4-Ingredient Slow Cooker Coconut Cake
What are your favorite rituals? Life goes thick and thin in cycles, and at this point I’m old enough to recognize when it’s time to hunker down through a thin space. Busyness, fatigue, grief, stress, depression — so many things can pull at us until all we can focus on is putting one foot in front of the other. When things thin out for me, I brace for the exhaustion and stock my cupboards with moments of contentedness in preparation the leanness to come.
Part of doing so is shoring up certain rituals. My morning workout give me a sense of mastery that I can use to tackle the rest of the day. A few minutes sitting at the coffee shop before work means I’ll be more present when I arrive. Some soft music at the beginning of each class brings a welcome dose of mindfulness to me and to my students. A few minutes of meditation before bed settles me down.
So what are your rituals? The little things you add into your routine that give you peace, joy, or comfort?
If simple desserts make the cut, I offer you this 4-Ingredient Slow Cooker Coconut Cake. I’m on a drop-dead-easy kick, in case you couldn’t tell. This coconut cake is just as ugly as can be, just like its pumpkin cake cousin, but it’s so velvety, buttery, and delectable. The texture is just like bread pudding. If you’re into coconut (and want to throw your dessert in a slow cooker a few hours before dinner and be done), this needs to be next on your list to try. Want to see how it’s made? Here’s a little video recipe I made you:
One year ago: Brown Butter Spice Cake with Whipped Icing
Two years ago: Blue Cheese Chicken Salad Wraps
Three years ago: Broiled Pimiento Cheese
Four years ago: Pumpkin Pecan Streusel Breakfast Braid with Maple Brown Sugar Glaze
Five years ago: Apple, Brie, and Toasted Pecan Panini
Six years ago: Two Terrific Tarts: Chocolate and Raspberry Cream Cheese
- 2 (14-ounce) cans coconut milk
- 1/2 (7-ounce) bag sweetened coconut flakes
- 1 package moist white cake mix
- 1 cup butter
- vanilla bean ice cream (optional, for serving)
- Add coconut milk, coconut flakes, and cake mix to your slow cooker and mix until just combined. Place two sticks of butter on top. Cook on high for 2 hours. Stir the cake, making sure to scrape the sides and bottom. Cook for another 1 hour. Serve warm with vanilla bean ice cream.
Amanda
October 19, 2015 at 5:03 am (9 years ago)Sounds delicious!!! I am curious if coconut oil would work as a butter sub? Love these easy dessert ideas!
Anton
October 21, 2015 at 12:05 pm (9 years ago)I used coconut oil instead of butter during a pancake emergency (it was totally an emergency that we didn’t have pancakes and there was no butter available) and it came out pretty well. Worth experimenting with!
Urvashee
October 19, 2015 at 5:45 am (9 years ago)Looks delicious and I love that it’s so simple to make!
Rachel @ Baked by Rachel
October 19, 2015 at 7:05 am (9 years ago)Pretty sure I need this for breakfast 😉
heather @french press
October 19, 2015 at 10:09 am (9 years ago)I can almost smell the coconut from here 🙂 it sounds and looks absolutely delicious.
Kelley
October 19, 2015 at 10:59 pm (9 years ago)Coconut cake in a slow cooker- yes please!!!
Barbara
March 1, 2016 at 6:50 pm (9 years ago)Can’t wait to try this! Coconut anything is my favorite. Four ingredients, crock pot, what could be better. Let you know how it turns out!
Julie Ruble
March 1, 2016 at 8:35 pm (9 years ago)Enjoy it, Barbara!!
Vicki Buffolino
April 21, 2016 at 5:50 pm (9 years ago)Would melted butter work better maybe?
Kim Pope
May 1, 2016 at 10:01 pm (9 years ago)This looks so divine, but I did something seriously wrong! Mine turned out more like a VERY buttery coconut caramel. It tasted great but was nowhere near the yummy looking cake yours was! Any ideas what went wrong? I doubled the recipe and used an 8 quart crock pot. After 5 hours of cooking it was still a thick brown liquid. I used Coco Lopez Cream of Coconut. Do you know if that’s different? That’s the only type sold here. Thanks for th recipe… I hope you can help the desperate coconut lover!
Julie Ruble
May 1, 2016 at 10:16 pm (9 years ago)Hi Kim, I’m not sure, but happy to help you troubleshoot! This should come out with a velvety bread pudding texture. What sort of cake mix did you use? And did you double the cake mix, too?
Kim Pope
May 15, 2016 at 12:43 pm (9 years ago)I did double the cake mix. I think the problem was the cream of coconut. It was super thick (like hot fudge). Like a dummy I made it before I watched your video. That’s when I realized mine was waaay thicker than what you used. So thank you for your help! I’m trying it again today with the same products you used!
Julie Ruble
May 15, 2016 at 2:01 pm (9 years ago)I hope it works out great today! Please let me know how it goes.
Michael Crumpton
December 22, 2019 at 12:04 pm (5 years ago)Creme if coconut and coconut milk are very different
Jamie
September 24, 2016 at 5:55 pm (8 years ago)So…I had a 14 ounce bag of coconut flakes in my pantry so I assumed the 7 ounces was the actual measurement…but upon rereading, I’m thinking it meant a 7 ounce bag for an actual measurement of 3.5 ounces of coconut flakes. Especially when taking into account the way the coconut milk measurement is worded.
Can you please clarify for me? Unfortunately I didn’t consider this issue BEFORE I added everything to my slow cooker so….we shall see what happens in 2 more hours!
Julie Ruble
September 24, 2016 at 8:06 pm (8 years ago)Hi Jamie! It’s half a 7-ounce bag, or about 3.5 ounces. I’m sure it will taste lovely with double the coconut too!
Cynthia
January 25, 2017 at 12:59 pm (8 years ago)I made it and it also came out like that buttery coconut caramel texture that one of the commenters mentioned.. I did exactly as the recipe called for (I did used the white cake mix, but it wasn’t Pillsbury)
What did I do wrong??? Please help!!
Julie Ruble
January 25, 2017 at 1:03 pm (8 years ago)Hey Cynthia! Maybe nothing — I’m wondering if the brand of coconut milk matters (e.g. more coconut cream in it versus more of the water/liquid)? It definitely has a custardy bread puddingy texture as opposed to a firm cake, but caramel texture doesn’t sound right. When you watch the video I posted, does your coconut milk look the same?
Cynthia Y
January 25, 2017 at 2:21 pm (8 years ago)Did you use sweetened or unsweetened coconut milk?
I wonder if that makes a difference…
Julie Ruble
January 25, 2017 at 3:23 pm (8 years ago)I don’t think it’d make a difference, but I use unsweetened since the cake mix is already sweet. Are you sure your texture was different than mine? See 0:14 of the video and you can see that it comes out VERY moist, with enough cakey parts to make the bread pudding texture. But again, not like a traditional cake texture. But it shouldn’t be soup!
I think the main issue is the liquid balance may be unpredictable in the cans of coconut milk (e.g. one can may have more cream to liquid than another can), so you could try mixing your can well and then just adding less coconut milk overall just to be safe — the cake isn’t at any risk of being too dry! Hope that helps!
D
March 11, 2019 at 3:05 pm (6 years ago)Kim, Cream of Coconut is thicker than the milk and I use it for making Pina Colodas drink so perhaps use the coconut milk as the Cream of coconut is thicker than the milk.
Cynthia Y
January 25, 2017 at 1:57 pm (8 years ago)I sued Goya coconut milk…
Katy
January 25, 2017 at 2:53 pm (8 years ago)Has anybody added some pineapple? Maybe a shot of rum… make a pina-colada thing? Wondering if the acid from the pineapple would mess with the creamy-ness, but I’m thinking not. Hmmm…. i know what i’m trying tonight!
Julie Ruble
January 25, 2017 at 3:18 pm (8 years ago)Hi Katy, I haven’t tried it! The recipe is maxed out on liquid right now, so if you add pineapple (which gives off a lot of liquid) or rum, I’d suggest cutting down on the coconut milk. Enjoy!
Amy Harvey
April 23, 2017 at 11:10 am (8 years ago)First of all, this was delicious. But I think I would call it slow cooker coconut cake pudding, or something to that effect. Because mine came out like a thick pudding, my daughter said ‘that’s not a cake’….I used a little less butter, added a little vanilla extract, and the taste was wonderful. I served it like you do bread pudding, but instead of ice cream, I drizzled real maple syrup on top while it was warm, and it was delicious!
Julie Ruble
April 23, 2017 at 1:50 pm (8 years ago)Thanks Amy! Glad you enjoyed it. I tried to make its texture very clear in the note but perhaps the title would’ve also helped.
pat shaw
May 19, 2017 at 7:35 pm (8 years ago)i am making this, this weekend…but i am adding semi sweet chocolate chips to it too…I will let you know how it goes.
Julie Ruble
May 19, 2017 at 10:34 pm (8 years ago)Hope you love it Pat! Some folks have had trouble with it being too much liquid — I might try halving it and seeing if that goes better. Enjoy!! Miss you!!
Debbie
July 23, 2017 at 8:34 pm (7 years ago)OMG!!! I have been cooking for many years and found many recipes on the internet. This is my first time reviewing one. I took this to a party last night and have never had so many people ask me for the recipe before. This was absolutely amazing and it took all of my will power not to go buy some more coconut milk to make it again today. Thanks for my new go to potluck recipe!
Julie Ruble
July 23, 2017 at 9:19 pm (7 years ago)Aw, that makes me so very happy to hear! Thank you for letting me know and I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Alicia
July 3, 2018 at 1:16 pm (6 years ago)What qt size did you use?
Mike
December 19, 2018 at 6:05 am (6 years ago)Comment *I followed the directions and had a layer of liquid on top. I thought it was too much butter, but I used 2 sticks. I didn’t shake the can of coconut milk before opening. Could that be the problem?
Betty
January 16, 2019 at 8:48 am (6 years ago)I think you need to clarify the difference between coconut milk and cream of coconut. The former has no or little sugar, the latter has a lot of sugar. Using coconut cream is going produce more of a caramel texture because of the high amount of sugar along with the butter. So when using coconut milk, definitely shake the can to blend the contents well before blending with all the other ingredients.
Janet McMillian
April 9, 2019 at 6:15 pm (6 years ago)The directions indicate that the time for cooking is 3 hours totalon high. I will be away for the afternoon, about five hours, coming home an hour before my dinner guests arrive! Would it be ok to cook on low for for 5 hours?
Julie Ruble
April 9, 2019 at 7:04 pm (6 years ago)I’ve never tried it, but since there are no eggs, it couldn’t hurt to try! Then if you got home and it wasn’t quite done you could kick it up to high for another hour. Let me know how it goes! I hope you love it.