Simple Gluten Free Coconut Pound Cake Recipe

Posted by admin on Mar 25, 2020

Super simple Gluten Free Coconut Pound Cake is a coconut lover’s dessert! This pound cake recipe is dense, moist, and tender. Pound Cake is a great dessert of any occasion.

Gluten Free Coconut Pound Cake with Coconut Frosting and Toasted Coconut on a flat white cake plate

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This may not be the best recipe to make right now due to the shortages with dairy products and eggs. But let me tell you, it’s worth using your stash. There’s something about cake that makes every situation a little bit better and this gluten free coconut pound cake is no exception.

Of course, if you don’t want to make this cake now, you can always pin it to save for later. It would be perfect to serve at Easter. That is, if Easter isn’t cancelled 🤔

What You Need To Know About this Bundt Cake Recipe:

This recipe is forgiving! I totally screwed this cake up when I started baking it for the photo shoot. So if you follow the directions in the recipe, you’ll get a tighter crumb more reminiscent of pound cake.

I was super distracted when I made this cake – the kids are home, I’ve been trying to fit in their schoolwork between recipe testing, photo shoots, and all the backend work associated with running a blog, general stress and anxiety due to all of the uncertainty, etc.

You know the drill. We’re all in the trenches together. Except not really together because social distancing / shelter in place and all.

Crazy times, my friends. Crazy, crazy times.

Gluten Free Coconut Pound Cake with Coconut Frosting on a white cake plate

Did you make this recipe? Leave a star rating and let me know in the comments! You can also leave a photo/comment on this pin for others to see.

Anyways, you’re probably wondering how I screwed this cake up because it still looks good. Like, really freaking good. And it is!

I’m not used to creaming butter and sugar together, I almost always use oil when making cakes and when making cookies, I use melted butter. Same flavor, slightly different mixing methods.

So when I was making this cake, I added the sugar to the other dry ingredients and didn’t realize it until after I whisked it all together. Since the sugar was already in the dry ingredients, I had nothing to cream the butter with.

I ended up beating the butter by itself and then adding the eggs, sour cream, and extracts. It was a a curdle-y mess because the butter wouldn’t incorporate into the other wet ingredients well. UGH.

I didn’t want to have to dump it because 4 eggs and 2 cups of sugar! What if I can’t get more?!

So I said a little prayer, added the dry ingredients, and hoped for the best. The batter mixed up ok but you could still see chunks of butter. Oh well. Another prayer and into the oven it went.

And it was ok! It came out just fine and the flavor was great. It’s a liiitle more dense and slightly less fluffy and tender than when I made the recipe correctly before but it was still company worthy.

Total win in my book 💃🏽

Moral of the story, you can mess this up and it will still come out fine. That’s my kind of cake!

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Key Ingredients for Coconut Pound Cake

Gluten Free Flour – I tested this recipe with my Nightshade-Free Gluten Free Flour Blend with excellent results. It also worked well with Cup 4 Cup. If you use a flour blend that contains xanthan gum, omit what I called for in the recipe.
- Get my free guide to measuring flour here
Shredded Coconut – I used sweetened coconut but you can use unsweetened shredded coconut if you prefer. I don’t recommend using fine coconut flakes in this recipe because the texture of the coconut will be lost.
Sour Cream – sour cream is a magical ingredient in baked goods. It makes them tender and adds moisture. Don’t worry, there’s a dairy free sub listed below and it works just as well!

Can I Make a Dairy Free Pound Cake?

Yes! I tested this with vegan / dairy free subs and it worked great! For vegan butter, I used Miyoko’s European Style Cultured Vegan Butter. In place of the sour cream, I used Forager Project Unsweetened Plain Cashewmilk Yogurt. They also have a sour cream that works great too.

I used Miyoko’s again in the frosting and I used Silk Heavy Whipping Cream Alternative in place of the regular heavy cream. The dairy free version was excellent and if I didn’t make it, I would not have known it was dairy free.

The cake in the photos is the dairy free version!

Equipment Needed to Make a Bundt Cake

KitchenAid Stand Mixer or Hand Mixer
Bundt Pan – I use a 10-Inch Bundt Pan, which is a standard size that holds 12 cups. Larger or smaller bundt pans will affect your baking time.
Cake Tester – a longer Cake Tester is better for testing doneness in a bundt cake than a tooth pick is. Bundt cakes are deep and a cake tester will be able to help you test the center of the cake.

What is a Bundt Cake?

A bundt cake is a cake that’s baked in a Bundt Pan. It’s round with a hole in the center. Pound cakes are usually baked in loaf pans or bundt pans.

How to Make a Coconut Pound Cake

Step 1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees and generously spray a standard bundt pan with non-stick spray making sure to cover completely. Instead of non-stick spray, you can generously butter your pan and coat in gluten free flour.

Step 2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the gluten free flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, and salt. Whisk in the shredded coconut. Set aside.

Step 3. Add the butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and cream together. Add the eggs and mix on medium low speed until light and fluffy.

Step 4. Mix in the sour cream and coconut extract until fully incorporated.

Step 5. Add half of the flour mixture and mix until mostly combined. Then add the remaining flour mixture and mix until incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.

Step 6. Transfer the batter to the prepared baking pan and spread the batter evenly in the pan. Use a spatula to smooth out the top.

Step 7. Bake at 325 degrees for 55-75 minutes or until a cake tester comes out mostly clean with a couple moist crumbs attached. Mine took 70 minutes but baking time will vary by oven and the size of the bundt pan you used (see notes).

Step 8. Once the cake is baked, invert onto a cooling rack and let sit for 10 minutes before removing the pan. Then, carefully remove the pan and cool the cake completely before frosting.

Step 9. To make the frosting, add the powdered sugar, salt, butter, heavy cream, vanilla, and coconut extract to a large bowl. Use a hand mixer to mix until combined. Add more or less cream to reach your desired thickness.

Step 10. Frost the cake with the icing and then garnish with toasted coconut.

Tips for Making a Coconut Bundt Cake

Coat your pan really well. I’m talking a very generous coating of non-stick spray or even better, butter and flour your pan getting every little nook and cranny you can. You don’t want your bundt to stick. There’s a homemade gluten free pan release recipe in my cookbook, The Gluten-Free Quick Breads Cookbook that’s excellent for coating bundt pans.
Use room temperature ingredients. It will make a difference in how your ingredients incorporate. It’ll also ensure your cake bakes evenly.
Don’t reduce the amount of ingredients used. This is a pound cake. It’s not the time to start cutting back on the sugar and butter. If you change the ratio of ingredients in this recipe, I can’t guarantee it will work.
Flip your cake when it comes out of the oven. I flip my cake pan over right after it comes out of the oven. I just flip it over onto the wire rack and then leave it there for 10-15 minutes before removing the pan. Gravity will help pull the cake out gently and slowly and the heat from the pan will help with the residual baking.

Other Coconut Dessert Recipes To Try

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Gluten Free Coconut Pound Cake

Yield: Serves 12-16

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Super simple Gluten Free Coconut Pound Cake is a coconut lover's dessert! This pound cake recipe is dense, moist, and tender. Pound Cake is a great dessert of any occasion.

Ingredients

For the Cake

1 3/4 cups (237g) gluten free flour blend (see notes)
3/4 teaspoon (4g) xanthan gum (omit if your flour blend contains it)
1 teaspoon (5g) aluminum free baking powder
1/2 teaspoon (3g) fine sea salt
2 cups (176g) shredded coconut
1 1/2 cups butter, softened (3 sticks or 12 ounces)
2 cups (400g) granulated sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup sour cream, room temperature
2 teaspoons coconut extract

For the Frosting

2 cups powdered sugar
pinch of fine sea salt
2 tablespoons butter, softened
4-6 tablespoons heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon coconut extract
1/3 cup toasted coconut or toasted coconut chips, for garnish

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and generously spray a standard bundt pan with non-stick spray making sure to cover completely. Instead of non-stick spray, you can generously butter your pan and coat in gluten free flour.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the gluten free flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, and salt. Whisk in the shredded coconut. Set aside.
Add the butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and cream together. Add the eggs and mix on medium low speed until light and fluffy.
Mix in the sour cream and coconut extract until fully incorporated.
Add half of the flour mixture and mix until mostly combined. Then add the remaining flour mixture and mix until incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
Transfer the batter to the prepared baking pan and spread the batter evenly in the pan. Use a spatula to smooth out the top.
Bake at 325 degrees for 55-75 minutes or until a cake tester comes out mostly clean with a couple moist crumbs attached. Mine took 70 minutes but baking time will vary by oven and the size of the bundt pan you used (see notes).
Once the cake is baked, invert onto a cooling rack and let sit for 10 minutes before removing the pan. Then, carefully remove the pan and cool the cake completely before frosting.
To make the frosting, add the powdered sugar, salt, butter, heavy cream, vanilla, and coconut extract to a large bowl. Use a hand mixer to mix until combined. Add more or less cream to reach your desired thickness.
Frost the cake with the icing and then garnish with toasted coconut.

Notes

I used my Nightshade Free Gluten Free Flour Blend in this recipe. I've also tested it with Cup4Cup with great results.
If you use a flour blend that contains xanthan gum, omit what I called for in this recipe.
I used shredded sweetened coconut in this recipe but unsweetened will also work.
I used a 10-inch bundt pan, which is a relatively standard size. A 10-inch bundt pan typically holds about 12 cups. Baking times will vary if you use a larger or smaller pan.
Store leftover cake covered at room temperature up to 3 days.