The most decadent coconut cream poke cake! A semi-homemade vanilla cake topped with a light and sweet coconut cream frosting. The perfect special occasion cake in a pinch!
115 oz. cancream of coconut (such as Goya or Coco Lopez brand)
114 oz. cansweetened condensed milk
FOR THE FROSTING:
16ouncesfrozen whipped topping (such as Cool Whip), thawed
1cupsweetened flaked coconut
Instructions
FOR THE CAKE:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
In a large bowl, mix together cake mix, eggs, oil, and water. Beat for 2 minutes on high speed, and then gently fold in the coconut. Pour batter into a prepared dish. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
In a medium bowl, combine the cream of coconut with sweetened condensed milk and whisk until smooth.
While the cake is still warm, use a fork to poke holes all over the top. Slowly pour the condensed milk mixture over top, gently spread it with a spatula, and allow it to soak into the cake. This looks like a lot of liquid, but it will gradually absorb into the cake -- just go slowly. Allow the cake to cool completely on a wire rack -- it will continue to soak up the liquid as it sits.
Once the cake is completely cool, prepare the frosting.
FOR THE FROSTING:
Spread whipped topping over cake. Sprinkle with coconut.
Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Notes
Make sure to keep the cake refrigerated before and after serving.
For a golden, deeper flavor, you can toast (and cool) the shredded coconut before adding it to the top of the cake.
While it will have a slightly different taste, you can substitute a boxed white cake mix for the yellow cake mix.
Add a teaspoon of coconut extract to the cake batter for extra coconut flavor.
Any variety of Cool Whip (or other whipped topping will work here) -- sugar-free, lite, or regular. Just make sure that you use 2 small containers or 1 large container to equal about 16 ounces.
Mix a box of coconut-flavored instant pudding into the Cool Whip for a coconut cream pudding topping.
If you want a more homemade taste, make a homemade whipped cream. Whip together heavy whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla extract until you can form stiff peaks.