Moist and creamy vegan coconut cake with a coconutty sweet potato frosting which reminds of Raffaello! The recipe is dairy-free, eggless, gluten-free, oil-free, refined sugar-free, nut-free, and furthermore easy to make. This healthier dessert is the perfect cake for all coconut lovers out there and also a great birthday cake.
Coconut Cream Birthday Cake
Today is not only Mother’s Day but it’s also my mom’s birthday and therefore I baked a cake! Since my mom doesn’t like chocolate (yes, I know… I don’t understand it either, haha) I made a vegan coconut cake because she loves coconut as much as I do. Unfortunately, my mom doesn’t live close (actually over 7500 km away), so this cake is rather symbolic. I know she will still appreciate this little gesture, and I am sure she knows how much I love her!
Gluten Free Coconut Cake
This coconut cream cake is, of course, plant-based, and also gluten-free. I used a combination of rice flour and oat flour, however, I am pretty sure that you could also use a gluten-free all-purpose flour blend. And if you aren’t gluten-free, you can try using all-purpose flour or spelt flour. Please note, that I haven’t made this cake with any other flour combination, so I cannot guarantee that the result will be the same!
Allergy-Friendly Recipe
If you follow me on Instagram or already subscribed to my blog newsletter, you will know that I share vegan recipes which are, most of the time, pretty healthy! I try to avoid refined sugar, gluten, and oil (or vegan butter) because I just don’t feel good when I consume any of these ingredients.
This vegan cake doesn’t contain refined sugar, oil, eggs, or butter which makes it so much healthier than most other (coconut) cakes. It’s also soy-free, and nut-free, and I am sure you will be surprised if I tell you that this cake contains veggies!
Sweet Potato Frosting
Yes, that’s right, this vegan coconut cream cake contains sweet potatoes! I used Japanese sweet potatoes that have white flesh. Here they are called “batata” and they are totally different from orange sweet potatoes. What is the difference between white (Japanese) and orange sweet potatoes? Well, Japanese sweet potatoes are much drier (they contain more starch) and they are a little bit sweeter than orange ones. They are simply perfect to use in desserts!
I know that Japanese sweet potatoes aren’t available everywhere but if you happen to have them in your local supermarket, then definitely buy them! They are really amazing, and I am sure you will love them as much as I do.
Some people commented that they used orange sweet potatoes for the frosting, which worked fine. Of course, the color of the frosting will be different.
I cannot tell you how much I love the frosting which I made with the Japanese sweet potatoes. It totally reminds me of Raffaello, the almond/coconut candy which was my absolute favorite (besides Bounty) before I went vegan! The cream tastes almost the same, I am not kidding!
How To Make Vegan Coconut Cake?
- First, peel, chop and boil the Japanese sweet potatoes until fork tender. For this recipe, you will need 340 grams of cooked sweet potato (about 1 medium Japanese sweet potato or two small ones).
- Meanwhile, add all dry ingredients into a bowl. Process the wet ingredients in a blender and pour the mixture into the bowl of dry ingredients. Whisk until combined. Pour the cake batter into the cake pan (I recommend using two) and bake it in the oven.
- While the cake is in the oven, you can prepare the frosting. It’s super easy, as you need to simply process all frosting ingredients in your blender until smooth and creamy.
- Once the cake has cooled completely, frost it and decorate it with coconut flakes.
How To Store
Store the cake covered in the fridge for up to 5 days.
You can also freeze the cake slices for up to 3 months. Let thaw at room temperature.
Useful Tips:
- Use two cake pans for shorter baking time and to avoid cutting the cake into two layers.
- Add coconut rum or coconut extract for a delicious coconutty taste.
- If you don’t want to use sweet potatoes for the frosting, you can also check out my No-Bake Carrot Cake recipe. It has a deliciously creamy frosting made out of pudding (custard) and soaked cashews!
- The recipe calls for coconut butter. It can be store-bought or homemade. If you want to make it yourself, you will need to process about 3 cups of shredded unsweetened coconut in a food processor until it turns into coconut butter and has a creamy texture (which takes about 20-30 minutes, therefore I would recommend using store-bought coconut butter.
Should you give this vegan coconut cake recipe a try, please leave a comment below, and don’t forget to tag me in your Instagram or Facebook post with @elavegan and #elavegan because I would love to see how it turned out! And for more easy vegan cake recipes, definitely check out the following recipes:
- Chocolate Zucchini Cake
- No-Bake Carrot Cake
- Baked Cheesecake
- Red Velvet Cake
- Caramel Apple Cheesecake
Vegan Coconut Cake
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
- 2 cups (180 g) oats (gluten-free if needed) ground into flour
- 3/4 cup (120 g) white rice flour (see notes)
- 1 1/2 cups (130 g) shredded unsweetened coconut ground into flour (see notes)
- 1 cup (150 g) coconut sugar (or use 150 g of regular sugar)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
Wet Ingredients:
- 2/3 cup (160 g) apple sauce or 160 g peeled zucchini
- 1 1/3 cup ml) (320 ml) coconut milk canned
- 4 tbsp (80 g) maple syrup or agave syrup
- 1 tbsp white vinegar or apple cider vinegar
Frosting:
- 340 g (1 medium or 2 small) (340 g) Japanese sweet potato (see notes)
- 2/3 cup (160 g) coconut butter (see notes)
- 1/3 cup (105 g) maple syrup or agave syrup
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) coconut milk canned
- 4 tbsp (40 ml) coconut rum or use more coconut milk (see notes)
Instructions
- I recommend measuring the ingredients in grams on a kitchen scale.
- Peel the Japanese sweet potato and chop into 1-inch cubes. Boil in water until fork tender. For this recipe, you will need 340 grams of cooked sweet potato (about 1 medium Japanese sweet potato or two small ones).
- Meanwhile, process the oats and shredded unsweetened coconut in an electric spice/coffee grinder or blender. Then add all dry ingredients into a bowl.
- Preheat oven to 356 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius). Grease two 8-inch (20 cm) or 7-inch (18 cm) cake pans (or springforms) and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
- Process the wet ingredients in a blender and pour the mixture into the bowl of dry ingredients. Whisk until combined.
- Divide the batter between the two cake pans and bake for about 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out almost clean. It can still be a little bit crumbly but shouldn't be wet! If you use just one cake pan the baking time will be much longer (about 50-55 minutes) but I definitely recommend 2 cake pans.
- While the cake is in the oven, you can prepare the frosting. Simply process all frosting ingredients in your blender until completely smooth and creamy.
- Once the cake has cooled completely, frost it and decorate with coconut flakes. Chill in the fridge for about 3 hours before serving. Enjoy!
Notes
- Please use shredded unsweetened coconut, also known as desiccated coconut. Do NOT use coconut flour, as it's completely different and dries out the batter! You could use 130 grams of ground almonds (or other ground nuts of choice) though.
- Rice flour: Some people reported that they used regular flour instead of rice flour with good results.
- Frosting: I used Japanese sweet potatoes for this recipe. Japanese sweet potatoes have white flesh and are much drier than orange sweet potatoes. They are furthermore sweeter and perfect for desserts. If you don't have access to Japanese sweet potatoes I would recommend making the frosting of my No-Bake Carrot Cake but make sure to increase the amount of ingredients by about 50%.
- Some people commented that they used orange sweet potatoes for the frosting, which worked fine (I haven't tried it). Of course, the color of the frosting will be different.
- The recipe calls for coconut butter, not coconut oil. The coconut butter can be store-bought or homemade. If you want to make it yourself, you will need to process about 3 cups of shredded unsweetened coconut in a food processor until it turns into coconut butter and has a creamy texture (which takes about 20-30 minutes, therefore I would recommend store-bought coconut butter.
- If you don't want to use coconut rum, then use more coconut milk. You could also add a little coconut extract for an enhanced coconutty flavor.
- You can also check out my Vegan Coconut Cups Recipe.
- Nutrition facts are for one slice (of 12).
Nutrition information is an estimate and has been calculated automatically
Lorena
Holi can I make this cake without the blender ?
Ela
I am afraid that won’t work, Lorena.
Maja
Hi Ela!
So just checking: you used raw sweet potato?
Thanks,
Maja
Ela
Hi Maja, you need to cook the sweet potato. It’s actually mentioned in the first instruction step: 1) “Peel the Japanese sweet potato and chop into 1-inch cubes. Boil in water until fork tender. For this recipe, you will need 340 grams of cooked sweet potato (about 1 medium Japanese sweet potato or two small ones).”
Tony
Wow! This cake looks delicious. Once every other month some friends from church and I meet at each other’s home to potluck and fellowship. On our next meeting I will surprise them with this cake and I’m sure that they are going to love it. But I would like to know if there is something I could use other than sugar?
Thanks!
Ela
That’s awesome, Tony! You can use Xylitol, Erythritol or a combination of Stevia and Erythritol. 🙂
Laura Pridmore
Awesome cake, espacially tried for my birthday!
It taste amazing and even the rest of my family who is not vegan loved it.
Furthermore it is easy to make !!
Thank you very much for sharing this Ela.
Ela
That’s wonderful! So glad you loved the cake, Laura. 🙂
Angie
What can i use to replace baking powder and baking soda
Ela
Hi, there is actually nothing you can use instead of baking powder and baking soda, as far as I know. You can just leave it out, which will make the cake dense.
Miriam
I use yeast in my cakes, Ive had some friends who made some lovely cakes that way.
Kitty Crone
One of the things I like best about this recipe was that it’ was so fun to make! Japanese sweet potatoes as the base for frosting?! So cool!!
Both plant based and non-plant based family loved the cake. Dense and moist, perfectly sweet. Thank you thank you, I’ve had so much fun with your recipes.
Ela
Yay! I am super happy it turned out delicious and that you and your family loved it. Thanks for your amazing feedback! 🙂
Jessica
Hi Ela, I am making this today, looking forward to it! I haven’t worked with coconut sugar, I generally only use honey as a sweetener. Think the substitution will be too runny? Add more flour perhaps? Appreciate your two cents, Jessica
Ela
Hi Jessica! Good question, I also believe the batter would be too runny. I would suggest adding a little bit more flour, maybe 1/4 cup each. Let me know how it turned out if you give it a try. 🙂
Jessica
Jessica
Maja
Ela,
this cake is a dream! I love coconut in desserts and I adored Rafaello too when I was a kid.
I’m definitely making this beauty. I’d wanna use the brown rice flour that I always use. Do you think it should work as well?
Lots of love,
Maja
Ela
Thank you so much, Maja! Yes, brown rice flour should work as well. 🙂
Much love, Ela
Tanja
Thank you! It turned out d e l I c i o u s?
Ela
Awesome! I am so pleased the cake turned out delicious! Thanks for your feedback, Tanja. 🙂
Bianca Zapatka
This cake looks so delicious Ela ?
Love coconut too! I wish I could have a slice now ?
Lots of love,
Bianca ❤️
Ela
Thank you, Bianca! I would love to share the coconut cake with you! ?
Stacey
This looks amazing! Would love to make this for my mums 50th. Could I swap the rice flour for something? I’m gluten and rice intolerant until further notice haha
Ela
You could try using buckwheat flour or quinoa flour. 🙂
Stacey Pilkington
Amazing I’ll try the quinoa. Thank you!
Ela
Great, I hope it turns out delicious! 🙂
STEFANIA lalakko
Can I replace that sweet potato with so some of else? Thank you o
Ela
Hi, Stefania! I have already answered your question in the recipe notes and linked to a different recipe to make a cashew based cream.
Aspen
I can’t wait to make this! Is it possible to replace the oat and rice flour with just regular flour? If so, what would I need to adjust? Also, where do you buy your coconut butter?
Thank you!
Ela
Hi, Aspen! I have already answered the question in the blog post. Regular flour probably will work but since I didn’t try it, I cannot tell you how the result will be. The batter shouldn’t be too thick and also not too runny. So simply add more milk if it’s too thick and more flour if it’s too runny and then see if it works. 🙂 I bought coconut butter at iHerb.
Aspen
Thank you so much!
Ela
You are very welcome! 🙂
Britt
Okay, Ela, this is MAGIC! Coconut cake was my absolute favorite as a kid, and this is bringing back memories!! The frosting is incredible, and I love the layers 🙂 Can’t have coconut cake without at least 2 layers!!
Ela
Aww, I am so glad you like it, Britt! And I agree, 2 layers are a must! 🙂
Olga
I looove coconut! Seems like I have all the ingredients (except sweet potato, but I think I have seen it in local market). I really want to make it for my birthday which is on the 25th May! My birthday – my way and I don’t care if somebody doesn’t like coconut, am I right? Haha
Ela
Haha, yes, exactly! Please report back once you make it. 🙂
Ferlie
This looks delicious! Before becoming vegan I loved coconut cake., its great that you shared this recipe. I will be making this in the very near future.
Ela
Yay sounds great! I hope you will like it, Ferlie. 🙂
Khaoula
Hello,
I’m in love with your vegan coconut cake on the picc ??.
I will try to make it to. It’s easy for me if I can see it how that is, if you’re making it in a video.
Do you have the video of your vegan ? ? ?
Thank you ?
Ela
Thank you, dear! I didn’t make a video of this recipe but if I make it again in the future I will definitely make a video. 🙂
Ro
Is it possible to replace oats with something else?
Ela
You could use more rice flour but then you would need to use less plant-based milk otherwise the batter will be too runny. You could maybe also use buckwheat flour instead of oat flour but I haven’t tried it out myself. Let me know if you give it a try. 🙂
Ro
Thanks! I promise I will !