Raspberry and Coconut Cake

A slice of raspberry coconut cake on a plate sits in front of the rest of the cake.

Raspberry and Coconut Cake

You'll want to pull out all the stops for this love-filled raspberry coconut cake. A crowd-pleaser for sure!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 40

Total Time 1

Servings

Calories 529kcal

Author Marly McMillen

Equipment

Ingredients

For the Coconut Cake:

1 cup vegan butter , melted
1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
13.5 oz can full fat coconut milk (see notes)
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon coconut extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt

For the Raspberry Cashew Cream Filling:

1 cup raw cashews , soaked in water for 2 hours
1 cup raspberries (fresh or frozen)
1 tablespoon coconut oil (or vegan butter)
¼ cup agave nectar

For the Coconut Frosting:

½ cup vegan butter
3 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon coconut flavoring
2 to 3 tablespoons soymilk
Topping: ½ cup flaked coconut
Optional coloring. To make the filling or the frosting pink, you can use pink food coloring, a drop or two of beet juice or juice from one or two raspberries.

Cups - Metric

Instructions

For the Coconut Cake:

Preheat your oven to 350°F/175°C. Grease and flour two (or three) 9-inch cake pans.
Using an electric mixer, cream together vegan butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Next, add the coconut milk, vinegar, vanilla, and coconut extract. Beat until light and fluffy, approximately 2 to 3 minutes.
In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk until combined. Pour flour mixture into the whipped butter mixture. Beat on low speed until just mixed.
Divide batter equally among prepared pans. Level batter in each pan by holding pan 3 or 4 inches above the counter, then dropping it flat onto the counter. Do this several times to release air bubbles and assure a more level cake.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until done. Cool in pans for 5 to 10 minutes. Invert cakes onto cooling racks.
Once the cakes have cooled, place the bottom cake layer on a plate and top with Raspberry filling (recipe below). If you have prepared 3 cakes, then place the second cake on top of the raspberry filling and top it with additional raspberry filling. Top that with the final cake.
Ice the entire cake with Coconut Frosting, being careful not to tear the cake when spreading the frosting over it. I use a butter knife dipped in warm water to help the frosting spread more easily.
Top frosted cake with flaked coconut.

For the Raspberry Cashew Cream Filling:

Drain the soaked cashews and place them in a blender or food processor. Pulse for several seconds. Use a spatula to push down ingredients from the side of the bowl and pulse again. Next, add the agave nectar. Continue pulsing and scraping the bowl until the cashews are relatively smooth.
Next, add the coconut oil and raspberries and pulse again in short bursts, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Continue until the mixture is creamy. Add coloring as necessary. Refrigerate.

For the Coconut Frosting:

In a mixing bowl, combine the coconut oil and powdered sugar. Using either a hand-held mixer or a stand mixer, beat on low speed until the powdered sugar is combined, gradually increasing speed up to medium. Mix on medium until light and fluffy. Add the coconut flavoring and mix again until combined.
Next add the soymilk, one tablespoon at a time until you reach a desired, spreadable consistency. I like to be able to easily spread the frosting over the top of my cake so I usually use 3 tablespoons soymilk or vegan creamer.
For a pink frosting, add some coloring (either beet juice, raspberry juice, or pink food coloring) and mix it again until the color is distributed throughout the frosting.
Set aside until your cakes have completely cooled.

Notes

*Feel free to substitute corn starch for tapioca starch and some other gluten-free flour for the coconut flour if that's not available to you...or too pricey!)

Nutrition