use a candy thermometer to get the solution to a soft ball temperature or you’ll just be pouring sugar water over your cake. Overall a good recipe.
So glad you didn’t give up on the cake! The coconut milk would be great if you keep refrigerated coconut milk on hand–but if you are using canned, for me personally it is annoying to not use the entire can. But I hear you. Regarding the glaze, I actually really like the glaze that somewhat permeates the outside of the cake, so that is just a matter of taste. But a great suggestion. Thanks for commenting!
Hi Laura,
I just realized this morning that you can cook bakeries with coconut oil instead of butter, it looks like a wonderful idea!! Will definitely try this recipe. And I love your blog btw!
After making this recipe i would suggest adding that the milk should be warmed and the eggs left out to reach room temperature. These cold items were enough to solidify my coconut oil after melting it. I couldn’t salvage it 🙁
I am sorry to hear that. I honestly cannot imagine it becoming un-salvageable with brisk whisking as the ingredients are added. Is your kitchen (or your refrigerator) kept particularly cold? Setting the milk and eggs out to warm to room temperature a bit would help but I add milk and eggs to melted butter or coconut milk all the time and have never needed to heat them first. I am super sorry to hear that happened!