Soft and fluffy coconut cake layers sandwiching homemade mango curd topped with creamy coconut buttercream—this mango coconut cake is a paradise of tropical flavors!
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Hello hello! And greetings from Bora Bora!
Just kidding. I’m still in Phoenix. I’m one of those people who every year says I’m taking a REAL vacation next year, then neglects to plan that vacation. And I end up sitting on the couch in my bathing suit looking at pictures of the beach. #truelife
But you know what? It’s fine because I have this coconut mango cake.
It’s basically a tropical vacation on a plate. And the cake baking process doesn’t require finding a reliable dog sitter. Win win!
All that’s required for this delicious dessert are a few cake pans and the ability not to eat all the coconut buttercream before it makes it onto the cake.
Why you’ll love this mango coconut cake:
- The filling is an incredible homemade mango curd
- You don’t need a stand mixer!
- It’s a fun twist on the standard coconut layer cake
How to make mango curd
For this cake you’ll start by making mango curd. Making mango curd is similar to making lemon curd but I have some step by step photos in case you’ve never made your own fruit curd before.
You’ll start by pureeing frozen mango in a food processor.It won’t get completely smooth at first—that’s fine. Measure the puree because you want a 1/2 cup. If you don’t have a full 1/2 cup, add more mango.
Then you’ll add lemon juice and sugar and puree again—at this point it should be completely smooth.
Pour the puree into a saucepan and whisk in eggs, then add some unsalted butter. Cook until thickened.
It will take 6 to 8 minutes to thicken; you’ll know it’s properly thickened when it clings to the back of a wooden spoon and you can run your finger through it—just like the pic below!
At this point, pour the curd through a fine mesh sieve into a mixing bowl. Press plastic wrap directly on top of the curd (to prevent it from forming a skin) and refrigerate until chilled.
You can make the curd up to several days ahead and keep it stored in the fridge in an airtight until you’re ready to use it.
Coconut cake layers
The coconut cake layers are very straightforward to whip together.
Cream the butter, sugar, and cream of coconut together in a large mixing bowl.
Note: cream of coconut and coconut cream are not the same thing and one cannot be substituted for the other. Cream of coconut has added sugar; you can typically find it at liquors stores. I use the brand Coco Lopez.
Beat in the eggs, vanilla, and coconut extract, then the milk.
Slowly add the dry ingredients and mix until the flour is just incorporated, then scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure there aren’t any pockets of flour left. Don’t over-mix once you add the flour or your cake will end up more like bread than like cake!
Pour the batter into three 8-inch cake pans and bake.
Assembling your mango coconut cake
Assembling this mango coconut cake is just like assembling any layer cake, with one exception: when you add the mango curd, don’t spread it all the way to the edge!
Start with a cake layer, top it with some frosting, then top with a 1/4 cup of mango curd. If you spread the curd to the edge, it will seep out into the frosting when you frost your cake.
After you frost the cake, decorate however you’ll like. If your cake frosting skills aren’t great, then covering a cake with something like coconut (or sprinkles or cookie crumbs) is a fantastic way to hide the frosting’s imperfections.
I used 1 cup of toasted coconut to cover just the bottom of the cake but you could certainly use more in order to cover the entire cake. Three cups should be enough for the whole thing.
Baker’s tip: To toast the coconut, spread it into a thin, even layer on a large rimmed baking sheet and toast at 350 degrees for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring a few times. If it isn’t sufficiently brown after 5 minutes, continue toasting it but WATCH CAREFULLY because coconut burns really quickly.
Variations
- Substitute lemon curd (homemade or store bought) or any other kind of fruit curd for the mango curd to make lemon coconut cake. My friend Dawn has an awesome lemon curd tutorial if you go that route.
- Cover the cake in un-toasted flaked coconut. Toasted coconut adds nice color and texture but to simplify things just skip the toasting step.
So what are you waiting for? If you’re in need of a vacation (or if you just want a slice of delicious cake) then I suggest making yourself a mango coconut cake. You’ll love it (almost) as much as I’d love to be on a tropical island right now!
Did you make this mango coconut cake? Hooray! Let me know what you think with a comment and a rating below. And post a pic on Instagram too! Tag @theitsybitsykitchen so I can see! Then like IBK on Facebook and follow on Pinterest for more delicious recipes.
- 3/4 cup to 1 cup chopped frozen mango defrosted and drained
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into cubes
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup cream of coconut (do NOT use coconut cream**)
- 4 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon coconut extract
- 1 cup whole milk at room temperature
- 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons cream of coconut
- 2 to 4 tablespoons whole milk or heavy cream as needed
- 1/2 teaspoon coconut extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 1/2 to 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 cup toasted flaked coconut for garnish if desired+
- Process 3/4 cup of the mango in a food processor until it’s as smooth as you can get it. Measure to ensure you have 1/2 cup of puree; if not, add more mango.
- Add the sugar and lemon juice and process until completely smooth.
- Whisk the puree and the eggs together in a heavy medium saucepan. Set the pan over medium-low heat and stir in the butter.
- Cook the mixture, stirring frequently, until the curd is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 6 to 8 minutes.
- Pour the curd through a fine mesh sieve into a medium mixing bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap onto the top of the curd (this will prevent a skin from forming).
- Cool the curd to room temperature, then refrigerate until well chilled, at least 2 hours. (You can make the curd up to 2 days ahead.)
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray 3 8-inch round baking pans with cooking spray and line the bottoms with parchment paper. Spray the paper with cooking spray and set pans aside.
- Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a medium mixing bowl.
- Combine the butter, sugar, and cream of coconut in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer set to medium until fluffy.
- Beat in the eggs, vanilla, and coconut extract. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and add the milk, then beat on medium until well combined.
- Turn mixer to low and slowly beat in the dry ingredients until just incorporated. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl again to ensure all of the flour is mixed in.
- Divide the batter between the prepared pans and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean.
- Cool cake layers in pans for 20 minutes, then run a knife around the edge of the cake and carefully invert onto wire racks to cool completely before filling and frosting.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the butter on medium until very smooth. (You can use an electric mixer and a large mixing bowl in place of the stand mixer, if desired.)
- Add the cream of coconut, 2 tablespoons of milk, the coconut extract, and the salt and beat 1 minute more.
- Add 4 1/2 cups of powdered sugar and mix on low speed until combined. Turn mixer to medium and beat until very smooth. If frosting is too thick, add additional milk or cream. If it’s too thin add additional powdered sugar.
- If your cake layers have domed, use a long serrated knife to trim them.
- Place one layer on a cake stand or cardboard cake circle and spread a thin layer of frosting over the top.
- Top with a 1/4 cup of mango curd, spreading into an even layer—do NOT go all the way to the edge.
- Top with a second cake layer and repeat the frosting and filling process. Top with the final cake layer. Refrigerate cake for 20 minutes, or until frosting is set and the cake layers don’t jiggle when you tap the cake.
- Frost the cake with the remaining frosting and top with additional mango curd. Again, DON’T GO ALL THE WAY TO THE EDGE or your curd will spill down the sides.
- Press toasted coconut into the sides of the cake if desired.
- Alternatively, you can just cover the whole cake with toasted coconut and save the remaining mango curd to snack on. Refrigerate to set the frosting, then serve.
*You may need a little more mango to get a 1/2 cup of puree.
** Cream of coconut and coconut cream are not the same thing and one cannot be substituted for the other. Cream of coconut has added sugar; you can typically find it at liquors stores. I use the brand Coco Lopez.
+To toast the coconut, spread it into an even, thin, layer on a large rimmed baking sheet and toast at 350 degrees for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring a few times. If it isn’t sufficiently brown after 5 minutes, continue toasting it but WATCH CAREFULLY because coconut burns really quickly.
Cake layers adapted from My Mama Made That
Mango curd adapted from Food Network
elysse robbins says
my mango curd taste very good but the color is not longer vibrant -any thoughts what i did wrong?
Kelsie says
I have no idea why the color would change. That’s so weird!
Anne goldring says
Hi can I use something instead of cream of coconut?
Kelsie says
Unfortunately I don’t know of anything that would be a good substitute.
Emma says
Hey Kelsie thanks for this recipe I made it for my grandma’s birthday / Chinese new year and it was delicious and looked amazing.
Im in Australia and don’t have cream of coconut here really from what I could find so I used coconut condensed milk as substitute and found this worked perfectly.
I also used coconut flavouring instead of coconut extract which also worked out great.
Thanks again, great easy to follow recipe with great results.
Kelsie says
Great to know about that substitute! I’m glad you enjoyed the cake!
Angela Katehis says
Can I turn these into cupcakes?
Kelsie says
I haven’t tried this recipe as cupcakes so I can’t give you any guidance–I’m sorry!
Allie says
I made these last night as cupcakes and they turned out great! I suggest baking it at 350 instead of 375. Fill it 3/4 full
Ramsha says
I made the coconut cake and it is WONDERFUL! Such a soft cake recipe and one of the only recipes I find, that even after being in the fridge, the cake stays soft. But I’m gonna try making it again with some changes to give it a more coconut flavour bc it wasn’t enough for me. The curd however didn’t work for me and I had to throw It out, and I just made my own mango frosting which I used to decorate the cake.
Kelsie says
Hi Ramsha! I’m glad you liked the cake but I’m sorry the curd didn’t work out!
Ana says
Hi Kelsie, Trying to convert this recipe for 9×13 rectangle pans (2 pans so it will have height). Tried looking at pan converter but still a bit confused. Can you please share your recommendation? Thank U!!
Kelsie says
Hi Ana! I actually think the layers will be far too thin if you bake them in two 13- by 9-inch pans. The only thing I can think of if you want a taller cake is to bake the cake in one 13- by 9 and split it in half or even thirds. But since I’ve not actually baked this cake in a 13- by 9 dish I can’t say for sure. Sorry I can’t be of more help!
Kaitlyn says
O.M.G. this was so good!! the coconut cake was perfect, i’m not a big fan of coconut but it wasn’t too overwhelming so it was really good. the mango curd was delicious and so was the icing. the cake turned out very moist and had a good crumb, it wasn’t dry. my whole family loved it, including my step mom who usually doesn’t like cake! thank you so much for this recipe:)
Kelsie says
Awwww I’m so glad you liked it, Kaitlyn!
Renee says
I would like to know if this cake freezes well when fully assembled? Does freezing affect the mang curd in any way?
Thanks!
B. Kay says
Hey, they don’t sell cream of coconut in Toronto where I live so I had to google what I could use instead. You can use sweetened condensed milk with coconut extract added to it. Just thought I share for those who aren’t able to find cream of coconut.
Kelsie says
Oh that’s great! Thanks so much for the info!
Loralie says
This recipe looks great. My family is in the process of making this cake, however, our mango curd looked different than yours and tasted egg-y. After looking over your recipe again, I realized that your recipe should be changed to clarify that you need to use 3 egg yolks rather than 3 eggs. Your tutorial on lemon curd clarifies this, but this recipe doesn’t. We will probably eat it like this anyways, but I wanted to mention it in case anyone else makes this error.
Kelsie says
Hi Loralie! For this curd I actually did use whole eggs. I’m sorry yours didn’t turn out well! Sometimes when curds are cooked over too high a heat they can scramble a bit and taste eggy so I’m wondering if that’s what happened with yours.
An says
Hi! I want to make 4 of these cakes in a 6×2 pan. How would I modify the recipe or the bake time?
Kelsie says
If you want to make four different cakes using that size of pan, you’ll probably have to make a lot of layers for each cake. Unfortunately I can’t really give you much guidance because I’ve never baked this cake in a 6-inch pan so I’m not sure how many layers exactly you would have to make. You may end up just needing to experiment with the baking time; it’s always a good idea to check early rather than late. Sorry I can’t be of more help! Here’s a link to converting pan sizes though–I hope it helps! https://food52.com/blog/13239-how-to-make-your-baking-recipe-fit-your-pan-size
Vickie says
What a wonderful recipe. I had fresh mangos and all the other ingredients, since I am a lover of coconut. What a great way to spend a lazy Sunday. This turned out so yummy. Only variance was that I used buttermilk instead of whole milk, left over from another recipe. Made a very moist cake. The combination of flavors are a dreamy bite. Thanks again for a now permanent addition to my favorites.
Kelsie says
Thank you so much, Vickie! You’ve made my day! And I’m glad to know buttermilk works well in the cake :).
Laura says
I really need to try this. Such a beautiful cake!
Teesh says
I just saved this recipe for next year’s mango season! I do hope you finally get around to going on that vacation, Kelsie 🙂
Kelsie says
Thank you, Teesh!
Emma - Bake Then Eat says
I am loving these curds of yours and what a seriously stunning cake. Love it!
Kelsie says
Thank you, Emma!
grace says
i haven’t eaten much mango in my life, which i now realize is very unfortunate! i do love anything and everything coconut, though, and the look of your cake is amazing!
Kelsie says
Thank you!
All That I'm Eating says
The mango is such an amazing colour and the combination of mango and coconut is hard to beat!
Kelsie says
Thank you!