Coconut Cake I

I've never been much of a cake-baker. My cakes have always ended up resembling something of the Leaning Tower of Piza or a crater in the moon - just ridiculously deformed and extremely creative "works of art" that all the icing and frosting in the world could never make level. I hate to sound like an infomercial, but until I found this recipe, I thought I was doomed to cookie baking for the rest of my life. This recipe was extremely easy, and after reading the reviews, I made a note to use only 3/4 c. of sugar, since I was using a package of already sweetened coconut. And to avoid any of the grittiness that some of my fellow bakers experienced, I made sure to use extra fine granulated sugar (try C&H's Baker's Sugar)- it should melt right in. To ensure that the icing wouldn't be runny, I made sure not to overblend the filling and whipped cream, and refrigerated the mixture for about half an hour while the cake was cooling. After everything was assembled, the result was something actually visually stimulating, and although I did an awesomely bad job at splitting the layers, the filling does a wonderful job at concealing this fact, since the color of the filling blends in with the cake. For once, I ended up with a masterpiece that raked in so many compliments it inflated my ego. Thanks, Kathy!

Everything that I read about this cake is true - its delicious! The whole family loved it and said that it was one of the best things I'd ever made! The only thing that I changed was to use low-fat whipped topping, and I followed the low-fat recipe for the white cake mix. If this is what my low-fat version tastes like...

This cake was so delicious. A definite must for coconut lovers. The frosting was the absolute best. It was really simple to make, but looked like it took hours. I especially liked that I was able to make it so far ahead of time. I made it on a Monday night and we had it for Thanksgiving on Thursday.

Try using fresh coconut. Use a corkscrew through the eye (soft spot) on the coconut and empty the coconut milk into a measuring cup. Use this milk as part of the liquid in the cake. To open the coconut hit it with a hammer to crack it. Clean and wash fresh coconut and grate. You can use a food processor to grate the coconut quickly. Use 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the coconut in the cake batter. I used lemon curd (lemon pie filling) between the cake layers. I only used two layers. This can be purchased canned, with the pie fillings or you can make your own. For the frosting I only used half a 8 oz. container of whipped topping, 1/2 cup sour cream and sugar to taste -- about 1/2 cup. I added about 1 cup of the shredded coconut to the frosting mixture. Toast some coconut to put on top of cake. Freeze leftover coconut in small zip-lock bag for a future project. This is an easy recipe compared to my usual coconut cake and it got rave reviews. Thanks Kathy.

This is one of my very favorite recipes ever - though I like to make it with a butter recipe cake mix. The recipe should state that frozen (or better: fresh!) coconut should be used... I think someone in the reviews used canned (sweetened) coconut - which would be far too sweet.

Oh, besides my last review raving about this cake, I forgot to mention that I did use confectioner's sugar and only 1 cup of it sufficed!!! happy baking!

This is the best coconut cake I have ever tasted! I made it for Thanksgiving last year and my family has requested several since then. As the recipe says, it is much better if refrigerated for at least three days. The longer it sits the better it is!!

This recipe is absolutely the easiest and very best coconut cake I have ever prepared, served and eaten! I recommend this recipe just as it is printed, although the second time I made it I used low-fat sour cream and low-fat Cool Whip and it tasted just as delicious. Kathy is right...it just gets better and better the longer it is refrigerated. I will never use another coconut cake recipe than this one. Thanks Kathy!

I made the white cake using the "egg white" formula on the box. Made in sheet cake pan then split that once. This left enough icing to put inside with the filling. Couldn't find x-fine sugar as someone suggested, so I ran my regular sugar through the mini chopper. I think the longer the cake sits the more the sugar dissolves and becomes less grainy. I did let the mixture sit in fridge before assembly as someone suggested. It was very good and I would make it again. Easter guests loved it.

This cake is a crowd pleaser every time! I add some coconut to the batter as well. I do not seperate the frosting, I mix all the frosting ing. together. It is easier when making cupcakes to do this and I find the frosting ends up fluffier. This is a standby for our family. At Christmas I make it in the shpe of a tree and we decorate with candy. Thanks for a great recipe!

I loved it. I made a mistake & reversed the sugar & sour cream amounts. Ended up using 2 c. sour cream, 1 c. sugar & the coconut. It was absolutely a delicious mistake! When I make my cake mixes I use milk instead of water & 1/2 oil & apple sauce for the oil. You can't taste the apple flavor but it makes for a very moist cake. No matter what flavor including chocolate. I buy snack cups of unsweetned apple sauce and put oil in the bottom of the correct size measure cup. example: fill 1/2 with oil & a few tablespoons of apple sauce until it reaches the top of the measure cup. The cake is best mellowing over night. Actually any cake is better done the day before. It mellows & infuses the cake with more flavor. I made the filling the night before I made cake mix, just to save time. But, I noticed that the coconut absorbed the liquid from the sour cream & was really delicious & fluffy. I will do this again next time.I also think the sugar can be cut to 3/4 cup. I love sweet & this is plenty sweet. My friends devoured the cake in no time. My coffee gang loved it. Did you know you can toast coconut in a T-Fal type pan with no oil. The coconut has plenty of oil in it. Just use a medium heat & stir constantly & the coconut will toast.

I've made this cake for years. My Grandma would make several and freeze then give away during xmas. I do cut the sugar by a 1/2 cup, and I also chill the sugar,sour cream, coconut mixture all day in fridge to keep cake from sliding. Once I build the cake I then chill again for 24 hours. This cake gets better as it sits. I never eat coconut cake any other way. My husband 'hates' coconut, but he loves this cake!

Excellent

The coconut cake is crutial to our thankgiving dinner and i must say this was a huge hit! i did use several of the alterations suggested. I cut the sugar to 1 cup and made it superfine using my chopper. I also didn't think there was enough filling so I 1 1/2 it. fantastic recipe! thank you

I made a half-batch of frosting, as I didn't split the layers of my cake. It was plenty for two layers, but it wouldn't stay on the cake even though I kept it in the fridge... The frosting puddled down the sides and pooled around the base of the cake, making for very poor presentation. I followed the directions, so I'm not sure what happened...

Delicious! Our family wants to make this a family tradition.

I made this cake with a coconut flavored cake mix. I only used slightly over one cup of sugar in the sour cream, and used less than half of the flaked coconut. The sugar gelled up well overnight-no graininess at all! The filling seemed really runny, but once poured over the cut layers, it soaked into the cake really well. The best part of this cake is the cool whip/sugar/sour cream frosting! It compares to getting the whipped frostings at bakeries! I could eat it with a spoon! I think the fact that I used a coconut cake mix, in addition to the coconut flakes made it a bit of overkill. Next time I will stick to the recipe and use white cake. This cake was definitely a hit with my guests, and super moist! I will definitely be making again...And will be making the frosting (minus the coconut) to use on a red velvet cake. This finding a permanent place in my recipe box!

hands down best cake! don't hesitate to make this, it was perfect. I put a little less sugar than it called for in the sour cream mix and I covered the whole outside of the cake with coconut flakes. will be making again!!

I've seen this one before & was always intrigued. This year, I pulled the trigger and I'm so glad that I did! Excellent recipe. The frosting alone is 5 stars. Just to share a hack on the cake mix - sub out the water for milk, add an extra egg and sub melted butter 2:1 for the oil (instead of 1/2 oil use 1 cup melted butter). It will give you a more "home made taste" if you don't want to bake a scratch cake.

This was an okay cake. I'm not a huge coconut fan, but it was tasty enough. Just wouldn't bother making it again. Coconut lovers might like it much better. I'd give it a 3.75, but that's not an option. It wasn't hard to make and looked nice.

My husband loved this. I cut out a half cup of sugar because one of the other reviews said it was too sweet. I think this worked fine, because I had to smile when my husband said it was great and not too sweet.

This was probably the best looking cake I have ever made. It turned out perfect. I was sooo suprised. The only change I made was I cut back on some of the sugar after reading some of the reviews. I did make this cake about 4 days early, and everyone LOVED it. I couldn't believe how good it tasted. It was very easy to put together. Thanks for the recipe.

Totally awesome!! I made this the day before Christmas, and my husband couldn't wait. I woke up the next morning, and a there were cuts in the cake. He absolutely loved it. He's a coconut lover, so I put more coconut in the frosting for him. It is a good idea however to not put as much sugar for the icing. It was wonderful to the taste buds! Thanks.

I have made this cake for many years and everyone loves it. The only difference is that my recipe calls for coconut from the freezer section. The coconut taste like fresh coconut with no sugar added. Sometimes I use chocolate cake mix which is wonderful. It may be hard to wait 3 days, but the wait is worth it.

My first attempt at a coconut cake & it was a huge hit for Easter. I told my husband that I needed to make it three days in advance and he named it Jesus cake because Jesus was resurrected on the third day and we were having it on Easter Sunday. I thought that was quite clever. I followed others' advice on cutting back on the sugar to 3/4 cup and I used the sweetened flaked coconut because that was all I had. We ended up with only a three layer cake because I discarded the top of one of the cakes to make it stack nicely. I will definitely make this again.

Since I am a cook, not much of a baker, because I don't like to follow measurements, I tried to make this cake for my 30th anniversary. Learned you should always read the reviews for extra tips before you start. I cut the sugar down by 3/4 of a cup, because I used sweetened coconut. Should use unsweetened coconut. Also, because I only had half the amount of coconut on hand that I needed, I just went with it. It was fine! If I make it again, I will use half the amount of coconut that it called for. Also, threw some coconut into the cake batter. I also didn't wait three days to cut into it. Could only wait 24 hours before the cake drove me crazy, wanting to try it. It is absolutely delicious! Will make it again, and again, and again!!! By the way, found this on a free app I got on my IPhone. The Spinner meal planner is genius.

This was really yummy and very easy to prepare. (VERY sweet, too.) Assembly did take a few minutes but wasn't difficult -- don't be intimidated! I didn't make it in advance as recommended... will try that next time to compare. If you really like coconut, you'll enjoy this cake!

This was a good cake, but very sweet. I think I will half the filling next time and only cut into 2 layer, I did 3 and the cake was too thin. I also did not toast the coconut on the outside. We liked this cake.

With 3 small boys and a husband at home, I hardly take the time to submit reviews on anything, but this review needed to be entered. THIS CAKE IS EASY AND TASTE AWESOME!!!!!!! I made it for Easter dinner and it disappeared before we left the house for Aunt B's, so I had to make another. The kids blamed it on the Easter Bunny? I was just happy they enjoyed it so much. TRY IT, IT'S GREAT!!!!!!!

This recipe was great. I added cream of coconut to the cake(suggestion from another recipe) which was a great touch. This cake should definitely be eaten at room temperature. When you 1st take it out the refrigerator, the icing and filling are very stiff. After letting it sit out, the icing and filling became creamy and the cake was extremely moist. TWO THUMBS UP!!!

I made this for a co-worker's birthday today and everyone is raving! Per other reviewer's comments I used only 1 cup of sugar and I used lite Sour Cream and Lite Cool Whip--and no one can tell the difference. Really a treat. Will definitely make this again.

This is the best coconut cake recipe!! Super easy and super yummy! It really is true--the longer it sits the better, but it's hard to wait! I actually cut in to it after only one day of refrigeration, and it was great! But as the week went on, it just tasted better and better!!

My sister-in-law gave me the recipe for this cake a few years ago and it is amazing! Don't let the short ingredient list fool you and definitely leave it in the frig for the full 3 days. Everytime I make it people ask me for the recipe.

Yummy! I used lemon cake instead of white. I also used only about a cup of sugar for the filling. It sat in the fridge for three days until the party. My family loved it! The coconut filling was definitely my favorite part!

I have made this cake twice since Easter. Both times it got rave reviews. It is good but very sweet and rich. The second time I made it I added raspberry jam to the filling. It tasted heavenly but turned the filling a strange gray-lavender color. I c Coconut lovers will not be disappointed. I will make this cake again and again. It is a great "special occasion" cake. Easy, too!

I made this cake for my MIL birthday and everyone loved it. I added cream of coconut to the cake and to the filling. It was too sweet for a few people but otherwise everyone raved about it. I will make this again!

It was wonderful, so moist and flavorful. Now I'm going to make it and add strawberries in between the layers and on top.

This is sooooooooo good. It does need at least 72 hours, and even at that the filling is a tad "grainy"...Once it's cut though, it's gone so I don't know about it lasting any longer!!

I made this cake for New Years day and my huspband loved it! Coconut cake is one of his favorites and he said this is definately a keeper!

I was looking for a great coconut cake recipe and I have found it! This cake just gets better and better each day it sits in the refrigerator. It was moist, yet light and not too sweet. I personally loved the toasted coconut added on top. Looks and tastes fantastic! A must try recipe...

4.5

Absolutely fantastic. I'll never make another coconut cake. This one has it all.

I am not crazy about coconut but this recipe is out of this world. I even use different flavor cake mixes and it adds just an extra punch to it. Lemon cake mix is my favorite.

It was really hard to wait 4 days to eat this cake. But it was well worth it, the cake was incredible. I am going to make it again using red food coloring for a baby shower I am hosting this weekend.

Everyone loved it. The frosting was delicious. I added some toasted almonds to the top as well.

This is a great cake & it most definitely is best if you leave it refrigerated for the three days recommended. We used to have it every year at Christmas but it's been a while since I made it. I always use a yellow cake mix & I also add crushed pineapple in heavy syrup, drained but with a little bit of the syrup left, to the mixture that goes between the layers (not too much syrup or it is too soupy). Over the three days, We called it sour-cream coconut dream cake. Yum!

Oh my, this was heavenly! I think I'll reduce the sugar next time because it was quite rich, but really delicious. Thanks for a great recipe...bonus because it can be made ahead.

I make this cake every year for Christmas and Easter and everyone loves it. My recipe calls for 2 six oz. packages of frozen coconut and I think that tastes much better than the packaged coconut.

I made this cake for Easter to make a bunny cut-out cake. I followed the recipe exactly, except that, to the white cake mix, I added an extra egg and a cup of sour cream to enhance the flavor and texture of the cake for shaping into a bunny. It also helped it to taste less cake mix-y. This worked well, and the whipped topping frosting made it so easy to frost and decorate my bunny! The kids helped and had a ball, and everyone agreed that was cute AND tasted great!

This cake is delish and everyone loved it but it is way too sweet. I even reduced the amount of sugar to one cup and it was still too sweet. DON'T put in the full two cups of sugar! Next time I make this I will use half cup.

The best coconut cake I have ever tasted. WOW!

Mixed reviews on this one...Came out correctly, but people either love it or hate it.

This is a great recipe - my only adjustment would be to use confectioner's sugar. The original recipe callas for white/granulated sugar, which give the frosting a gritty texture. Not bad, but the confectioner's sugar may eliminate it. Otherwise, an awesome cake!

This is a wonderful cake! It is very moist, and I only let it sit for two days before serving. I did not add the coconut on top and it had plenty without that. I did add the zest of one lime to the filling to cut the sweetness just a bit. Everyone loved it and I can not wait for any excuse to make it again! Everything about this cake is delightful! Thank you Kathy!!! P.S. I am thinking about adding some crushed pineapple to the filling next time!

Incredible!

made this cake for Easter....DELICIOUS!!! Everyone really liked it...made a few changes to recipe after reading other reviews. Only used half the sugar and used powdered sugar instead of the granulated. Also made the filling the night before making the cake and let is sit in fridge to firm up before icing the layers. Will be definately making this again.I also used the coconut milk instead of the water in the cake mix and I was able to find the frozen coconut. It is not near as sweet as say Bakers but I did use the Bakers on top. My sister said this is now the cake she will be asking for.

This was my first cocount cake ever. It's very simple and everyone loved it. The longer it's refrigerated the better it is!

Could really taste the sugar. Not much coconut flavor. Too too sweet

This recipe is the best coconut cake I've tasted and one of the easiest. It's great as a company dessert because you make it a couple days in advance. Everyone loves it...I gave it a slightly lower ranking in the kids area because kids generally do not like coconut.

SO wonderful! Better than Pepperidge Farms coconut cake from the freezer section and I didnt think that could be done!

I made this for a friend's Birthday and it was a huge hit! Only I knew how easy it was! Thanks.

I made this for my daughter's "hawaiian" birthday party and it was a hit. I made it according to the recipe. It was sweet but not overly sweet.

I made this for an auction at church. It sold for a great deal of money, and the family that bought it let me know how very pleased they were with the cake. Their eight year old girl, a VERY pickey eater, loved it and kept asking for more. They bragged so on the cake that I was forced to make one for myself. I was NOT disappointed!

I followed this recipe verbatim. I thought this cake was beautiful. It tasted good too but, I was very disappointed that it completely fell apart when sliced (even using a spatula for support). It was dry! With all the rave reviews and 3 days of anticipation, I was very disappointed! Will not make again.

Normally, I make everything from scratch and never use cake mixes, but this recipe can't be beat for fast, easy, and delicious! One change I recommend, though, is to use confectioners powdered sugar (10X) instead of regular granulated sugar, and to reduce it to 1 1/2 cups. It was still pretty sweet, but I wanted to be sure to have enough filling, so I counteracted that by adding a few extra tablespoons of sour cream. Fabulous!

This turned out excellent. My husband who doesn't like coconut cake couldn't get enough. I added some of the coconut to the cake batter and it added really great taste and texture to the whole thing.

GREAT!!! Everyone loved it. I have made this cake three times within a two month period and they still want more. The best coconut cake I have ever had. I did not toast the coconut, I put the left over coconut on the top and sides of the cake...looked great and tasted great!!

awesome! the best coconut cake that I have tried, delicious!

I don't know if my version is "better", but I tried to make it a little lower in calories since my Mom is diabetic. I used a Pillsbury Moist Supreme Reduced Sugar cake mix and used Crisco canola oil with Omega 3 DHA oil and egg beaters. Per someone else's suggestion instead of water I used Lite Coconut Milk and then baked as directed. For the frosting I used 2 cups fat free sour cream, 1 cup Splenda sugar blend and a container of Lite Cool Whip with the coconut. Haven't tasted the whole thing together yet, but the cake smells divine and the frosting is awesome, but not TOO sweet.

Excellent !!!! Even I usually do not like the coconut related food, I love this cake.But it is really too sweet. ( I used sweetend coconut flakes, and only 1 cup of sugar.) My HB does not like too sweet. Next time, I will reduce the sugar.

I made this for my father in law, and he said it was okay. It was very very sweet. Next time I think I will use unsweetened coconut. The cake itself was very moist and the frosting was yummy, I will definitely try again.

this really is an exceptionally good cake, and very easy to make....extremely moist!

Absolutely fabulous!!!--and I only stored it in the refrigerator for about an hour before tasting it. Will make again and again. Thanks Kathy!

Rave reviews from dinner guests. I used frozen flaked coconut and cut sugar to one cup. This is one great cake!

this recipe flopped for me-sugar was grainy in the icing-everything was so sticky and gooey.sorry-I went exactly by recipe.

I have made this as is.... and the second time around I changed the filling I added a pkg of instant coconut cream pudding mix in the sour cream now it taste like heaven sent it... got rave reviews from alot of people for this one so will continue making it with the changes. thanks for the recipe we love it

GREAT SIMPLE recipe!! I used 2/3 cup sugar because I mistakenly bought SWEETENED coconut, and its still plenty sweet! Added a little lemon zest--yum!! Baked it in a bundt pan and made layers in a bowl to save fridge room!! Thank you, Kathy! Elinor, Daytona Beach

This is a fabulous cake . I have made it for years . There is no such thing as 18.25 oz cake mixes . I use 2 mixes to be able for it to be sliced in two so you have 4 layers using 9” cake pans. All the cake mixes I find at my store are 15.25 oz.

this was the best cake I have ever baked. I was so proud of myself and my guest was even prouder. kathy girl!!!!! look foward to more of your recipies. It was delicious and i normally dont bake, now I want to bake this for all my family and friends because they enjoyed it soooo much. I do not chat on line but I had to thank you. baby baker

this is one of my favorites and is always a crowd pleaser. if you like coconut, you'll love this cake!

Mother-N-Law loves it!

I made a few changes, I used 1 1/3 cup of whipping cream, and added about a tsp of coconut & rum extract to the whipping cream, little more flavorful the 2nd time around with the variations. I also used 1/2 cup of brown sugar and 1 & 1/2 cups of the white sugar, just because I like brown sugar, tasted marvelous ;) !!

I've made this several times and everyone loves it. It is easy and absolutely delicious. I also love that you can make it in advance. It's not an easy cake to take though on a long trip. I took it from Indiana to Illinois on Mother's Day and I was shocked it was still together from Friday to Sunday. Four creamy layers that could slide but it made it. Wouldn't want to try it again though.

You have to really LOVE coconut to like this cake because it's filled with a LOT of coconut. I may have liked it better with less coconut between the layers and more toasted coconut on the top and sides of the frosted cake. Be sure to slice the cake into small servings unless you are really hungry for coconut.

The granulated sugar was gritting and the taste overall just was not good. I was very disappointed.

I am 73 years old and this is THE best coconut cake I've ever had...and so easy! After reading most of the reviews, I made it exactly as written (except I didn't toast the coconut topping). I had about 1/2 cup of coconut left, so I must have reserved a little too much for the top. The thread idea for cutting the layers didn't work for me (I even tried dental floss), but the thin boning knife from my knife set worked great. I used my 8" cake pans so the layers would be thicker. I used a Duncan Hines French Vanilla cake mix as my base. Yes, I used 2 cups regular sugar in the sour cream mixture, and it was perfect. After 3 days in the fridge, there's no graininess...it all melds into one flavorful cake. I also used sweetened coconut and it was perfect. My husband had requested a coconut cake for his 75th birthday celebration. I was a little nervous, making something for the first time for guests, but I needn't have worried. Since I thought some of the 23 people attending wouldn't care for coconut, our grandson made a couple dozen strawberry cupcakes for us. However, only 6 people (mostly kids) took cupcakes, and one came back for coconut cake after he heard others raving...and the coconut cake was gone! Several said they normally didn't care for coconut cake, but this one was amazing. It was so moist, creamy, flavorful...almost like pound cake, but lighter. And they couldn't believe the icing was mostly Cool Whip! Genius. I didn't personally think the cake w

Delicious! I did substitute confectionary sugar for granulated and tinted the frosting pink. The white coconut sprinkled over the pink made for a beautiful birthday cake for my stepdaughter. She loved the whole cake but especially the frosting! My husband and son in law kept telling me how good it was and what a good job I did. This was a real compliment because I make cakes all the time and most times get one comment on how good the cake was, not all the fuss I got for this one!

This cake is amazing! I only changed a couple things, 1 based on other reviews, and one out of necessity. After reading reviews, I added a little less than 2 cups of sugar. About 1 3/4 cups. I made the sour cream/sugar/coconut mixture while the cake was baking and put it in the fridge. I also used unsweetened dry packaged coconut, which is perfect. I did try the cake after about 4 hours in the fridge, and did notice the grittiness of the sugar as others had mentioned. After trying it today (3 days refrigerated), the grittiness is gone. I also did not have round cake pans so I baked in a 13x9 glass dish, and cut in half. I didn't do the layers, as I was afraid of the whole thing crumbling without baked sides. So I had more of the inside mixture to add to the whipped cream frosting, which made it even tastier!! Even my husband, who does NOT like cake, loved it! This recipe is definitely a keeper!!

Came out moist and fluffy after digging into it the first night. I can taste how the longer you keep it refrigerated before serving, the better. Thanks for sharing this recipe!

I followed the recipe exactly - was perfect! 2 Thumbs up from the whole family. :)

This cake is GREAT! It has the best frosting ever, according to my mom, and I agree. I took it to a gathering and one person said it was a "slice of heaven". Absolutely delicious, and very pretty too. Note: If you use sweetened coconut, as I did, decrease the sugar to 3/4 C.

FAIL. I dont know what I did but it stuck to the bottom and was a huge sticky mess. It was really good though as cake peices but I wish it had stuck together. I put tons of spray on and I believe the sticky part was the coconut cream. I will try again sometime and hopefully it turns out better.

This cake is da BOMB. I made only one change, and that was I used only 1 1/2 cups of sugar, instead of the 2 cups that the recipe calls for. Perfect! Because I am such a huge fan of coconut, I knew the hardest part of this easy recipe, was waiting for 3 days to cut into it. One of my girl friends came up with the perfect solution. She invited me to stay at her house until it was time for me to cut the cake. Of course there was a catch. At the end of the third day, we would go back to my house, and I would have to let her eat as much of this cake as she wanted. She loved it, and there was only half of the cake remaining after just one sitting. So much for bringing it to the office. Guess I will have to make another one.

My husband and my mom both love coconut cake and they said this is the best ever! It does take time to put together and to refrigerate, but trust me, it is well worth both!

Awesome....I received rave reviews from everyone at work!!!

Everybody really loved this cake. I made 2 this week it was that good. I had whipping cream so I used real whipped cream(with a little instagel) instead of the pre-made kind. I also used coconut milk, and extra vanilla in my cake as part of the wet ingredients, and couple tablespoons in the frosting as well. I like the frosting because it was light and delicious, not sickenly sweet like most. The cake is a lot better the next day after sitting in the fridge all night believe it or not! Also, if you put the sugar in your sour cream first before you start everything the sugar will dissolve most of the way when it comes frosting time, because it is quite grainy at first.

The best coconut cake.

Very easy and good. Not too much coconut flavor...just right!

Love this recipe!It is the best coconut cake. We make it every Christmas.