Coconut Cream Cheese Pound Cake
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This Coconut
Of all the pound cakes I’ve made and shared with you, I had not even thought about a Coconut Pound Cake until this spring when two different readers asked about one. They both wanted a Coconut Pound Cake for Easter.
After a busy Track season, Boy Scouts campouts, and birthday celebrations, I finally got to perfect this Coconut Cream Cheese Pound Cake.
My most favorite recipe to make is pound cakes. I’ve made hundreds and shared over 30 with you. (You can find the recipes here, Pound Cake Series.) I do recommend you read How to Bake the Perfect Pound Cake as well as How to Calibrate your Oven to get the very best results for your pound cake baking.
Also, check out Big Beautiful Cakes.
Coconut Cream Cheese Pound Cake
Most often, I’m asked, ‘Did you accidentally omit the baking powder or baking soda’? One important note: traditional pound cakes did not contain baking powder or baking soda. They were leavened simply with eggs and is my preferred method of baking pound cakes. Baking powder and baking soda change the texture (crumb) of cakes as well as, inhibit getting that nice crunchy ‘crust’ that is so desirable on pound cakes.
Perfectly sweet and supremely moist Coconut
Pound Cake Baking Tips
- As indicated above, I sprinkle confectioners’ sugar over the top. I then served the Pound Cake with fresh berries and whipped cream.
- You could frost it with Caramel Sauce or Cream Cheese Glaze and toasted coconut if you prefer.
- Brands I recommend: Philadephia cream cheese, Crisco solid vegetable shortening, and White Lily or Martha White flour. Pans and more recommendations here.
- I have found solid vegetable shortening and sugar instead of flour to be the best for coating the pan to prevent sticking. By using sugar instead of flour, you won’t have white patches on the cake. You can use flour if you prefer.
- If you use a bundt pan instead of a tube pan, make sure it’s a taller bundt, about 5 inches tall.
Pans and such
I bake my pound cakes on a cookie sheet to bake. Setting the pan on a cookie sheet may affect the baking time. As well, using a light versus a dark tube pan will affect baking times. For my cakes, I bake in a light pan on a round cookie sheet.
Your
I’m not a fan of non-stick spray for pound cakes. Some of the sides always stick pulling off that crust that I worked so hard to create. Instead, I like to use solid vegetable shortening and follow that with a dusting of granulated sugar. (Yes, sugar. Sugar doesn’t leave any white areas on the cake.) Alternately, I like the Wilton cake release. (When I started this pound cake series, I did use non-stick spray. However, after making so many and trying other methods, I do not use non-stick spray for cakes now. I have tried to go back and update those posts, but may have missed some.)
You can also find great recipes here
Coconut Cream Cheese Pound Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter room temperature, salted or unsalted, your preference
- ½ cup Crisco shortening
- 3 cups granulated sugar
- 3 cups all-purpose flour sifted and measured correctly
- 1, 8 ounce package cream cheese (low or fat-free not recommended)
- 1 tablespoon coconut extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 6 extra large eggs or 7 large eggs
- 1 cup sweetened coconut flakes sweetened, pulsed 4 to 5 times in a food processor
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease a (10-inch, 12 cup) bundt or tube pan with solid vegetable shortening and sprinkle with sugar (or you can use flour). Alternately, you can use Wilton Cake Release.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer beat butter, shortening, and sugar together. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides. Next, add the cream cheese and blend until fluffy. Again stop the mixer and scrape down the sides.
- Add eggs alternately with flour, beginning and ending with flour. Scrape down the sides.
- Blend in the coconut and almond extracts.
- Stir in coconut.
- Pour into prepared baking pan.
- Place pan on a baking sheet and bake at 325 degrees for 85 to 90 minutes. Test cake with a wooden pick or skewer. Cake is done when dry crumbs or no crumbs come out on pick when inserted into the thickest part of the cake.
- Cool on a wire rack 20 minutes before inverting on serving tray.
- Frost, if desired, and serve.*See posts for details
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information given is an automatic calculation and can vary based on the exact products you use and changes you make to the recipe. If these numbers are important to you, I recommend calculating them yourself.
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This cake is sooo good! I would love to share it with my husband but he has celiac disease and can’t eat wheat. Do you have a gluten free recipe for this cake?
I’ve had readers comment with success they’ve had using gf 1 to 1 flour. I personally haven’t tried it.
I’m so glad to hear other people have tried it gluten free bc I’m going to try it too! I’m giving it 5 stars bc I know it will be fantastic..
Thanks
Thank you so much!!
Excellent pound cake, nice and moist will definitely make again and again ❤️
Can you use coconut oil to grease the pan instead of Crisco?
It should work fine, but I haven’t tried coconut oil personally.
I am baking the cake as we speak. I tried it with gluten free flour. Really sticky dough. Waiting to see how it does. The batter was great tasting.
I’m interested how it turned out.
Paula,
My family loves this recipe. I made it just as you instruct in the recipe. For anyone tempted to use butter in lieu of shortening to grease the pan, DON’T! The butter will lend a flavor that will interfere with the other flavorings. Also, I have been making pound cakes for a few years (very often), and I always use sugar instead of flour. Not only do you eliminate the risk of flour spots being on the outside of the cake, but the sugar gives a wonderful crisp to the outer crust. My friends and family always prefer the sugar over the flour. The only twist I did to your recipe, Paula, was to add 1 tablespoon of Caribbean rum with coconut liquer. It does give a little bit of extra flavor, not that this recipe needs it. My family fought over who got to lick the mixing bowl. Thanks!!!
The bowl is the best!!! 🥰 I am so happy you like the recipe. I’ll try the rum next time I make it. I LOVE making pound cakes. I agree with using sugar. That was a tip from a reader and I never use flour now. thank you for your kind words!
Not to sound dense, but what type of sugar are you recommending coating the pan with? Sugar or powdered?
granulated sugar like this https://shopstyle.it/l/bVenw
I would like a recipe for the frosting/icing as I cannot find it. Thank you!
Just came out of oven. Looks and smells fantastic. Can’t wait to try it.
YUMMY! This was my first pound cake. It was really wonderful. I do have 2 questions though.
1. I used a tube pan. About 1in square around the tube does not seem as well cooked as the rest although I did the toothpick check in that area. Just cook it longer? will that affect the truly excellent qualities of the rest of the cake?
2. How on earth do you get the cake out of the tube pan and top-side up on a serving plate without destroying the lovely top crust? 🙂 I failed!
I used to use a light-colored tube pan and it always was less cooked and sank around the center hole. This tube pan doesn’t do that as much. You can cook it a little longer but you risk drying out the outside too much.
It’s tricky inverting the cake. I use 2 plates to invert the cake then quickly turn it right side up on the other cake. It helps me to have a 2-part tube pan.
This pound cake is outstanding. Followed the directions exactly as written and it did not disappoint. The texture is perfect. Thanks for the recipe
Can I use Bakers spray instead of flour to coat the pan?
You can, but I’ve never found a spray as good as flour and sugar (or flour) or the Wilton Cake Release.
I always use Bakers spray with pound cakes and it works just fine!