You will fall in love with this coconut raspberry cake (just like I have). Rich coconut and and tangy berries are always a winner and this cake has just the perfect amount of sweetness. Texturally, it hits all the right marks with crispy and crunchy crumbly, gooey coconut icing, moist and tender cake and gooey swirls of tart raspberry.
Just like this coconut raspberry crumb cake, coconut pairs beautifully with strawberries too in these Coconut Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes and these Coconut Jam Drops.
❤️ Why you’ll love it
- Ultra-moist, soft and tender coconut cake
- Buttery, tropical, sweet, fruity and tangy all at once
- Loaded with a crunchy coconut crumble
- Super quick and easy to make
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Ingredients
This coconut and raspberry cake recipe uses very simple ingredients including a raspberry compote made from fresh or frozen raspberries so you can make this all year round. Most ingredients are self explanatory but I’ve just elaborated on a few below.
⬇️ Jump to the recipe for full ingredients and instructions.
- Raspberry compote / sauce: The raspberry compote (made from scratch and very quick and easy) consists of raspberries, lemon juice, sugar and vanilla. You can use fresh or frozen raspberries. In a bind, you could use some raspberry jam with a little water added for a looser consistency but it will be much sweeter.
- Coconut milk: Use the tinned, full fat version but not coconut cream.
- Desiccated coconut: This is very, very finely shredded coconut. If you can’t find it, add some unsweetened shredded coconut to a food processor and grind it until a little finer.
- Baking powder: This helps the cake rise and get all fluffy. Don’t confuse it for baking soda as they act very differently.
How to make coconut raspberry cake
This easy raspberry coconut loaf cake makes a wonderful morning or afternoon tea or even dessert topped with a bit of ice cream. It starts with my raspberry compote which is very quick to make and so versatile you can even use it in this no churn raspberry ice cream.
⬇️ Jump to the recipe for full ingredients and instructions.
1. Make the raspberry compote
So quick and simple! The raspberry compote is a simple process of cooking the raspberries with sugar and lemon juice in a saucepan then adding vanilla. It takes no more than 15 minutes total. Set it aside to cool or you can make this the day before.
2. The coconut crumble
The coconut crumble or streusel topping is even easier. Just mix the ingredients in a bowl between your fingertips until it’s forming small clumps. Chill until required which ensures the streusel stays on top of the cake and is lovely and crisp.
3. The wet ingredients
Start by beating the butter and sugar together in a bowl until it’s looking pale and creamy. Next, you add eggs and beat them one at time.
Now it’s time to add the dry ingredients.
Tip: Thoroughly beating together the butter and sugar is a process is called creaming and it creates millions of tiny air bubbles in the butter mixture and acts as a natural leavener for the cake butter, whilst also ensuring a tender cake.
4. The dry ingredients
Gently mix through the dry ingredients, in 3 parts, alternating with the coconut milk.
5. Layer it up
Now, you layer the cake up in the loaf tin – cake batter, raspberry compote then again.
6. Crumble and bake
Finally, add the streusel to the top and bake.
7. The coconut icing/glaze
The literal icing on the cake is a very simple mix of icing sugar and coconut milk and is the perfect finish to this cake.
Tips and tricks
- Creaming the butter and sugar: It’s very important to cream the butter and sugar together well. How long it takes will depend on the softness of your butter and the ambient temperature but it could take 2 minutes or it could take 6. When it’s done it will be much lighter and will have a creamy almost fluffy look.
- Scrape down the bowl: During both the creaming the butter and sugar stage and when adding each of the eggs, you need to scrape down the sides of the bowl often. This ensures everything is combining evenly throughout the cake batter.
- Chill the coconut crumb topping: Make the crumb topping first so that you can chill it before adding it to the cake. This makes it crispier and keeps it sitting right at the top.
- You can make the raspberry compote ahead: This compote keeps quite well in a preserving jar, so feel free to make it 2-3 days ahead.
How to store it
This raspberry and coconut cake will keep well for 3-4 days. It stays moist so long as it’s kept in an airtight container. As it contains fruit, it’s best to keep it in the fridge if it lasts any longer than a day. Let the slices come to room temperature before serving.
Variations
- Citrus: Try adding a little citrus tang from lemon zest or lime like this lime and coconut cake.
- White chocolate, in the form of white chocolate chips, added to the better is delicious.
- Curd: You could swap the raspberry compote for a variety of fruit curds like lemon curd, orange curd, passionfruit curd, pineapple curd or blackberry curd.
- Jam: Swap the raspberry compote for any flavour jam you like, keeping in mind that jam will be sweeter and less tangy.
The smell of this gorgeous coconut and raspberry cake loaf is bright and summery. The natural coconut flavour and rich real raspberries are such a beautiful combination.
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Related raspberry and blueberry recipes.
If you made this coconut and raspberry cake recipe,
be sure to leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating below. Thank you!
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Ingredients
FOR THE COCONUT CRUMB TOPPING
- 22 g fine desiccated coconut (¼ cup/ ~¾oz)
- 33 g plain flour (all-purp flour) (¼ cup / ~1¼oz)
- 2 tablespoons white granulated sugar (8tsp, notes 1)
- 42 g unsalted butter cold (3 tablespoons)
FOR THE CAKE
- 195 g plain flour (all-purp flour) (1 ½ cups / ~6 ¾oz)
- 90 g fine desiccated coconut (1 cup/ ~3 ¼oz)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 113 g unsalted butter softened (½ cup / 4oz)
- 200 g white granulated sugar (1 cup/ 7oz)
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup coconut milk (canned) (250ml)
- 1 batch raspberry compote (full batch ~⅔ cup, notes)
THE COCONUT ICING
- 1 ½ tablespoons coconut milk (6tsp, notes 1)
- 1 ½ cups icing sugar (195g / ~6 ¾oz)
- Large coconut flakes for topping
For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided
Equipment
- 9×4 inch loaf tin
Instructions
- Make the raspberry compote, but cook it a few minutes longer so that it's nice and thick and jam-like.
- Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F / 160C fan forced. Grease then line an 8×4 inch loaf tin with baking paper.
- FOR THE COCONUT CRUMB TOPPING:In a medium bowl, combine the ¼ cup desiccated coconut, ¼ cup flour and 2 tablespoons white sugar. Grate the cold butter over the top, then use your fingertips to work it all together until you have a few clumps but no loose flour left.22 g fine desiccated coconut , 33 g plain flour (all-purp flour), 2 tablespoons white granulated sugar, 42 g unsalted butter
- FOR THE CAKE:In a bowl, combine the flour, desiccated coconut, baking powder and salt. Whisk it well to combine.195 g plain flour (all-purp flour), 90 g fine desiccated coconut, 2 teaspoons baking powder, ¼ teaspoon salt
- In a large bowl using an electric beater or in the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until lightened and fluffy, scraping around the bowl regularly (this can take 5-6 minutes).113 g unsalted butter, 200 g white granulated sugar
- Add the eggs, one at a time and beat until smooth and combined.3 large eggs
- Add ⅓ of the flour mixture and mix on low until just combined. Now add ½ of the coconut milk and gently mix in. Repeat 3 more times – flour, milk, flour – mixing only until just combined each time.1 cup coconut milk (canned)
- Pour ½ of the batter into the lined loaf tin and spread out evenly. Now dollop in ½ of the compote all over. Run a knife through to swirl it a little. Repeat again with half the remaining batter, compote and finishing with the remaining batter.1 batch raspberry compote
- Scatter the streusel evenly over the top.
- Bake for around 60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out just clean. Watch it carefully towards the end as loaf cakes can have a tendency to overbake quickly.
- Let the cake cool in the tin for 10 minutes, before using the edges of the baking paper on the long sides to lift it out. Finish cooling on a wire rack.
- THE COCONUT GLAZE:Once cooled, mix together the icing sugar and coconut milk and drizzle the icing over the top. Scatter over coconut flakes.1 ½ tablespoons coconut milk, 1 ½ cups icing sugar, Large coconut flakes for topping
- Please take a moment to leave a comment & rating. It's appreciated and so helpful.
Notes
- I use a standard Australian 20ml tablespoon (= 4 teaspoons worldwide)
- For best results you should always weigh ingredients like flour and sugar. Kitchen scales are relatively cheap but if you can’t weigh the ingredients, use the spoon and level method (don’t scoop).
- You can use jam in place of the compote but just warm it first or add a dash of water to loosen it’s consistency first. Note that it will be sweeter and less tangy.
- All ovens vary – check for doneness 8-10 minutes before the recipe suggests.
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13 Comments on “Coconut Raspberry Cake”
Is there a substitute for Coconut milk?
Not one I’ve tested and it is a coconut cake so maybe you need a different recipe.
Lovely moist cake. Didn’t have raspberries, so I used my blackberry jam and it was delicious. Will definitely make again.
Blackberry sounds fantastic. Thanks so much Debra.
Hi Marie,
I did make the Coconut and Raspberry Cake …..and absolutely loved it! I have made a lot of cakes…a lot…. but I think this is my favourite. I am pleased that I did all the recipe elements. It was simply gorgeous. I just made one change and that was to strain the raspberry mixture so no seeds in the cake.
I look forward to making the Blood Orange Loaf cake, although I will have to substitute navel oranges. Do you think I will need to add more orange zest to compensate for not using Blood oranges?
Thank you again for your recipes. I have many earmarked!
Regards,
Angela
I’m so happy you loved it Angela. You won’t need to add extra zest for the orange cake. Just stick to the same recipe, using navels instead 🙂
Hello,
I am making this cake today. Just wondering whether the icing is needed as there is a lot of icing sugar in the recipe. Will the cake me enjoyable without the icing?
Or would it be tastier with the icing but not do the crumb topping?
Seems to be a lot of carbs with the crumb topping …and….the cake….and the icing.
Lots of sugar and carbs.
What combination would be the tastiest….without crumb or without icing?
many thanks,
Angela
Hi Angela. Personally, I wouldn’t recommend skipping either of them. They both add flavour and texture. Remember cake is a treat food, so treat yourself without worrying about carbs and sugar.
I will certainly take your advice. Thank you.
Also just a query in regards to the loaf tin….6″ x 4″ is not the average size loaf tin.My normal loaf tin has a base of 11 cm (4″) by 21cm (8 1/4″).
What do you suggest?
Thanks again,
Angela
P.S
I am a lover of your blog, and have many recipes on my must make list.
I’m so glad you picked up on that, Angela. It should read 8×4 inch loaf tin. I’ll fix that in the recipe card now.
Great. All systems go now!
What a beautiful and delicious cake with a terrific light and airy texture! Raspberry and coconut go so well together, and this treat is right up my alley.
Thanks so much. It really is one of my favourites now