Coconut Hibiscus Cake with Edible Flowers

This delicious, little 6-inch, two-layer coconut hibiscus cake is super moist and perfectly coconutty good. It’s topped with tangy hibiscus cream cheese frosting and edible flowers. And it bakes up in just 18 minutes and makes enough for 4-6 servings.

Coconut Hibiscus Cake Recipe

Oh, you know I love fresh-out-of-the-oven homemade cake! And I have to say, this pretty coconut and hibiscus flower cake is everything. It’s super light and fluffy and full of wonderful coconut flavor. And the hibiscus gives the frosting a pop of fresh, slightly cranberry-like flavor.

I also love this cake’s petite size. I haven’t been doing much (or any) entertaining for larger groups recently. But I still really enjoy baking cakes. So I adapted my coconut cake with cream cheese frosting recipe to work as a smaller, 6-inch cake. And while this cake might be smaller, it still makes enough for 4-6 large servings.

Coconut Hibiscus Cake Ingredients

Ready to get baking? Here’s what you’ll need.

• Cake Flour: Cake flour has less protein than all-purpose flour which helps give this cake its light and fluffy texture.
• Baking Powder and Baking Soda
• Kosher Salt
• Unsalted Butter
• Sugar
• Egg Whites: Using only the whites of the eggs helps keep the color of the cake white and helps give the cake its fluffy texture. If you need something to do with the leftover yolks, try this strawberry shortcake ice cream recipe!
• Full-Fat Greek Yogurt: This helps keep the cake super moist. You can also use sour cream.
• Pure Vanilla Extract
• Coconut Extract: For an extra pop of coconut flavor
• Canned Full-Fat Coconut Milk: Not to be confused with coconut water.
• Shredded Coconut: I used sweetened shredded coconut.
• Full-Fat Cream Cheese
• Confectioners’ Sugar: This is also known as powdered sugar.
• Hibiscus Tea Bags: This gives the frosting a slight berry flavor. And it helps color the frosting. If you want your frosting to be darker pink, you can add a bit of food coloring.

How to Make This 6-Inch Layer Cake

This cake is pretty simple and easy to make. Here’s what you’ll need to do (see the recipe card below for the full instructions).

• PREHEAT THE OVEN: Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
• PREP THE PANS: Grease two 6-inch cake pans with butter or baking oil spray, line them with parchment paper, then grease the parchment paper.
• MIX TOGETHER DRY INGREDIENTS: Whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
• CREAM BUTTER AND SUGAR: Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment (or a hand-held mixer), beat the butter and sugar together on medium-high speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, as needed.
• ADD THE EGG WHITES: Beat in the egg whites and mix until combined.
• MIX IN THE YOGURT AND EXTRACTS: Next, add the yogurt (or sour cream), vanilla extract, and coconut extract. Beat until combined. The mixture will look a bit curdled. Scrape down the sides of the bowl if needed.
• ADD DRY INGREDIENTS AND COCONUT: With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients and coconut milk. Beat on low speed until combined, then add the shredded coconut. Whisk the batter by hand to make sure there are no lumps at the bottom of the bowl. The mixture will be slightly thick.
• BAKE: Pour batter evenly into cake pans. Bake until the cake is baked through and has started to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 18-20 minutes. Insert a toothpick into the center of the cake to test for doneness. If the toothpick comes out clean, it’s done.
• MAKE FROSTING: While the coconut hibiscus cake is baking, make the frosting.
• COOL AND FROST: Allow cakes to cool completely in the pans on a wire rack before removing from the pan. Once they’re cooled, frost and decorate with flowers, if desired.

Edible Hibiscus Cake Topper

For this coconut hibiscus cake, I used fresh hibiscus flowers from Gourmet Sweet Botanicals. These hibiscus flowers are edible and slightly tart, berry-like flavor.

If you’re going to use fresh flowers on top of your coconut hibiscus cake, here are a few tips:

• ALWAYS USE NON-TOXIC FLOWERS: Make sure the flowers you are using are nontoxic. Good choices besides hibiscus include roses, lavender, marigolds, nasturtium, and pansies.
• CLEAN THE FLOWERS: It’s also important to make sure the flowers are cleaned of any pesticides before using (and don’t add that flower food to the water you’re storing them in!). I gently and quickly rinsed my flowers and then let them air dry before I added to the cake.
• WAIT UNTIL RIGHT BEFORE SERVING BEFORE ADDING: Fresh flowers can quickly fade. So wait until right before serving to place them on the cake.

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Coconut Hibiscus Cake Recipe Tips:

Plus a few more tips for making this coconut hibiscus cake.

• CAKE FLOUR: Cake flour has less protein than all-purpose flour and helps give this cake its wonderful texture. Also, for this recipe, sift the flour before measuring.
• MORE PINK: If you’re looking for a frosting that’s brighter pink, you can add some food coloring to the frosting. I like to use these gel food colorings. Just know that a (tiny) little bit of food coloring goes a long way!
• TOO SOFT TO CUT? If your cake feels too moist to cut easily, place it in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes before slicing.

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Coconut Hibiscus Cake with Edible Flowers

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• Author: Laura | Growing Up Cali
• Total Time: 40 minutes plus cooling
• Yield: 4–6 servings 1x

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Description

This delicious coconut hibiscus cake is super moist and coconutty good. It’s topped with hibiscus cream cheese frosting and edible flowers.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

For the Cake

• 1 1/4 cup cake flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 stick butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 egg whites
• 1/4 cup full-fat Greek yogurt (or sour cream)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon coconut extract
• 1/2 cup canned full-fat coconut milk
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut

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  For the Frosting

• 1/2 cup (1 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 4-ounces of of full-fat cream cheese (1/2 block), at room temperature
• 2.5 cups confectioners’ sugar (powdered sugar)
• 1/4 cup tablespoons canned coconut milk
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon coconut extract
• Pinch of salt
• 2 hibiscus tea bags

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Instructions

1. PREHEAT THE OVEN: Heat oven to 350 degrees F. 
2. PREP THE PANS: Grease two 6-inch cake pans with butter or baking oil spray, line them with parchment paper, then grease the parchment paper.
3. MIX TOGETHER DRY INGREDIENTS: Whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
4. CREAM BUTTER AND SUGAR: Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment (or a hand-held mixer), beat the butter and sugar together on medium-high speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, as needed.
5. ADD THE EGG WHITES: Beat in the egg whites and mix until combined.
6. MIX IN THE YOGURT AND EXTRACTS: Next, add the yogurt (or sour cream), vanilla extract, and coconut extract. Beat until combined. The mixture will look a bit curdled. Scrape down the sides of the bowl if needed.
7. ADD DRY INGREDIENTS AND COCONUT: With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients and coconut milk. Beat on low speed until combined, then add the shredded coconut. Whisk the batter by hand to make sure there are no lumps at the bottom of the bowl. The mixture will be slightly thick.
8. BAKE: Pour batter evenly into cake pans. Bake until the cake is baked through and has started to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 18-20 minutes. If unsure, insert a toothpick into the center of the cake to test for doneness. If the toothpick comes out clean, it’s done.
9. MAKE FROSTING: While the cake is baking, make the frosting. In a small saucepan, warm the coconut milk to the temperature of tea or coffee (don’t boil), and then remove from the heat and add the hibiscus tea bags. Set aside to let the tea bags steep and cool to room temperature. Next, using a stand mixer fitted with a whisk or paddle attachment (or a hand mixer and a large bowl) beat the cream cheese and butter together on medium speed until creamy and smooth, about 2 minutes. Then add the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla extract, coconut extract, and salt with the mixer running on low. Next, add 2 tablespoons of the hibiscus tea-infused coconut milk. If the frosting is too thin, add a bit more sugar. If it’s too thick, add a little more of the tea and coconut milk mixture.
10. COOL AND FROST: Allow cakes to cool completely in the pans on a wire rack. Once ready, remove from the pans and frost and decorate with flowers, if desired.
11. STORAGE: You can store any leftover cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. 

Notes

• USE NON-TOXIC FLOWERS: Make sure to only use edible flowers on your cakes.
• CAKE FLOUR: Cake flour has less protein than all-purpose flour and helps give this cake its wonderful texture. Also, for this recipe, sift the flour before measuring.
• MORE PINK: If you’re looking for a frosting that’s brighter pink, you can add some food coloring to the frosting. I like to use these gel food colorings. Just know that a (tiny) little bit of food coloring goes a long way!
• TOO SOFT TO CUT? If your cake feels too moist to cut easily, place it in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes before slicing.

• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Category: Dessert
• Method: Bake