• Cooking Tips
  • About
  • Contact
  • Disclosure/Privacy
  • Recipe Index

Sign Up for My Newsletter and free EBook ✉️
  • Home
  • About Me – Rosemary Molloy
    • Contact
    • Disclosure/Privacy
  • Recipes
  • Ingredient
    • Beef
    • Chicken
    • Chocolate
    • Eggs
    • Fish & Seafood
    • fruit
    • Pasta
    • Pork
    • Potatoes
    • Vegetables
  • Course
    • Drinks
    • Breakfast / Brunch
    • Lunch
    • Appetizers & Snacks
    • Main Dish
    • Side Dishes
    • Snacks
    • Pasta
    • Casseroles & Bakes
    • Pizza / Bread
    • Salads
    • Soups & Stews
  • Desserts
    • Cookies & Bars
    • Donuts & Pastries
    • Frostings & Glazes
    • Homemade Candy
    • Ice Cream & Frozen Desserts
    • Muffins & Sweet Breads
    • No-Bake Desserts
    • Tarts & Pies
  • Seasons
    • Christmas
    • Easter
    • Fall/Winter
    • Halloween
    • Thanksgiving
  • American Favorites
    • Appetizers & Snacks
    • Breakfast / Brunch
    • Drinks
    • Lunch
    • Main Dish
    • Desserts
    • Side Dishes

Sign Up for My Newsletter and free EBook ✉️

An Italian in my Kitchen

Authentic Italian Recipes

  • Recipes
  • Ingredient
    • Beef
    • Chicken
    • Chocolate
    • Eggs
    • Fish & Seafood
    • fruit
    • Nuts
    • Pasta
    • Pork
    • Potatoes
    • Vegetables
  • Course
    • Drinks
    • Breakfast / Brunch
    • Lunch
    • Appetizers & Snacks
    • Main Dish
    • Side Dishes
    • Snacks
    • Pasta
    • Casseroles & Bakes
    • Pizza / Bread
    • Salads
    • Soups & Stews
    • Desserts
      • Cookies & Bars
      • Donuts & Pastries
      • Frostings & Glazes
      • Homemade Candy
      • Ice Cream & Frozen Desserts
      • Muffins & Sweet Breads
      • No-Bake Desserts
      • Tarts & Pies
  • Seasons
    • Cooking Tips for Making it Italian
    • Christmas
    • Easter
    • Fall/Winter
    • Halloween
    • Thanksgiving
    • Recipe Collections
  • American Favorites
    • Drinks
    • Appetizers
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Main Dish
    • Desserts
Home » Popular » Cakes & Cupcakes » Italian Coconut Orange Cake

Italian Coconut Orange Cake

By: Rosemary Published: October 8, 2020 Updated on: November 5, 2020

Share

Share
Pin
Email
Jump to Recipe

This Italian Coconut Orange Cake is a delicious soft, moist cake. The perfect snack, breakfast or dessert Cake recipe. Add a dollop of Chantilly Cream to fancy it up! Fall Cake never tasted so good.

orange cake on a white cake stand

If there is something I love about fall and winter it has to be the fruit, apples and oranges are my favourite, and we all love coconut in my house, the Italian especially.

and so I thought what could be better than a Coconut Orange Cake?

Like a lot of the cakes I have made over the years here in Italy this is another frostless Italian Cake. Just a dusting of powdered sugar is really all it needs. Although this time we were having company over so I thought a creamy Chantilly topping would be perfect.

Table of Contents

  • How to make it
  • What can I substitute for coconut?
  • What is Chantilly Cream?
  • How to Make Cake Flour
  • More Delicious Italian Cakes
  • How to Store a Homemade Cake
      • Never Miss a Recipe!
  • Italian Coconut Orange Cake
    • Ingredients  1x2x3x
      • COCONUT ORANGE CAKE
      • For room temperature ingredients, remove them about 30-45 minutes from the fridge before using.
      • *To make homemade cake flour, for every cup of all purpose remove 2 tablespoons and replace with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch, sift together before using.
      • CHANTILLY CREAM
    • Instructions 
      • COCONUT ORANGE CAKE
      • CHANTILLY CREAM
    • Nutrition

How to make it

In a large bowl cream together the butter, sugar, orange zest, orange juice, vanilla, eggs and yolk. In a medium bowl sift together, the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, stir in the coconut, chips or nuts.

Starting with the flour mixture beat half into the egg mixture, then half of the yogurt, remaining flour and then remaining yogurt, beat until smooth.

sifting the dry ingredients and mixing the wet, combining them to form a cake batter in a white bowl

Pour into prepared cake pan and bake. Let cool completely, dust with powdered sugar,  and or serve with Chantilly Cream if desired. 

the batter in a cake pan

What can I substitute for coconut?

If you don’t like coconut, then you leave it out completely or substitute with some dark chocolate chips or even some finely chopped or slivered almonds.

What is Chantilly Cream?

Chantilly cream is a combination of whipped cream and icing sugar, sometimes flavoured with vanilla. It is usually used to fill pastries.

It was supposedly invented by Francois Vatel,  the master of ceremonies to the prince of Conde at the castle of Chantilly. He thought of adding sugar to whipped cream,  and he also gave the name to the preparation. Instead of adding vanilla to mine I decided a little orange zest.

This Cake also calls for Cake / Pastry Flour, but there is no need to buy it, you can easily make your own.

How to Make Cake Flour

For every cup of all purpose flour, remove two tablespoons and replace with two tablespoons of corn starch. Be sure to sift the flour and cornstarch together a couple of times, this way it is sure to be properly combined and lump free. Cake flour in cakes will give you a very tender texture and fine crumb, it will also help the cake to rise.

More Delicious Italian Cakes

Italian Glazed Mandarin Orange Almond Cake

Italian Fresh Cream Lemon Cake

Easy Italian Apple Cake

Easy Yogurt Cake

How to Store a Homemade Cake

Keep the cake covered in an airtight container. It will keep a 3-4 days at room temperature. Although the Chantilly cream must be refrigerated. I would add a dollop of cream just before serving.

The cake can also be frozen. Wrap tightly in plastic and place in an airtight container or freezer bag. The cake will keep for up to four months in the freezer.

This is the perfect Soft Light Coconut Lovers Cake, delicious with an afternoon cup of tea or coffee or even as the Italians do, a slice for breakfast with your cappuccino! I hope you try it and of course let me know how it turns out. Enjoy!

orange cake with a slice on a silver spatula

 

Subscribe Today

Never Miss a Recipe!

Subscribe today and receive my free e-book of recipes!

    We won't send you spam. Unsubscribe at any time.

    Italian Coconut Orange Cake

    Rosemary Molloy
    This Italian Coconut Orange Cake is a delicious soft, moist cake. The perfect snack, breakfast or dessert Cake recipe.
    4.95 from 17 votes
    Prevent your screen from going dark
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 20 mins
    Cook Time 30 mins
    Total Time 1 hr
    Course cake, Dessert
    Cuisine Italian
    Servings 8 servings
    Calories 385 kcal

    Ingredients
      

    COCONUT ORANGE CAKE

    • 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons butter (softened) (135 grams)
    • 1/2 cup + 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar (119 grams)
    • 1 zest of one orange
    • 3 tablespoons fresh squeezed orange juice
    • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
    • 2 large eggs (room temperature)
    • 1 egg yolk (room temperature)
    • 1 1/4 cups + 1 tablespoon cake / pastry flour* (170 grams)
    • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
    • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
    • 1 pinch salt
    • 1/4 cup flaked coconut (unsweetened) (mini chocolate chips or finely chopped almonds can be substituted) (20 grams)
    • 1/2 cup vanilla yogurt (room temperature) (125 grams)

    For room temperature ingredients, remove them about 30-45 minutes from the fridge before using.

      *To make homemade cake flour, for every cup of all purpose remove 2 tablespoons and replace with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch, sift together before using.

        CHANTILLY CREAM

        • 1 cup whole / whipping cream (238 grams)
        • 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
        • zest of 1/2 an orange

        Instructions
         

        • Pre-heat oven to 350° (180° celsius). Grease and flour an 8 inch (20 centimeters) cake pan.

        COCONUT ORANGE CAKE

        • In a large bowl cream together butter, sugar, orange zest, orange juice, vanilla, eggs and yolk beat 2-3 minutes on low to medium speed.
        • In a medium bowl sift together, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt then stir in the coconut.
        • Starting with the flour mixture beat half into egg mixture then half the yogurt, then remaining flour and then remaining yogurt, beat on low - medium speed until smooth. Pour into prepared cake pan and bake for approximately 30-40 minutes, or until toothpick comes clean. Let cool completely, dust with powdered sugar and serve with Chantilly Cream if desired. Enjoy!

        CHANTILLY CREAM

        • In a medium bowl whip cream until light peaks form then sift the powdered sugar onto the cream and add the zest. Whip until stiff peaks form. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

        Nutrition

        Calories: 385kcalCarbohydrates: 33gProtein: 5gFat: 26gSaturated Fat: 16gCholesterol: 137mgSodium: 180mgPotassium: 194mgSugar: 16gVitamin A: 905IUVitamin C: 3.6mgCalcium: 93mgIron: 1.3mg
        Keyword An easy moist Italian cake, coconut orange cake, Italian orange cake
        Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

        .

         

        Subscribe Today

        Never Miss a Recipe!

        Subscribe today and receive my free e-book of recipes!

          We won't send you spam. Unsubscribe at any time.


          Cakes & Cupcakes, Desserts, Fall/Winter, fruit, Most Posts

          Related

          Comments

            Leave a Reply Cancel reply

            Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

            Recipe Rating




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

          1. Terri says

            May 9, 2022 at 12:32 am

            5 stars
            This recipe is amazing

            Reply
            • Rosemary says

              May 9, 2022 at 8:19 pm

              Thanks so much Terri, so glad you enjoyed it. Take care, have a great week.

              Reply
          2. Kate says

            February 17, 2022 at 11:04 pm

            I have 2 Qs re the flaked coconut:
            1. Is it sweetened or unsweetened?
            2. I’ve baked with flaked coconut before, and it’s never turned out well. The texture is dry and annoying. Should/can I moisten it a bit? There’sa good method in Saveur involving a wok, bamboo streamer, and pie plate.

            Reply
            • Rosemary says

              February 18, 2022 at 8:33 pm

              Hi Kate, I use unsweetened coconut. If you find it annoying then yes you could moisten it. Let me know how it turns out. Have a great weekend.

              Reply
          3. yolanda says

            December 1, 2021 at 8:07 am

            Coconut Orange Cake
            Did not rise at all. Doesn’t seem the ingredients listed would yield a cake as it appears in the picture. I’ll have to make another “layer’ to yield the desired height.I DID NOT WANT A LAYERED CAKE. Quite a few ingredients wasted.

            Reply
            • Rosemary says

              December 1, 2021 at 9:17 am

              Hi Yolanda, did you use an 8 inch cake pan? The cake should come out to that height, there’s even a video for the recipe. Sorry it didn’t work for you.

              Reply
          4. Anisha Raghavan says

            October 7, 2021 at 6:33 am

            5 stars
            I made this 4 my mom and she absolutely loved it!! Thank you for making my mom happy!

            Reply
            • Rosemary says

              October 8, 2021 at 6:17 pm

              Hi Anisha, thanks so much, so glad your Mom loved it. Have a great weekend.

              Reply
          5. McKayla says

            July 4, 2021 at 10:12 pm

            5 stars
            I made this recipe for my family. It was great and everyone loved it!! I will definitely be making this again. 🙂

            Reply
            • Rosemary says

              July 6, 2021 at 10:59 am

              Hi McKayla thanks so much, glad everyone enjoyed it. Have a great week.

              Reply
            • Viraaj Raghavan says

              October 7, 2021 at 6:34 am

              5 stars
              I love this recipe! My kids made it 4 me and it was amazing!

              Reply
              • Rosemary says

                October 8, 2021 at 6:16 pm

                Hi Viraaj, thanks so much so glad you enjoyed it, and I love that your kids made it. Have a great weekend.

          6. Pina says

            March 12, 2021 at 4:26 am

            Is it possible to use plain Greek yogurt instead of vanilla yogurt?

            Reply
            • Rosemary says

              March 12, 2021 at 12:23 pm

              Hi Pina, yes you can but only use 5 tablespoons of greek yogurt and 3 tablespoons of either milk or water, because geek yogurt is thicker than regular yogurt. Let me know how it goes.

              Reply
          7. Elaine says

            January 11, 2021 at 1:59 am

            In the Italian orange cake,
            Could sour cream be used instead of yogurt ?

            Thank you

            Reply
            • Rosemary says

              January 11, 2021 at 9:09 am

              Hi Elaine, yes that should be fine. Let me know how it goes.

              Reply
          8. Carol says

            December 18, 2020 at 1:33 pm

            I am so happy to find a recipe for a cake that sounds so full of delicious flavour and it is not a huge cake. Although I imagine it could be easily doubled and made into a lovely layer cake, I am pleased to make something smaller for just my husband and myself. There will be no leftovers!

            Reply
            • Rosemary says

              December 19, 2020 at 9:58 am

              Hi Carol, thanks so much and yes it could be doubled. I hope you enjoy it. Merry Christmas.

              Reply
          9. Linda says

            November 21, 2020 at 2:12 am

            5 stars
            Excellent cake!! Can I double this recipe and use a bundle pan?

            Reply
            • Rosemary says

              November 21, 2020 at 8:58 pm

              Thanks so much Linda, yes I am sure that would work fine. Have a great weekend.

              Reply
          10. Rachael says

            June 10, 2020 at 2:07 pm

            5 stars
            I made this cake and it turned out great. Fresh orange flavor, nice loose moist crumb inside, rich buttery (i subbed coconut oil for the butter and left out the shredded coconut) crusty exterior. I was out of vanilla so i subbed Frangelico which led it in a nutty direction i liked. I took it to share at a meal with friends and everyone liked it. I will definitely make it again. Thanks!

            Reply
            • Rosemary says

              June 10, 2020 at 6:52 pm

              Hi Rachael, thanks so much, glad everyone enjoyed it. Take care.

              Reply
          11. Sara says

            May 19, 2015 at 1:37 pm

            This looks amazing! My husband loves citrus flavored things, but this is a combination I haven’t seen before. I’ve pinned it so I can come back and try it sometime!

            Reply
            • Rose says

              May 19, 2015 at 9:17 pm

              Hi Sara, thanks hope you enjoy it when you have time.

              Reply
          12. Stephanie says

            January 10, 2015 at 4:42 pm

            How delicious! Thank you so much for linking up at Tasty Tuesday! Your recipe has been pinned to the Tasty Tuesday Pinterest board! Please join us again this week!

            Reply
          13. Laura@Baking In Pyjamas says

            January 6, 2015 at 2:03 pm

            Visiting from Treasure Box Tuesday. Winter time is favourite of mine for the sole reason that it’s citrus season. This cake looks perfect and one last little slice of cake isn’t going to hurt, right? I would love for you to stop by and share this and other recipes with us over at Sweet and Savoury Sunday. Have a great day!

            Reply
          14. april7116 says

            January 4, 2015 at 8:06 pm

            5 stars
            I always have a hard time letting go of Christmas – I took the ornaments off of the tree a few nights ago, but kept the tree up with the lights! Baby steps…

            Reply
            • Rose says

              January 4, 2015 at 9:57 pm

              Hi April, I love a Christmas tree with just lights. Tomorrow I am going to start too. Happy New Year.

              Reply
          15. marisa2014 says

            January 4, 2015 at 12:51 pm

            I know what you mean about your clothes getting tight- less baking of sweets although it isn’t healthy to go cold turkey. A little bit of sweets once in a while is good for the soul. My parents always talked about the Italian tradition and we celebrated it in our way. Our Christmas was never big into gift giving, after all it is Jesus birthday. I’m filled with enthusiasm about the new year! How about you?

            Reply
            • Rose says

              January 4, 2015 at 5:24 pm

              Hi Marisa, I know I could never give up sweets completely, I have to say I am pretty enthused about the new year too. Happy New Year to you.

              Reply
          Newer Comments »

          Hi, I'm Rosemary.

          Living in Italy I learned to cook authentic Italian dishes using whole ingredients, fresh veggies and delicious spices. So take a seat and have a taste! Read More

          Most Popular

          pizza dough 3 rounds on parchment paper

          Best Pizza Dough

          puff pastry cut in half stacked.

          Quick & Easy Homemade Puff Pastry

          Homemade Potato Gnocchi

          Pieces of fudge on parchment paper.

          Old Fashioned Chocolate Fudge

          Sauce and pasta in a bowl with some on a fork.

          Authentic Bolognese Sauce

          5 stacked lemon cookies.

          Italian Lemon Cookies

          Filter By Date

          Readers Favorite Trending Recipes

          Ricotta cake on a glass cake stand.

          Italian Lemon Ricotta Cake

          pizza dough 3 rounds on parchment paper

          Best Pizza Dough

          puff pastry cut in half stacked.

          Quick & Easy Homemade Puff Pastry

          Homemade Potato Gnocchi

          Ingredients.

          • Beef
          • Chicken
          • Chocolate
          • Eggs
          • Fish & Seafood
          • Pasta
          • Pork

          Course.

          • Appetizers & Snacks
          • Breakfast / Brunch
          • Drinks
          • Lunch
          • Main Dish

          Browse.

          • About Me – Rosemary Molloy
          • Contact
          • Disclosure/Privacy
          • Recipe Index
          Copyright ©2023, An Italian in my Kitchen. All Rights Reserved.
          Design by Pixel Me Designs