Home » Blog » Coconut Lemon Loaf Cake

Coconut Lemon Loaf Cake

3.67 from 71 votes

A lovely light and lemony cake. This Coconut Lemon Loaf Cake would be welcomed at any breakfast, brunch or snacking table. Made with basic ingredients and fresh lemon juice and coconut. Got lemons, make a cake!

Close up of the lemon cake.
Coconut Lemon Loaf Cake

Originally published on April 7th, 2017. Updated on March 19, 2022 to include all new photos, recipe notes and more relevant information.

If you follow the blog, you’ll notice that I’m a huge fan of lemon treats. Since I have a lemon tree, I seem to make lemon sweets almost more than any other kind. Yes, I’m lucky to have that tree! A little while ago, I made this delicious Cream Cheese Lemon Danish and it was amazing. And not to mention easy to make. You guys should check it out if you get the chance.

And this Coconut Lemon Loaf Cake was a great way to use up more of those lemons. This was delicious straight out of the oven after it cooled down. I honestly think it would be even extra if you served it with Lemon Curd, why not!

Coconut Lemon Loaf Cake with flowers.
Coconut Lemon Loaf Cake

Here’s What We Need To Make The Loaf Cake

  • 1 1/2 Cups flour
  • 1/2 Cup shredded coconut
  • 2 Teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 Teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 Cup butter
  • 3/4 Cup sugar
  • 3 Eggs
  • Juice of 1/2 lemon
  • Zest of 1/2 lemon
  • 1 Cup Greek yogurt

REMEMBER, The full recipe and ingredients is always found at the end of the post in the recipe card.

Ingredients to make the lemon cake.
Ingredients to make the Coconut Lemon Loaf Cake

How To Make The Coconut Lemon Loaf Cake

  1. Preheat oven and prepare loaf tin – Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease and a line with parchment paper a 9 x 5 inch loaf tin.
  2. Combine dry ingredients – In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, shredded coconut, lemon zest, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
  3. Mix butter, sugar and eggs – In the bowl of your electric mixer, mix on high speed the butter for about 30 seconds. Add the sugar and beat for a further 2-3 minutes until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scraping down the sides as you mix. This will take a further 2 -3 minutes
  4. Add flour, Greek yogurt and lemon juice – Add half of the flour mixture and fold in until incorporated Mix in all the yogurt with the lemon juice and fold in. Fold in remaining flour until just incorporated.
  5. Bake the cake – Pour into prepared pan and bake for 35 – 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool for about 5 minutes. Remove from pan and take off parchment paper. Leave to cool completely. Will store in an airtight container on the counter for up to three days.

Notes About The Lemon Coconut Cake

  • Measure ingredients correctly – It’s easy to incorrectly measure ingredient and this often leads to undesirable baking results. If you can, use scales when baking. If not, make sure you measure all the cups correctly.
  • Beat the butter, sugar and eggs until fluffy – This step is very important. When you are finished mixing these ingredients should be very light, pale yellow and fluffy. The process could take up to 6 minutes or so. This is what helps give the cake a lighter and fluffier texture, so make sure to mix properly.
Coconut Lemon Loaf Cake

Can I Make Any Substitutions to This Cake

  • Greek yogurt – you can subsitute plain natural yogurt, sour cream or even buttermilk.
  • Lemon juice and zest – this cake can be changed using other citrus flavours like orange, lime or grapefruit. They will all work.
  • Shredded coconut – I used fine shredded coconut for this recipe. It worked really well. You could use a bigger flake, just keep in mind it won’t incorporate as well into the cake.
Coconut & Lemon Loaf Cake

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is my loaf cake flat?

A common problem with flat cakes is over mixing of the flour. Flour needs to be gently folded in until it’s just combined.

Why did my loaf cake turn out dense?

Cakes that include acidity like citrus or even buttermilk generally need a little more raising agent. It could be possible the baking powder wasn’t measured correctly. Also, another reason could be over mixing the flour.

How can I make my cake lighter and fluffier?

Make sure you are using room temperature ingredients. The butter and sugar needs to be whipped until light and fluffy. This is really important to create a lift for the cake when baking. And flour needs to be folding in gently, not mixed in with a mixer.

close up of the coconut lemon loaf cake.
Coconut Lemon Loaf Cake

Recipe Here!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Coconut Lemon Loaf Cake

A lovely light and lemony cake. This Coconut Lemon Loaf Cake would be welcomed at any breakfast, brunch or snacking table. Made with basic ingredients and fresh lemon juice and coconut. Got lemons, make a cake!
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time45 minutes
Total Time1 hour
Course: Bread, Breakfast, Dessert
Cuisine: North American
Keyword: cake, coconut, lemons
Servings: 10 servings
Calories: 261kcal
Author: Julia Pinney

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 Cups all purpose flour/plain flour
  • 1/2 Cup shredded coconut
  • 2 Teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 Teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 Cup butter unsalted
  • 3/4 Cup granulated white sugar
  • 3 Eggs at room temperature
  • Juice of 1/2 lemon
  • Zest of 1/2 lemon
  • 1 Cup Greek yogurt

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease and a line with parchment paper a 9 x 5 inch loaf tin.
  • In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, shredded coconut, lemon zest, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
  • In the bowl of your electric mixer, mix on high speed the butter for about 30 seconds. Add the sugar and beat for a further 2-3 minutes until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scraping down the sides as you mix. This will take a further 2 -3 minutes
  • Add half of the flour mixture and fold in until incorporated Mix in all the yogurt with the lemon juice and fold in. Fold in remaining flour until just incorporated.
  • Pour into prepared pan and bake for 35 – 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool for about 5 minutes. Remove from pan and take off parchment paper. Leave to cool completely. Will store in an airtight container on the counter for up to three days.

*A note on times provided: appliances vary, any prep and/or cook times provided are estimates only.

Notes

  1. Can dust the cake with extra powdered sugar and lemon zest if desired.
  2. Baking time can vary on loaf cakes anywhere between 45 – 55 minutes.  I recommend checking the cake at around 45 minutes to check for doneness.
Nutrition Facts
Coconut Lemon Loaf Cake
Amount Per Serving (1 slice)
Calories 261 Calories from Fat 108
% Daily Value*
Fat 12g18%
Saturated Fat 8g50%
Cholesterol 75mg25%
Sodium 320mg14%
Potassium 82mg2%
Carbohydrates 32g11%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 18g20%
Protein 6g12%
Vitamin A 355IU7%
Calcium 82mg8%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Thanks For Stopping By And Hope To See You Soon!

By on March 19th, 2022
Photo of author

About Julia Pinney

More Posts by this author.

27 Comments on “Coconut Lemon Loaf Cake”

  1. 5 stars
    In your notes you so say use scales if possible, but you don’t give any weights? As a baker in the UK, where we don’t use cups, it is difficult to get an exact conversion?

    Reply
    • Hi Andie, In the recipe card you can change from cups to metric. It’s just the click of a button. You’ll see it if you go in there. I hope this helps😊

      Reply
  2. Thank you so much Julia! I never knew there was that option. I now feel very silly for trying to convert measurements all these years!

    Reply
  3. I really want to try this lemon cake recipe, it looks great but we get small ping pong ball sized lemons here, can you pls tell me the quantity of lemon juice and zest in tablespoons please, I’d appreciate it so much and thanks very much.

    Reply
    • Hi Naila, Yes of course! It’s 1/4 cup of lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of lemon zest. I will make the edit in the recipe card so it’s clear for everyone. Thanks for letting me know!

      Reply
    • Hi Julie, This cake has only been tested with all purpose flour. If you were to use almond flour, you would have very different results. I hope this helps.

      Reply
  4. I have made this cake several times with great success
    and have been ask for the recipe when I have friends in
    or give one for a gift , I find the flavour improves if the cake
    isn’t cut until next day , but it’s light and wonderful flavour.
    I made a couple for my daughters office and everyone
    raved about it. It’s a winner

    Reply
    • Hi Margaret, I’m sure it would work as a layer cake. Usually 9-inch pans will bake in under 25 minutes. Just keep an eye on the baking time. Hope this helps.

      Reply
    • I always make it in 2 small loaf pans, but I don’t combine them- I just like having 2 little loaves, and they cook more quickly.

      Reply
  5. 5 stars
    I just finished making this cake, it’s in the oven now. I’m sure it will be delicious, as I licked the spoon and the batter was gorgeous.

    Reply
  6. 1 star
    Made this cake and it was horrible. Very heavy I actually threw it out. Should have listened to my instincts and use s/r flour.

    Reply
  7. I’ve made this recipe a few times now, and going to make it again today. It’s delicious, and always a hit 😋

    Reply
  8. I tried to see the reviews at the top of the page and ended up adding a review by mistake by clicking on the stars. So sorry gave a 3 star review unintentionally

    Reply

Leave a Comment

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.