Calling all coconut-lovers! Soft coconut layers, beautifully sweet white chocolate coconut buttercream, a blanket of shredded coconut, and a few Raffaello truffles on top make for a stunning show-stopper that’s as tasty as is gorgeous!

I get asked all the time where I draw my inspiration for my cakes. The truth is, I find inspiration everywhere. Anything can be inspiration for a cake. Another cake, a familiar flavor combo, a doughnut, a memory, a piece of art, an ice cream flavor, a favorite spread, or in this case – a delicious bite of one of my favorite candies: Raffaello. 

I know there’s a lot of White-on-White-on-White going on here. I did this totally on purpose. I love monochromatic cakes, and i the dead heat of the summer, all I can think about is cooling off with some shredded ice. This cake turned out looking more like snow – more of a wintry Christmas look, but I LOVE it! So ethereal, so simple, and the texture is just stunning.

If you haven’t had a Rafaello before, they’re quite delicious! Think of it as a coconut white chocolate explosion of heaven in your mouth! I loved how they’re covered in coconut, and have always wanted to make a coconut cake – so it was fate how this cake came together.

I started off with my white cake recipe, and then simply added some coconut emulsion to it. If you are going to use coconut extract, use less. Extracts (and especially oils) are very potent, and can give the cake a pretty artificial flavor if you add too much of it. With the emulsion, I found myself adding more to get the flavor to come through and not bake out. It was a soft addition, so the flavor doesn’t hit you over the head. It melds beautifully with my white chocolate coconut buttercream.

Let’s talk about my white chocolate buttercream recipe. I LOVE creating buttercreams, it’s what I live for! This buttercream has a touch of white chocolate, an there’s a special way I infuse it into the buttercream without having to use any extracts or having any chunks of white chocolate in it.

First, you make your ganache, but do a 1:1 ratio, so we’re going to use 1/2 cup of white chocolate chips (love the Ghieradelli ones), and 1/2 cup of heavy cream. Heat them both up in a small glass bowl in the microwave, and stir until there are zero lumps. Let it cool down a bit while you whip up the butter, then add it right into the butter. You don’t want the ganache to be too hot, but you also don’t want to risk having cooled white chocolate chunks in your buttercream, so make sure to follow the steps in the directions without a break during the buttercream part, and you should be all set. I added a touch of that coconut emulsion to the buttercream, too, to keep that coconut flavor going throughout.

I absolutely love how this cake turned out! I pressed the shredded coconut right into the buttercream after the final coat, and the texture it created on the side of the cake is everything. No fussing over a smoothe edge with this cake – you can cover up just about any imperfection with the shredded coconut.

I found the white truffles on top from Walmart, so you should be able to find them easy enough. I used a large french tip on top for the little dollops, and made sure to only add on as many dollops as I had truffles, haha. Hope you all love this white chocolate coconut cake in the summer, but also bring it back around Christmas for a winter wonderland look!

I LOVE seeing your creations, so make sure to tag #bakingwithblondie or @bakingwithblondie on IG for me to see your creations. Hope you love this cake as much as we did!

Coconut Cake with White Chocolate Coconut Buttercream

White Chocolate Coconut Cake
Author: Mandy | Baking with Blondie
Serves: 3 6″ cake rounds, or 2 8″ cake rounds
Soft white cake layers flavored with coconut, and white chocolate coconut buttercream, wrapped in shredded coconut and a few Raffaello truffles on top.
Ingredients
  • 2/3 Cup Sour Cream
  • 4 egg whites, room temperature
  • 3/4 Cup Buttermilk
  • 1/3 Cup Vegetable Oil
  • 1 Tablespoon Mexican Vanilla
  • 2-3 Tablespoons Coconut Emulsion
  • Duncan Hines WHITE Cake Mix
    • 1/2 Cup Ghirardelli White Chocolate Chips
    • 1/2 Cup Heavy Cream
    • 1 Cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter (left out of the fridge for 15 minutes)
    • 1 Tablespoon Mexican Vanilla
    • pinch of salt
    • 1 Tablespoon Coconut Emulsion
    • 6-7 Cups Powdered Sugar, Sifted
    • Shredded Coconut
    • Raffaello Truffles
    Instructions
    1. For the coconut cake: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Prep 3 Set aside.
    2. In a medium bowl, whisk together egg whites, buttermilk, sour cream, vanilla extract, coconut emulsion, and vegetable oil until thoroughly combined. Sift in the cake mix, then stir until just combined. Don’t overmix.
    3. Divide evenly between cake layers, spread in an even layer, then place in the preheated oven for 23-26 minutes.
    4. Remove cake layers from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool for about 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, flip cakes out of their pans on a wire rack and let cool to room temperature.
    1. For the White Chocolate Coconut Buttercream:
    2. In a small glass bowl, add in white chocolate chips and 1/2 cup heavy cream. Stir, then microwave for 30 seconds. Stir again until all the lumps are gone, and set aside.
    3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add in butter and place on medium speed for about 30 seconds until the butter is light and fluffy.
    4. Scrape down the sides, then add in ganache (white chocolate heavy cream mixture), and mix for about 30 seconds.
    5. Add in both extracts, 1/4 cup heavy cream, salt, and mix on medium speed until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
    6. Slowly add in the powdered sugar ½ cup at a time with the mixer on low speed until it’s fully incorporated. You may not need all the powdered sugar.
    7. Flip the speed on high for about a minute to add volume to the buttercream, add in more heavy cream for thinning if needed, or another ½ cup of powdered sugar to thicken as needed. Place mixer on low speed for about 15 seconds to knock out any air bubble.
    1. Assembly: On a cake turntable, add on a cardboard cake round the side of your cake taped to one size bigger (6” round taped to a 8” round, for example).
    2. Add a little bit of the White Chocolate Coconut buttercream in the center of the cardboard round to act as “glue” for that bottom cake layer. Place the first cake layer down, add on a layer of buttercream.
    3. Place the second cake layer on top. Repeat step 2 again for the next buttercream layer, and then add on the top cake round.
    4. Crumb coat the entire cake, then place in the freezer for 10 minutes.
    5. Coat with the final frosting layer, then while the frosting is still “wet” gently press on shredded coconut with your hands (place cake on a cookie sheet while doing this to catch all the coconut shreds).
    6. Add remaining frosting to a piping bag fitted with a french tip, and pipe on 8-10 swirls on top. Add a Raffaello truffle on the top of each swirl.