Simple Coconut Bundt Cake Recipe

This coconut bundt cake is everything you want in a cake recipe. Dense enough that you can easily slice it, so tender and fluffy you will crave another bite, and just the right amount of sweet coconut flavor in every bite.

The coconut cake frosting is the perfect addition without being too sweet. This simple coconut cake recipe is easy enough to make for a weeknight without being overly fussy.

Food.

It not only fuels our bodies, but it feeds our souls and nourishes our communities.

Whether its an office meeting, a special romantic dinner, or a busy weeknight dinner, we use food as a means to connects us together.

Historically Hungry – Old Recipes Made New

This month for our Historically Inspired Recipes, Amy and I wanted to focus on the Civil Rights Movement. How did food influence events that happened?

I stumbled across this interesting article which highlights the importance of food during the civil rights movement. I was really intrigued by the Club from Nowhere, a group of women who banded together and sold cakes, pies, and cookies to help fund the Montgomery bus boycott.

Georgia Gilmore was the mastermind of this covert group of ladies who took to salons, street corners, and laundromats to raise gas money and purchase station wagons to transport people to and from work.

Originally working at a cafeteria called National Lunch Company, Georgia lost her job when she testified against a bus driver. Martin Luther King Jr. suggested that she open up a restaurant in her home. Known for her sumptuous food, long lines quickly formed outside Georgia’s door, and she fed not only families but also hosted secret meetings of the Montgomery Improvement Association in her home. She also organized the Club from Nowhere, and helped keep the momentum of the bus boycott afloat.

I just love the thought of this grassroots secret bake sale – where the identities of buyers and sellers had to be secret to protect their jobs and even their lives. Where women This was more than a bake sale – it was literally fueling a community seeking change.

It is a lovely reminder that one person, one woman, can make a real change in her community and beyond.

How Do You Make Homemade Coconut Cake?

I wanted this simple coconut cake to reflect the perfect layer cakes that you often think of when you think of coconut cake, but in a simple bundt cake form so it was easier and less fussy to make. 

For me, bundt cakes can be really dense and dry, and I wanted this coconut bundt cake to be tender, moist, and flavorful. So I replaced some of the butter with applesauce, added in some sour cream, and stuffed in 4 eggs.

The end result is a soft, tender, and moist cake packed with coconut flavor but not overly sweet. The coconut cake frosting is a simple mix of powdered sugar, heavy cream and coconut extract that is quick to mix up, but tastes great. Top it all off with a sprinkling of toasted coconut to add some beautiful texture and color – and even more coconut flavor!

To make a homemade coconut bundt cake:

This recipe is simple to make! For the full set of directions, please scroll down to the recipe card below. This is just a general overview on how to make it to help you plan.

1. Preheat your oven to 325F and grease a bundt cake pan.
2. Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Add in the eggs one at a time, mixing in between each addition.
4. Mix in the sour cream, applesauce and coconut extract.
5. Stir in the baking powder, flour, and shredded coconut and mix until just combined.
6. Allow the batter to rest for 5 minutes.
7. Pour into the prepared bundt pan and cook for 45-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean, with just a few crumbs.
8. Allow to cool in the pan on a wire rack for 25 minutes.
9. Turn the cake out of the pan and continue to cool on a wire rack until completely cool.
10. When cool, drizzle the icing on top and sprinkle toasted coconut on top of the icing.

This cake is really great the next day, so if you want to make it a day ahead of time and frost it when you are ready to eat, that’s a great choice!

How to store this cake

This simple coconut cake recipe does not need to be refrigerated because of the type of icing that we used. The coconut cake frosting is made of powdered sugar, cream, and coconut extract. It will be fine loosely covered on the counter for 3-4 days.

How to toast coconut

Toasted coconut is fairly easy to make. There are several ways to make it, too! The most important thing to remember is to watch your coconut, because once it starts to toast, it will toast quickly and you don’t want it to burn!

• In the oven – Preheat the oven to 325 F. Spread the coconut on a baking sheet in a thin layer, and bake for 5-10 minutes.
• In a microwave – Spread ½ cup of shredded coconut on a microwave safe plate. Microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between each time, util the coconut has reached your desired level of toastiness.
• On the stovetop – Place ½ cup of shredded coconut in a large skillet. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until the flakes are mostly golden brown. Remove to a plate and cool.

Interested in the story of Georgia Gilmore and the Club from Nowhere?

• To read more, check out this great article on Georgia Gilmore
• Listen this podcast by Kitchen Sisters on Georgia Gilmore.
• You can also read this great book to your family: Pies from Nowhere: How Georgia Gilmore Sustained the Montgomery Bus Boycott by Dee Romito

Bake a cake today in support of women everywhere who stand up for what they believe in, even if its “only” one baked good at a time.