This vegan coconut raspberry cake is packed with tropical coconut flavor and lightened with sweet juicy raspberries! It doesn’t require any fancy decorations and is perfect for afternoon tea with a cup of tea or coffee.
Ingredients you’ll need
The full list of ingredient quantities and instructions are in the gray recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Notes about the ingredients
Unsweetened canned coconut milk. All brands of coconut milk are different and will affect how your cake will turn out. For this recipe, I recommend using a runny coconut milk that is in between 12-18% fat, although 5-12% will still work. This can be full-fat or reduced-fat coconut milk. Some brands are higher in fat and have a pudding-like consistency which will make this cake too heavy.
Dairy-free milk (beverage-style milk that comes in a carton) to lighten up the cake. This balances out the coconut milk which adds a lot of fat and density to the cake.
Raspberries. This simple cake works well with either fresh or frozen raspberries. If using frozen, don’t let them thaw in advance and bake the cake for a few minutes longer.
Finely shredded coconut (desiccated coconut) for flavor and texture. If your coconut isn’t very fine, quickly blend it in a food processor.
Tips for preparing the cake batter
The cake batter is easy to make as we’re just mixing the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients, and then folding in the raspberries.
You can prepare the batter by hand using a large bowl. Or you can use a hand mixer or a stand mixer, as long as you fold in the berries by hand. The final batter should be thick.
For the best coconut raspberry cake, I recommend:
- Using room temperature ingredients, especially the non-dairy milk and coconut milk. Cold liquids don’t emulsify well with dry ingredients and will change the consistency of your batter and cake.
- Avoid overmixing the batter after you’ve added the raspberries. Overmixing will cause the raspberries to bleed into the batter and this will make the cake heavier.
Baking this coconut raspberry cake
This recipe contains a lot of moisture from the coconut and raspberries, so it will take around 1 hour and 15 minutes to bake. Don’t worry, the cake will not dry out!
The shredded coconut on top of the cake won’t burn (in most ovens) thanks to the natural moisture and steam from the cake. However, if your oven has a strong top-heat element, the top of the cake may brown too quickly. If it does, please cover your cake tin with aluminum foil.
Customizing this cake recipe
I have only tested this cake as it’s written. However, I think it will work similarly without raspberries (the cake will take a little less time to bake).
The coconut and coconut milk are too prominent in this recipe to omit. However, if you’re looking for a cake with only raspberries, I suggest baking my blueberry lemon cake recipe and replacing the blueberries with fresh or frozen raspberries.
This cake would be lovely with some lemon zest, or almond extract. I don’t recommend adding extra lemon juice to the cake as it can be finicky in baking.
As there are a lot of flavors and textures in this recipe, I don’t recommend adding any other ingredients as it will weigh down the cake. Alternatively, you may like my passionfruit coconut cake.
This cake would be lovely with:
– Coconut buttercream. Use your favorite buttercream recipe but replace the milk with coconut milk.
– Vegan cream cheese frosting. Use half a batch of the frosting from my mango cake.
– Raspberry cream cheese frosting. Use half a batch of my strawberry cream cheese frosting recipe but replace the strawberries with raspberries.
More single-layer vegan cake recipes
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Vegan Coconut Raspberry Cake
This vegan coconut raspberry cake is packed with tropical coconut flavor and lightened with sweet juicy raspberries! It doesn’t require any fancy decorations and is perfect with a cup of tea or coffee.
Servings: 10
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Instructions
Make the cake:
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Preheat your oven to 180°C (355°F). Line a 20 cm (8-inch) round cake pan with parchment paper.
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If your dried coconut isn’t very fine, add it to a food processor and pulse until you get fine crumbs.
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Add all the dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl and whisk until well combined. Add all the wet ingredients (except the raspberries) to the flour mixture and mix until just combined.
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Add the raspberries and gently fold them through. Pour the batter into your prepared cake pan. Scatter the additional raspberries on top and gently press some of them into the cake. If desired, sprinkle some shredded coconut on top.
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Bake the cake for 1 hour 10 minutes to 1 hour 20 minutes (shorter if using fresh raspberries, longer if using frozen raspberries). The cake is ready when the surface is golden brown and you can insert a toothpick in the middle and it comes out clean. If you gently press the center of the cake, it should bounce back.
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Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes then cool on a cooling rack. If desired, top the cake with additional toasted shredded coconut.
Serve and Store:
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Use a sharp serrated knife to cut the cake into slices and serve. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 day, in the fridge for 3-4 days, or in the freezer for up to 1 month.
Notes
- Coconut milk is a little thicker than beverage milk. Sometimes the coconut cream separates from the water so make sure you shake your can before using it. Brands of coconut milk vary a lot, so I recommend using a brand of coconut milk that is between 12-18% fat, although a lower-fat one will work. A coconut cream with a higher fat percentage will make your batter too thick, and your final cake will be gluggy.
- This cake had enough coconut flavor and texture for me, but for extra coconut flavor, you can add ½ teaspoon of coconut extract.
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