This chocolate coconut Easter cake is an easy, festive treat for the holiday — a tender chocolate sheet cake finished with coconut cream cheese frosting, toasted coconut and Cadbury mini eggs.
It’s a fun food week here!
This chocolate sheet cake is topped with a whipped coconut cream cheese frosting, crunchy toasted coconut and crisp-shelled chocolate eggs. It’s playful, cute and genuinely delicious.
This feels like a throwback — put crunchy Cadbury mini eggs on top of a toasted coconut frosting to create the perfect little Easter centerpiece. If you prefer, the Lindt-style chocolate eggs with a crisp shell are another excellent option to try.
We make sheet cakes at home all the time. They’re easier than layer cakes, don’t require complicated decorating, feed a crowd and leave great leftovers. For holidays, a simple festive topping makes them feel special.
The kids can’t get enough of the toasted coconut and mini eggs on top.
This chocolate cake is deeply chocolatey without being overly sweet. It’s tender with a great crumb. The recipe calls for hot coffee to intensify the chocolate flavor without making the cake taste like coffee — you can substitute hot water if you don’t have coffee on hand.
My cream cheese frosting is a longtime obsession and pairs beautifully with coconut. The frosting is rich and creamy yet light and fluffy; the tang of cream cheese balances the sweetness of the coconut for an ideal finish.
For the topping, I toast the coconut so it looks like a nest for the chocolate eggs. The kids love it, and the toasted coconut adds a crunchy, nutty contrast to the soft cake. If you or someone at your table dislikes the texture of coconut, you can skip the toasted coconut or reserve a portion of the cake without it — a simple compromise that still lets everyone enjoy a slice.
What I love most about the toasted coconut is the crisp texture — it pairs wonderfully with the fluffy cake.
I enjoy a classic white coconut cake, but this chocolate-and-coconut variation is a delicious twist: springy, decadent and just the right amount of indulgent.
Chocolate Coconut Easter Cake
Chocolate Coconut Easter Cake
12
people
30 mins
50 mins
1 hr
2 hrs 20 mins
Ingredients
chocolate cake
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (or sour cream)
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups hot coffee or hot water
coconut cream cheese frosting
- 2 cups shredded, sweetened coconut
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon coconut extract (optional)
- 1 bag Cadbury mini eggs (for topping)
Instructions
chocolate cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×13-inch baking pan with nonstick spray.
- Whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl.
- In a large bowl, whisk the yogurt, buttermilk and vegetable oil. Whisk in the eggs one at a time, then whisk in the vanilla.
- Add half the dry ingredients to the wet and whisk until combined. Whisk in the hot coffee (or hot water), then add the remaining dry ingredients and mix until smooth.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake 50–55 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool completely before frosting.
coconut cream cheese frosting
- Place the shredded coconut in a nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring often, until golden and toasted. Transfer to a plate to cool.
- Beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add the powdered sugar, then beat in vanilla and coconut extract if using. Spread the frosting over the cooled cake.
- Sprinkle the toasted coconut across the top, pressing gently so it adheres to the frosting. Finish with Cadbury mini eggs arranged as desired.
- Store the cake in the refrigerator because of the cream cheese frosting; chilled slices are especially enjoyable.
Notes
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These flavors are everything.