Orange cake with coconut cream cheese frosting is the ideal spring dessert: a light, fluffy sheet cake flavored with bright orange and topped with a silky coconut-cream cheese frosting. It’s citrusy, comforting, and perfect for feeding a crowd.
This truly is a crowd favorite.
This cake is perfect for spring and holidays like Easter. It’s a recipe inspired by family tradition—one my grandmother used to bake often—and everyone always loved it. The combination of a tender orange cake and creamy coconut frosting is a real dream.
I’ve wanted to share this version for a long time. If you’ve followed along for a while, you might remember the story I wrote about Mother Lovett’s orange cake years ago. I adapted that family recipe slightly, combining it with ideas from a lemon sheet cake to make a reliably moist 9×13 sheet cake.
Her orange cake was one of her signature bakes.
Between her orange cake and her coconut cake, it’s hard to choose a favorite. Both were light, tender, and perfectly sweet. She made them so often that she rarely needed to consult a recipe—she always knew exactly how the batter should look and how much zest to grate.
She baked on weekends and became known for her desserts. Growing up, I usually reached for chocolate or peanut butter treats, but I always made an exception for her orange cake. It was a big deal.
I tweaked her original recipe a little, adapting it to a sheet cake format and borrowing structural elements from a New York Times lemon sheet cake to ensure a consistently tender crumb. Sheet cakes are some of my favorites to bake: simple, generous, and universally liked. Other sheet cakes I love—like a spiced pumpkin sheet cake, banana cake with espresso frosting, and a triple-berry vanilla sheet cake—are similarly crowd-pleasing and easy to make.
Mother Lovett always used a coconut frosting on her orange cakes. Because I love cream cheese, I made a coconut cream cheese frosting for this version. I’ve used this frosting on other recipes before; it’s velvety, sweet with a little tang, and pairs beautifully with citrus.
Sheet cakes like this are so handy. They’re the best dessert for a dinner, party, or even a casual afternoon coffee break. My family even called cake-for-breakfast acceptable when there was a fresh sheet cake around—why not, when it’s this good?
Truly, this cake works for any time you need an easy, impressive dessert.
Orange Cake with Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting
Orange Cake with Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting
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Ingredients
Orange Cake
- 3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 ⅓ cups whole milk
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup freshly grated orange zest
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs
Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon coconut extract (optional)
- 1 cup shredded, sweetened coconut
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×13-inch pan with nonstick baking spray, preferably one made for baking that contains flour.
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In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a measuring cup, whisk the milk with the lemon and orange juices.
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In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Scrape the bowl as needed. Beat in the orange zest. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition, then mix in the vanilla.
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With the mixer on low, add half the dry ingredients, then the milk mixture, then the remaining dry ingredients, mixing just until combined.
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Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake 35–40 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
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Cool the cake completely before frosting. I often remove the cake from the pan after about 30 minutes, invert it, and frost the flat side; you can also frost it in the pan.
Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting
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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 with shredded coconut, and gently press the coconut so it adheres. Refrigerate the cake because of the cream cheese frosting; chilled slices are delightful.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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Loveliest little fluff square.