Coconut Lime Snack Cake
This coconut lime snack cake is the holy grail of springtime sweet treats! The cake is made with sweet coconut and a bit of lime zest, and swirled on top are a tart lime curd and a silky, tangy cream cheese frosting.
Servings: 16 squares
Ingredients
For the cake:
- ½ cup unsalted butter room temp
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1¼ cups flour
- ½ cup shaved coconut
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- pinch of salt
- zest of 1 lime
- ⅔ cup coconut milk strained
For the frosting:
- ½ cup unsalted butter room temp
- 8 oz cream cheese room temp
- 1 cup powdered sugar sifted
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- lime curd to garnish
Instructions
For the cake:
- Preheat oven to 350ºF and prepare an 8x8in square pan with parchment paper.
- Blend or whisk the coconut milk until smooth, heating if necessary to melt the milk solids down. Strain before adding to batter.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add in the eggs and vanilla extract and beat until fully combined.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, shaved coconut, salt, and lime zest.
- Alternate adding the dry ingredients and the coconut milk to the wet ingredients, mixing together after each addition until just combined.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let the cake cool fully before frosting.
For the frosting:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and cream cheese together until completely smooth.
- Sift in the powdered sugar and add the vanilla extract, mixing until combined.
- Spread the frosting on top of the cooled cake, then add spoonfuls of lime curd evenly across the frosting and swirl together gently.
- Garnish with a sprinkle of shredded coconut and lime slices if desired before serving.
Notes
- Utilize mise en place! Make sure you have all of your ingredients prepped and ready before you begin making this recipe - it will help save you time and keep you organized.
- Sweetened or unsweetened coconut? You can use either one! Unsweetened coconut will have a more subtle flavor while sweetened will be stronger and, of course, sweeter.
- Eat it at room temp. You'll want to store this cake in the fridge because it has cream cheese frosting, but before eating a slice, let it come to room temperature to soften up a bit - it's already a dense, sturdy cake, and it can stiffen up a bit too much if you eat it cold right out of the fridge!
- Have fun with decorating. Snack cakes are a great way to bring out your creative side when it comes to decorating - use frosting, flowers, sprinkles, fruits, you name it!
- Switch up the citrus. Lime and coconut are an iconic pairing, but you could easily use lemon or orange instead!