Keto Coconut Cake with Cream Cheese Icing

You’ll love this fluffy and moist keto coconut cake with cream cheese icing made without sugar alcohols. It’s a delicious low carb dessert that is also very simple to make!

Article Index

• Why you'll love it
• Ingredients
• Quick tips
• Instructions
• ️ Serving suggestions
• Related recipes
• Recipe

I don’t eat desserts very often. I’ve found that the longer I eat keto, the less and less I crave sweets. I just no longer have much of a taste for them.

But every now and again, the cravings strike. And one day, I found myself craving cake.

So I went through my recipes to see what I could make. I came across a coconut pie I once made from yellow squash, which gave me an idea. I also had a bag of coconut chips sitting in my pantry.

That’s how I decided to try out a recipe for a keto coconut cake! And let me tell you, I’m so glad that I did. 

Why you'll love it

This cake is moist, fluffy, and just what you need to satisfy a sweet tooth. The coconut flavor makes it unique from a typical chocolate or vanilla cake. It tastes so indulgent, but only has 3.8 net carbs per serving.

It's also a sugar-free coconut cake made without sugar alcohols. While sugar alcohols are safe for a keto diet, they can cause weight loss stalls. Some people also have sensitivities to them.

Plus, this cake recipe is one of the easiest to make. If you’re looking for a delicious cake to satisfy a dessert craving that’s a breeze to make, look no further!

Ingredients

If you do a lot of baking, you likely have most of the ingredients needed for this keto coconut cake recipe. You may be surprised that there's yellow squash added, but it's the secret to getting a moist cake.

Here's an overview of the ingredients you'll need:

• Coconut flour gives a light spongy texture.
• Baking soda and baking powder provide the leavening.
• Salt enhances the taste.
• Eggs bind the cake ingredients together.
• Coconut oil adds liquid and moistness.
• Vanilla extract adds sweetness and enhances the flavor.
• Liquid sweetener sweetens the cake and the frosting.
• Yellow squash is grated to add plenty of moisture.
• Flaked coconut gives the cake the coconut flavor.
• Cream cheese is used as the base for the frosting.
• Butter adds creaminess to the frosting.

Quick tips

• Use a rubber spatula. The batter is very thick so you'll need a rubber spatula to spread it out evenly in the pan.
• Add coconut extract. If you want a stronger coconut flavor in the cake, you can mix in a teaspoon or two of extract.
• Change the flavor. You can omit the coconut flakes and replace the coconut stevia drops with another flavor of stevia drops. Adding lemon extract and lemon zest is a great alternative to coconut!

Instructions

To make this delicious coconut flour cake, just follow these simple step-by-step directions.

Prepare batter

The coconut flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt are whisked together first. Then the eggs, coconut oil, vanilla extract and liquid sweeteners are stirred in.

It's best to use a whisk to combine the dry and wet ingredients together well.

Once you have the base for the cake batter, coconut flakes are stirred in.

Bake cake

Spread the cake batter into a 9x13-inch baking pan. You may want to grease it first, but I used an ungreased seasoned stoneware pan.

It takes about 25 minutes for the cake to cook completely. It should be lightly browned on the top and edges. You can insert a toothpick in the center to test for doneness. If it comes out clean, the cake is done.

Let the cake cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.

Make frosting

To make the frosting, just beat together the cream cheese, butter, and liquid sweeteners until light and fluffy.

Toast coconut

The cake tastes best with toasted coconut sprinkled on top of the frosting. Dried coconut can burn easily when baking so keep an eye in it while toasting. It should take about 3 to 5 minutes at 375°F for the coconut to turn golden brown.

Frost cake

To complete the cake, just spread on the frosting and sprinkle on the toasted coconut. That's it!

️ Serving suggestions

This sugar free coconut cake is super tasty plain. But it looks a lot prettier with frosting and toasted coconut chips on top. would look prettier so I topped it off with frosting and toasted coconut chips. You can choose to serve it either way.

Also, the keto cream cheese icing recipe is a nice one to have that doesn’t use a powdered bulk sweetener. I’m going to try it with my zucchini spice cupcakes next!

Related recipes

The most popular low carb cake recipe on this site is probably my German chocolate cake recipe. The secret ingredient for keeping it incredibly moist is none other than zucchini.

I’ve actually made a yellow squash cake before. However, that recipe requires you to cook the squash first.

Looking for a few other keto treats to satisfy your sweet tooth? Check out a few of these favorites:

• Keto Chocolate Cupcakes are deliciously moist and made with a sugar-free cream cheese hazelnut “Nutella” frosting.
• Sugar free cupcakes with Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting use a sugar free icing that adds a natural pink color and fruity taste.
• Keto Cheesecake Balls with lemon and coconut flavors are a quick no bake snack that combines two great flavors.
• A coconut flour Keto Pumpkin Mug Cake whips up in less than 2 minutes for a yummy paleo friendly treat.
• Carrot cake Keto Muffins with Cream Cheese filling are like having a cheesecake inside a muffin!

I also love these no bake coconut cookies by Adrienne at Whole New Mom!

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Recipe

First published on May 16, 2016. Updated on May 8, 2020, with new images and additional recipe tips.