Italian Lemon-Coconut Cake (dairy-free!)

ByAnna + Liz Published Updated
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Italian Lemon-Coconut Cake is not overly sweet, but wonderfully moist, filled with lemon flavor, and drizzled with lemon-coconut glaze. It’s perfect, delicious, and dairy-free!

A slice of lemon cake with coconut glaze on top, serve on a white plate.

Italian Lemon-Coconut Cake

This lemon coconut cake recipe is adapted from our relative in Italy. It is made with simple ingredients you most likely already have on hand, like fresh lemons, flour, sugar, eggs, and virgin olive oil, to name a few.

Best of all, you are making this cake with quality ingredients! No junk, no preservatives, and no artificial ingredients.

This is an easy cake to whip up in one bowl and bake! For easier cake recipes, try our Lemon Pound Cake (Starbucks Lemon Loaf), Best Banana Sheet Cake, and don’t miss our Best Decadent Chocolate Cake, made with Tofu.

My Experience…

  • I made this cake twice!
  • The first time, the shredded coconut was added to the batter, which I thought made the cake a little dry, and overpowered the lemon flavor.
  • But the second time, I decided to add the coconut only to the glaze, and it turned out great!

Important Notes and Tips:

  • Do not overbake this cake.
  • When you smell the flavor of lemon coming from the oven, that is an indication that it is done, or close to it. Take a look and check with a toothpick inserted in the center to see if it comes out clean.
  • Best to allow the cake to cool completely before adding the lemon glaze and shredded coconut.
  • Also, you can make this cake in a 10×10-inch cake pan, and a 10-inch springform cheesecake pan.

How To Make This Lemon-Coconut Cake?

You will need one mixing bowl and a good whisk. I prefer to use a Hamilton hand-held mixer for this recipe. Also, I didn’t have a square baking pan, so instead, I used a Vintage Corningware 10×10 baking dish. And, it worked perfectly!

A forkful of lemon cake with coconut glaze on top.

Ingredients Needed for Italian Lemon-Coconut Cake:

(*Full ingredients with directions in our recipe card below!)

  • extra virgin olive oil
  • granulated sugar
  • eggs
  • salt
  • lemon extract
  • coconut cream
  • fresh lemon juice (1 lemon)
  • zest of 1 lemon (missing in the photo below)
  • baking soda
  • unbleached all-purpose flour

For the Lemon-Coconut Glaze, you will need the following:

  • powdered sugar
  • lemon extract
  • water
  • shredded coconut
Ingredients are laid out on the table and labeled for the cake.

Let’s Make This Cake!

  1. First, gather all the ingredients needed.
  2. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F, (180C). Then lightly grease your baking dish with olive oil spray, dust with flour on all sides, and set it nearby.
  3. Grab a large mixing bowl and blend the first 5 ingredients until well blended.
  4. Next, add the coconut cream, lemon juice, lemon zest, and baking soda, and blend on low speed for about 30 seconds.
  5. Add the flour, one cup at a time, and blend until smooth with no lumps visible. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl with the spatula, and blend again.
A blue color mixing bowl with raw eggs, sugar, and olive oil, and then blend with flour with a spatula stirring.

6. Pour the cake batter into your prepared baking pan. And, place it on the middle rack of the oven.

7. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow the cake to cook before topping it with the lemon-coconut glaze.

A white square baking dish filled with cake batter, and then baked.

Next, Make the Lemon-Coconut Glaze!

  1. In a small bowl, stir the powdered sugar with lemon extract and water, until creamy smooth and no lumps are visible.
  2. Glaze the top of your cooled lemon cake. Scatter with shredded coconut on top and allow it to set for a few minutes before slicing and serving.
A split screen with a baked cake topped with a coconut glaze, and a slice of cake on a white plate.

Storing & Freezing

  • Best to cover this cake with clear wrap, and keep it chilled in the refrigerator. This will keep the cake fresh and moist for days. It will stay fresh for at least 5 days if it lasts that long.
  • If you want to freeze this cake, it’s best to freeze it without the lemon-coconut glaze. And glaze and top with shredded coconut after the cake is fully thawed.

More Delicious Cake Recipes!

Your comments help us!  If you make our Italian Lemon-Coconut Cake, let us know!  Leave a comment with a 5-star rating below in our recipe card.  Your insights and experiences will help our readers and us too! And, thank you!

A slice of lemon cake with coconut glaze on top, serve on a white plate.

Italian Lemon-Coconut Cake

Yield: 9 to 12 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes

Italian Lemon Coconut Cake is not overly sweet, but wonderfully moist, filled with lemon flavor, and drizzled with lemon-coconut glaze. It's perfect and dairy-free!

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 + 1/4 cups granulated sugar
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 2 tsp. lemon extract
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup coconut cream
  • 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice ( 1 lemon)
  • 1 Tbsp. zest of lemon
  • 3 tsp. baking soda
  • 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

Lemon-Coconut Glaze:

  • 1.5 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp. lemon extract
  • 2 tsp. water
  • 1/3 cup of grated of shredded coconut

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180C). Spray your 10x 10 square baking pan (or your 10-inch springform pan) and dust with flour on all sides. Set it nearby.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, blend with a handheld mixer (or whisk) olive oil, 2 eggs, sugar, salt, and lemon extract.
  3. Next, add the coconut cream, lemon juice, and baking soda. Blend on low speed until well combined, about 30 seconds or more.
  4. Add the flour, one cup at a time. Blend for about 1 minute each time, scraping the sides down into the mixture, and blend again until well combined.
  5. Transfer the batter to your prepared pan. Place the pan onto the middle rack of the oven.
  6. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool before glazing it.

To Make the Lemon-Coconut Glaze:

  • In a small mixing bowl, with a spoon, blend powdered sugar with lemon extract, and water. Blend until the mixture is creamy and smooth. NOTE: If you need to add additional powdered sugar to get the consistency you prefer, you can. And, if you need additional water, only teaspoon increments.
  • Spread the lemon glaze over the cake. Then scatter on top with shredded coconut. You can gently pat down the coconut on top. Allow the glaze to harden before slicing and serving.

Notes

Allow the cake to cool before adding the lemon glaze on top. Scatter the grated or shredded coconut after you add the glaze on top. Allow the glaze to set before cutting or slicing the cake.

Best to cover the cake with a sheet of clear wrap and place it into your refrigerator. Keep it chilled.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 9 servings Serving Size: 1 serving
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 294Total Fat: 8.8gSaturated Fat: 4.5gCarbohydrates: 30gFiber: .9gSugar: 21gProtein: 4.3g

Did you make this recipe?

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© 2 sisters recipes
Cuisine: Italian / Category: Dairy Free Desserts

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