How to Make Toasted Coconut Cake

Years ago, my mother-in-law from my first marriage used to make this recipe for toasted coconut cake. I still make that recipe and still love it just as much as I did then. This Toasted Coconut Cake is sweet, light, and refreshing. Although coconuts usually make me think of warm places and summer, I decided to post on it now because it is freaking cold here in Utah right now…about 15 degrees in our town…and I wanted to do something that made me think of warmer days.

Toasted Coconut Cake

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Toasted Coconut Cake – Ingredients and Supplies

a 9 x 13 inch white cake, prepared (I used a Betty Crocker boxed mix to make mine)
sweetened, flaked coconut
tub of cool whip
bottle of cream of coconut (found near the alcoholic beverage mixers at my local grocery store)
Optional: caramel sauce

How to Make a Toasted Coconut Cake

Once you have baked a white cake according to the package directions (or from your own scratch recipe, if you prefer), let it cool completely.

While the cake is cooling, sprinkle your coconut on a baking sheet…

and bake 250 degrees for about 4-7 minutes. You will want to watch it closely because you don’t want to overcook the coconut…it should be a nice golden brown. Once toasted, set the coconut aside.

Once it has cooled completely, poke holes in the cake. I usually make four rows of four holes. each hole roughly the width of a pinky finger (see the video below). Then, fill the holes with the cream of coconut, then drizzle the cream of coconut around the top of the cake.

Once you have drizzled the cream of coconut, spread cool whip all across the cake (like frosting). (Optional, drizzle with caramel sauce on top of whipped cream before adding toasted coconut.) Finally, sprinkle some toasted coconut on top. Refrigerate the cake. Serve cool. Cover with foil if it isn’t eaten the same day.