Coconut Poke Cake

Easy coconut poke cake made with a doctored white cake mix with cream of coconut and canned coconut milk poured over the top. Topped with whipped cream and toasted coconut, it has so many layers of coconut flavor! Instructions for making it dairy free, vegan, and gluten free are included.

My dad was really into cycling when I was a little girl. One of his cycling buddies had a potluck at the end of the summer that we all got to go to.

Well at this potluck, someone had brought a coconut poke cake. And I’ve heard about this cake dozens of times through my childhood. I don’t remember it, or remember if I had any of it, but my mom hasn’t stopped singing its praises for almost 20 years

. It must have been one awesome cake!

How to make coconut poke cake?

The caken was basically a white coconut cake with frosting and more coconut, but the thing that made it really special was that before it was frosted, cream of coconut was poured all over that cake and it just soaked in…

Apparently, it was life-changingly amazing.

Poke cake is actually pretty simple, and I wanted to layer in as much coconut flavor as I could.

What do you need to make coconut poke cake?

•  White Cake Mix- I used my homemade gluten free cake mix but you can use any cake mix you'd like.
• Canned coconut milk
• Unrefined coconut oil
• Coconut Extract- I used my homemade coconut extract, which tastes amazing! You can use any coconut extract you'd like, or swap in vanilla extract
• Sweetened Shredded Coconut
• Cream of Coconut OR canned sweetened condensed coconut milk
• Heavy Whipping Cream, whipped OR whipped topping
• Powdered Sugar
• Toasted Coconut

To keep things simple I used homemade gluten free white cake mix. You can use whatever cake mix you want for this coconut poke cake recipe!

To up the coconut ante when you bake your coconut poke cake use canned coconut milk instead of the milk or water in the box mix recipe, and use coconut oil instead of the oil or butter.

Then mix in a little shredded coconut for good measure. Once baked you just poke holes in the cake (coconut “poke” cake) and then pour the cream of coconut all over and let it soak in.

I topped it off with some whipped cream (flavored with a little coconut milk) and some more coconut, toasted this time.

If you want you could add a little coconut extract to the whipped cream for even more coconutty goodness.

Or if you are a Cool Whip kind of person feel free to sub it in. Who am I to judge? It is one less thing to worry about.

Where to find cream of coconut?

Just in case you aren’t a cocktail drinker, let me tell you what cream of coconut is, and where you can find it.

My family didn’t drink alcohol, so we’d never been to a liquor store. I think that was part of the mystery and awe. “Cream of coconut? What is cream of coconut?

It must be the ambrosia drink that all the Greek gods had, or something.”

Cream of coconut is basically a coconut syrup, and boy it is tasty!

You will find cream of coconut in the liquor section of the grocery store near the margarita mix and other mix-ins.

It is really sweet so I mixed it with some canned coconut milk. That way it didn’t lose any awesome coconut flavor, but just wasn’t cloyingly sweet. It was still pretty sweet though.

What can I substitute for cream of coconut?

If you can't find cream of coconut, or if you want a dairy free cream of coconut substitute, use a can of dairy free sweetened condensed coconut milk.

I always have a can on hand, it has a great flavor and works great in this recipe.

The result is a super moist coconut poke cake that is just loaded with sweet coconut flavor.

How to make coconut poke cake dairy free?

To make dairy free, use coconut milk and coconut oil in the cake batter.

Instead of cream of coconut, poured oven the cake when warm, use one can of sweetened condensed coconut milk.

To frost your coconut cake, instead of whipped cream, you can use a dairy free whipped topping like So Delicious's CocoWhip, or you can whip up the solid part of a chilled can (or three) of full fat coconut milk. If you can find a can of "coconut cream" which is just thicker coconut milk, you may not have to drain as much liquid from it, and you may also not need as many cans. You can add the powdered sugar to the whipped coconut cream and then add the toasted coconut.

How to make coconut poke cake vegan?

To make your coconut cake vegan, make all of the dairy free adjustments, and then also use an egg substitute.

My go-to is Bob's Red Mill's Egg Replacer, but I like to use a little more water than what the package calls for.

How to use gluten free flour

When baking with gluten free flour, your results will vary based on the gluten free flour you use. 

Please read through my gluten free flour page for very thorough and detailed information about which gluten free flours work well, how to substitute one gluten free flour for another, and for my gluten free flour recipe. 

How to measure gluten free flour

How you measure your gluten free flour is also very important. 

To accurately measure your flour, use the “fork, spoon, knife” method. 

First, mix your gluten free flour with a fork to ensure it is aerated and evenly mixed. 

Then carefully spoon it into your measuring cup. 

DO NOT scoop the flour with your measuring cup, you’ll compact extra flour into the measuring cup and then your gluten free baked goods will be dry and crumbly because they'll have too much flour. 

Finally, level off your measuring cup using a knife. 

Use room temperature ingredients

You’ll also have best results if all the ingredients are at room temperature, except for any ingredients that specify “cold” or “chilled”. 

Using room temperature ingredients like eggs, butter, and gluten free flours helps your baked goods to bake evenly and correctly.

Think about it, if you use cold eggs, your batter will be colder. 

And then it will change how it bakes, or may take longer. 

For recipes that rise using steam, this is especially important.