Coconut Sheet Cake

I’m always on the lookout for a good sheet cake recipe. The simplicity of sheet cakes has always been attractive to me—just mixing the batter, spreading it, baking it, and topping it. What could be easier? And yet, many typical “potluck” sheet cakes just aren’t all that good. They’re either too dry and crumbly or too plain. (Or worse, both.) So, when I find a recipe like this one, I have to share it. This coconut sheet cake recipe is seriously one of my favorite cake recipes out there. It’s sweet, dense, and super moist. (Everything I love in a cake!) But it doesn’t lose that simplicity that makes sheet cakes so darn awesome.

Give it a try. You won’t be able to resist that second slice.

Recipe Notes:

Use eggs at room temperature for this dish so they don’t cook when added to the saucepan.
Use full-fat sour cream. While that isn’t a typical ingredient for me, it is the exact right choice for this recipe as it adds a really nice (and necessary) richness to balance out this sweet cake.
The completed batter will seem pretty runny. Don’t worry, you didn’t make a mistake. It’s supposed to look like that, I promise.
A full 10 x 15 pan is necessary for baking. You might be tempted to try a 9 x 13 pan instead. Don’t. In a smaller pan, the cake just won’t cook right.
It is important to cook this cake all the way through. A cake with this moist of a texture won’t stay together—or taste very good—underbaked. Cook the coconut sheet cake until the top has a nice golden color. The old toothpick method will help here as well. Just insert a toothpick into the very center of the cake. If it comes out completely clean, then your cake is cooked through.

More Coconut Love?

Coconut Layer Cake – one of my favorite coconut cakes!
Coconut Banana Cream Pie – a triple dose of coconut
Coconut Pie Bars – rich coconut cream filling!
Easy Coconut Macaroons – sweet, sticky & oh so good!
Ultimate Coconut Cream Pie – deliciously fluffy