3 Day Coconut Cake
This old-fashioned 3-Day Coconut Cake is absolutely delicious. It’s made with a mix and just a few more ingredients, and it’s super simple. The hardest part is waiting three days to eat it!
WHAT MAKES THIS OLD-FASHIONED RECIPE SO SIMPLE?
We first came across this recipe in an old church cookbook that I picked up at an antique store. I thought it sounded fascinating and simple, so we tried it! First, it’s made with a mix and just a few more ingredients, so it comes together very quickly. The fun part is that it must sit in the refrigerator for three days before eating. I’ll admit…I was tempted. It’s important to wait three days because the sour cream/sugar mixture soaks into the cake, making it SCRUMPTIOUS!! When I took the first bite, it immediately took me straight back to my Nannie’s kitchen. I swear this is the cake she used to make. I asked Mom, and she said she didn’t remember, but it could be it! Even if it isn’t the exact cake, it made me think of her, and that’s all that matters. Another great thing about this dessert is that you have to make it in advance, making it perfect for holiday cake. I would definitely serve this dessert for Easter or Christmas!
Tips for this Coconut Cake:
- The original recipe calls for FROZEN shredded coconut cake. If you can find frozen coconut…use it. You may be able to find it in the frozen food section of your grocery store. Alot of times it is close to the frozen fruit. However…it’s very hard to find and simply not available in certain parts of the country.
- After a little bit of research, I’ve found that some people use a white cake mix. You can easily do that, but I think the butter-flavored cake is fabulous with the coconut!
- Use 8-inch cake pans. Even with 8-inch cake pans, your layers are going to be very thin.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE THESE RECIPES:
3 Day Coconut Cake
Ingredients
- 1 (15.25 ounce) Duncan Hines Butter flavored box cake mix+Ingredients for the cake
- 2 cups of granulated sugar
- 1 (16 ounce) container of sour cream
- 1 (12 ounce) package of flaked sweetened coconut
- 1 (8 ounce) container of Cool Whip
Instructions
- Prepare cake mix according to the package directions, making 2 (8-inch) layers. When cool, split both layers to make four layers.
- Combine sugar, sour cream, and almost the entire bag of coconut (I leave a little back to sprinkle on top of the frosted cake) together and stir until combined. Reserve one cup for the frosting and spread the remainder between the layers of the cake.
- Mix the reserved sour cream mixture with the Cool Whip until combined. Spread on top and sides of cake and dust with the remainder of coconut. Seal the cake in an air tight container (I use a cake carrier) and refrigerate for 3 days before serving.
STORING
Keep any leftovers in the refrigerator. This cake will keep for a week.
HAVE YOU SUBSCRIBED TO YOUR MAGAZINE YET?
See what our readers are saying:
© Front Porch Life Magazine photos and text – All rights reserved. No copying, posting on other sites, or other uses allowed without written permission of the copyright holder
This sounds delicious but what is the reasoning behind waiting three days? What if I can’t wait?
The reason is to allow the sour cream, coconut and sugar to fully soak into the layers. The result is an incredibly moist, tender, and intensely flavored cake. This resting period allows the flavors to meld, that is the entire point of this vintage cake. You certainly don’t have to (I would definitely let it sit in the fridge for at least 8-10 hours if you dont want to wait for 3 days) but the cake won’t be as good. Hope that helps!
Remember this when I was a kid. Love it, love it. Hope mine turns out well. Thank you for including. Blessed Christmas. In His love, Deborah Gillespie.
Can’t wait to make this dessert. I’m almost positive my granny made it when I was a kid.
It’s one of the best! My family has made it for years. It’s an oldie which makes it so good.
Have you ever made as a sheet cake? I’m not too good with layers.
Hi Darlene! I haven’t made it in a 9X13, but I think it would work perfectly. If you make it, please let us know how it came out.
Would you need to poke holes in it?
No, you don’t poke holes in the cake.
This is the holiday cake my husband’s family ALWAYS serves (supposedly it was his Grandmother’s recipe). His family recipe is a tad different, calling specifically for Duncan Hines butter-yellow cake mix, 8 oz of sour cream and 12 oz of Cool Whip so her version was from the early 1960’s or earlier (adapted from using whipped cream maybe?).
In any case, I never found that 8 oz of sour cream was even close to enough and always had to double it. Glad to find myself vindicated!
My question…..have you found an easier way to split the cake layers? I’ve only made this a few times since I have been reduced down to only one refrigerator, and that has always been an issue for me! Maybe just making smaller layers (4 pans instead of 2?)
Hi Glory! I love that this cake has been a tradition with your family. I will agree that the splitting of the layers is the biggest pain. I always do it with a serrated bread knife and gently just work my way around the cake layer. I have seen where some people use dental floss to cut the layers but I’ve never tried it. HA!
If you are unable to find the frozen coconut, is the regular bag coconut ok to use?
Hi! Yes, that is fine. We didn’t use frozen coconut in this recipe. We put in the entry that it is very hard to find. You’ll see in the recipe card, we just used regular coconut. 😉
I made this cake for Easter and my family already requested it for next year. It’s a good one for sure. Thank you for sharing great recipes and wonderful stories. I’ve been a subscriber for years.
Ahhhmazing! I served for Sunday dinner and everyone loved it. There wasn’t a crumb left!
That’s so great! This 3 Day coconut cake is just the BEST!
I remember my grandmother making this cake. I can’t wait to do it for Easter! You ladies always have the best recipes.
Thank you for the kind comment, Cindy!