Coconut Sheet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Craving a coconut cake that's soft, buttery, and packed with real coconut flavor? Made with rich coconut milk, this coconut sheet cake is topped with tangy cream cheese frosting and golden toasted coconut for a delicious little crunch in every bite. Baked in a 13 × 18-inch pan, it's easy to make, slice, and share with a crowd!

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Prep Time 35

Cook Time 34

Cooling 1 30

Total Time 2 39

Servings: 24 slices

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Calories: 460

Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients

110 g sweetened shredded coconut reserved for toasting and topping
360 g all-purpose flour weighed, then whisked to remove compacted lumps
12 g baking powder about 1 tablespoon
5 g fine sea salt about 1 teaspoon
170 g unsalted butter softened to 65 to 68°F
400 g granulated sugar
120 g neutral oil such as canola or grapeseed oil
200 g large eggs 4 large eggs, at room temperature
10 ml pure vanilla extract 2 teaspoons
2.5 ml coconut extract 1/2 teaspoon
400 g full-fat canned coconut milk stirred completely smooth and brought to room temperature
85 g sweetened shredded coconut for folding into the cake batter
340 g full-fat block cream cheese softened but still slightly cool
170 g unsalted butter softened to 65 to 68°F
420 g confectioners’ sugar sifted if lumpy
5 ml pure vanilla extract 1 teaspoon
2.5 ml coconut extract 1/2 teaspoon
1 g fine sea salt about 1/4 teaspoon

Equipment

13 x 18-inch rimmed aluminum half-sheet pan with approximately 1-inch sides
Parchment paper
Digital kitchen scale
Stand mixer with paddle attachment or electric hand mixer
Large and medium mixing bowls
Fine-mesh sieve or whisk
Flexible silicone spatula
Small offset spatula
Wire cooling rack
Instant-read thermometer or wooden cake tester

Method

Set an oven rack in the center and heat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 13 x 18-inch rimmed half-sheet pan, line the bottom with parchment, and grease the parchment. Spread the 110 g topping coconut on a second unlined baking sheet. Toast it for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes, until evenly golden rather than dark brown. Transfer the coconut immediately to a cool plate so residual pan heat does not burn it.
In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and 5 g salt for at least 30 seconds. Break up any visible pockets of leavening against the side of the bowl. This distribution matters in a shallow cake because concentrated baking powder can produce tunneling or bitter spots. In a separate jug, stir the coconut milk until the solid cream and watery portion form one smooth, pourable liquid, then keep it at room temperature.
Place the 170 g softened butter and granulated sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle. Beat on medium speed for 3 minutes, stopping once to scrape the bowl and paddle, until the mixture is visibly paler and fluffy. With the mixer on medium-low, stream in the oil over about 30 seconds. Continue mixing for 1 minute, until glossy and uniform. The mixture should look aerated, not melted or greasy around the bowl.
Beat the eggs lightly in a small bowl. Add them to the butter mixture in four portions on medium-low speed, allowing each addition to disappear before adding the next. Scrape the bowl after the second and final additions, reaching across the bottom where dense butter can collect. Mix in the vanilla and 2.5 ml coconut extract. The emulsion should look thick and creamy; slight curdling is acceptable, but large slippery clumps indicate that the ingredients were too cold.
Run the mixer on low and add one-third of the flour mixture, followed by half of the coconut milk. Repeat, then add the remaining flour. Mix only until narrow flour streaks remain, about 15 seconds after the final addition. Remove the bowl and fold with a flexible spatula, scraping the bottom while adding the 85 g shredded coconut. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan and work it into the corners without repeatedly compressing the aerated mixture.
Bake at 350°F for 22 to 27 minutes, rotating the pan after 16 minutes if the oven browns unevenly. The center should spring back after a light touch, the edges should be pale gold, and a tester inserted in the middle should carry a few moist crumbs but no wet batter. An instant-read thermometer will generally register about 200 to 205°F. Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack for at least 60 minutes before frosting.
Beat the softened 170 g butter with the paddle on medium speed for 2 minutes until creamy. Add the cream cheese and beat on medium-low just until smooth, about 1 minute. Add the confectioners’ sugar in three additions on low speed, then mix in the vanilla, remaining coconut extract, and 1 g salt. Beat for 30 seconds until spreadable, not loose. Frost the cooled cake in the pan, scatter with toasted coconut, chill for 30 minutes, and cut into 24 pieces with a clean knife.

Notes

Measure the inside of the pan if its size is uncertain. A 13 x 18-inch half-sheet pan is larger than a 10 x 15-inch jelly-roll pan, and using the smaller pan can make the batter too deep for the stated baking time.
Bring the eggs and coconut milk to room temperature while the butter softens. Similar ingredient temperatures help the fat and liquid form a stable emulsion, which supports an even, fine crumb.
Scrape the mixing bowl all the way across the bottom after creaming and after adding the eggs. Unmixed butter hiding beneath the paddle can leave greasy, dense patches in the finished sheet cake.
Begin checking the center at 22 minutes, not only the edges. The perimeter sets first in a wide metal pan, while the middle must lose its wet shine and spring back before the cake leaves the oven.
Chill the frosted cake briefly before portioning, then use a long knife wiped clean between cuts. This prevents cream cheese frosting and toasted coconut from dragging through the tender crumb.