Strawberry Coconut Cake

4.53 from 17 votes

Soft, tender, strawberry cake - layered between creamy coconut cream cheese frosting. Topped with shredded coconut and fresh strawberries - this Strawberry Coconut Cake is a beautiful celebration dessert. We have all of the tips and tricks to make this cake perfection.

Prep Time1 25

Cook Time35

Total Time2

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Diet: Low Salt

Servings:

Calories: 608kcal

Author: Kadee & Desarae

Equipment

Blender
hand or stand mixer

Ingredients

Strawberry Cake

2 cup buttermilk room temperature
1 cup fresh strawberries rinsed and hulled
2 ounces freeze-dried strawberries
6 egg whites
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
¾ cup butter softened
2 ⅓ cup sugar
2 teaspoon vanilla
2-3 drop pink food coloring optional

Coconut Cream Cheese Icing

8 ounces cream cheese room temperature
1 cup butter room temperature
32 ounces powdered sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon coconut extract
2-3 cup coconut flakes for garnish
fresh strawberries for garnish

Instructions

Cake

Preparation: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Prep your cake pans. This is a 3 layer cake - so you'll need 3 - 9" cake pans. You can grease and flour your pans, or you can use a non-stick spray specifically for baking.
Prepare the strawberry mixture by combining buttermilk, fresh strawberries, and freeze-dried strawberries in a blender.
Blend until smooth. Set aside.
For this recipe you need egg whites. So separate your eggs and discard the yolks. Allow the whites to sit at room temp for about 30 minutes. Set aside.
In a medium sized bowl - combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir to combine. Adding salt when baking activates the baking soda. So don't skip the salt! Set aside.
Whip butter using the paddle attachment of your stand mixer for 30 seconds.
Add sugar and beat until combined.
Stir in vanilla.
Add room temperature egg whites. Beat for 3 minutes. You'll have a pale, light batter.
Add ⅓ of the blended strawberry mixture. Add ⅓ of the flour mixture. Beat just until combined. Repeat until you have used the remaining flour and strawberry mixture.
Divide the batter between your 3 prepared cake pans. Give them a little shake to even the batter. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Let cakes cool in pans for 10 minutes, and then turn over onto a cooling rack and let cook completely.

Frosting

Whip butter and cream cheese together using your paddle attachment of your stand mixer.
Add powdered sugar, vanilla, and coconut extract.
Beat until smooth.
Add about a tablespoon of frosting to your cake plate. This will function as glue and keep the cake from slipping around on the plate.
Add one cake round. Smooth a thick layer of frosting on top. Add your second cake and add frosting. Repeat with the 3rd layer.
Smooth frosting over the top and sides of the cake. Sprinkle the top with shredded coconut and press coconut into the sides of the cake. Top with fresh strawberries. Perfection.

Video

Notes

PRO TIP: YOU DON'T WANT TO OVER-MIX THE FLOUR, WHICH MAKES A TOUGH CAKE.

PRO TIP - HOW TO SEPARATE EGGS: AFTER CRACKING YOUR EGG, OPEN THE EGG OVER A BOWL. LET THE YOLK SETTLE IN ONE HALF OF THE SHELL, CAREFULLY POUR THE YOLK BACK AND FORTH INTO THE OTHER HALF OF THE SHELL, LETTING THE WHITE DRIP INTO YOUR BOWL. REPEAT THIS UNTIL ALL OF THE WHITE IS REMOVED FROM THE SHELL. POUR THE YOLK INTO A SEPARATE BOWL.

How long does this cake last?

This cake can be stored covered at room temperature for 2-3 days, or covered in the fridge for 3-5 days.

I don't like coconut, can I omit?

Yes, you can omit the extract from the frosting and replaced it with an equal amount of vanilla extract. You can also omit the frosting from the garnish.

How do you sprinkle coconut to the sides of the cake?

Fill your hand with coconut flakes and pat it against the sides. The flakes will adhere to the frosting.

Nutrition