This Easy Coconut Sheet Cake with a coconut cream cheese frosting is nothing short of decadent. It starts with a boxed mix and ends with a moist, delicious, melt-in-your-mouth coconut cake!
If you’ve ever wanted homemade coconut cake but with less hassle – THIS IS IT. By doctoring up a boxed mix with sour cream, pudding mix and coconut extract, you’ll have a moist and spongy coconut cake. Slather it with my easy cream cheese frosting for the ultimate dessert for coconut lovers!
Every week for a month or so now, I’ve been getting a slice of coconut sheet cake from my local grocery store’s bakery while grocery shopping. The other day they were sold out, so I decided to take matters into my own hands.
I went to my Cranberry Pineapple Upside-Down Cake recipe for inspiration because it also uses a boxed mix (and is incredibly delicious!). I changed a few things up and was extremely happy with the outcome.
Ingredients Needed
- Boxed cake mix – You’ll need a 15.25 ounce white cake mix.
- Pudding mix – A 3.4 ounce package of instant coconut cream pudding mix.
- Sour cream – Adds moisture to the cake.
- Vegetable oil
- Eggs – Please see the notes below about using egg whites vs whole eggs.
- Coconut extract
- Water
- For the frosting – Cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, coconut extract, and sweetened flake coconut.
Using Egg Whites vs Whole Eggs
White cake mixes call for egg whites because using the yolks gives the cake a yellow color. Since this recipe uses coconut cream pudding, the cake will still have a slight yellow color despite using egg whites.
I tested this recipe using three whole eggs in one cake and four egg whites in another. The result was that the cake with whole eggs tasted the same but had a slightly darker yellow color.
In the photos shown in this post, I used egg whites on the cake. Basically, it doesn’t matter if you use whole eggs or egg whites—it’s delicious either way!
How to Make Easy Coconut Sheet Cake
This is a brief overview; please see the recipe card toward the bottom for the list of ingredients and detailed instructions.
- Mix the cake ingredients in a large mixing bowl and pour the batter into a prepared 9×13 baking dish.
- Bake the cake in a preheated oven. Allow cake to cool.
- While the cake is cooling, prepare the frosting. Once the cake has cooled, frost the cake.
- Sprinkle the frosted cake evenly with sweetened flaked coconut.
5 Star Review
“This cake was wonderful! And so easy to make. I followed the recipe as is, and everyone loved it! This will be my go to coconut cake!” ~ Abigail
More Easy Cake Recipes
Easy Coconut Sheet Cake
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 (15.25 ounce) box white cake mix I used Duncan Hines
- 1 (3.4 ounce) package instant coconut cream pudding mix
- 4 large egg whites * room temperature
- ¾ cup sour cream room temperature
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup water
- 2 teaspoons coconut extract
For the frosting:
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- ½ cup butter softened
- 3 ¼ cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon coconut extract
- 1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Grease or liberally spray a 13×9 pan with cooking spray.
- Beat together cake mix, pudding mix, egg whites, sour cream, vegetable oil, water and 2 teaspoons coconut extract with a hand mixer on medium speed (or with a stand mixer using the paddle attachment). Beat until smooth (about 2 minutes).
- Pour batter into prepared pan and spread evenly.
- Bake for 30 to 40 minutes (my cake was ready in 35 minutes using a glass pan), or until a toothpick inserted in the center is removed clean.
- Allow cake to cool. While cake is cooling, prepare the frosting by beating cream cheese and butter in a large bowl with a hand mixer (or a stand mixer) until smooth. Slowly add powdered sugar, while continuing to beat until smooth. Add 1 teaspoon coconut extract and mix until combined.
- Spread frosting over cooled cake and sprinkle evenly with coconut flakes.
Notes
- *3 large eggs can be used in place of the 4 egg whites
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Nutrition
If provided, nutritional info is a courtesy, is not guaranteed and should only be considered as a guideline.
Charlotte
Any idea if this cake will rise enough into a lamb mold for Easter?
Hi Charlotte, I have not tested this cake baked in a lamb mold, so I cannot say with certainty. Please let us know how it turns out if you try it. I hope you and your family have a wonderful Easter!