Limoncello Coconut Bundt Cake
This delicious Limoncello Coconut Cake is so rich and flavorful with lemon, coconut, and a decadent limoncello glaze. Nobody would guess that this bundt cake is a doctored cake mix recipe!
Limoncello is a popular Italian Lemon Liqueur which we have also used for our homemade Limoncello Cake as well as our easy Limoncello Bundt Cake. The addition of coconut creates the perfect balance of flavors, you will love this recipe!
Table of Contents
Ingredients in Limoncello Coconut Cake
- White Cake Mix (We used Duncan Hines Perfectly Moist, 15.25 oz)
- Instant Lemon Pudding adds lemon flavor and a nice, velvety texture (don't prepare the pudding)
- All Pupose Flour and Sugar
- Eggs
- Vegetable Oil (we used canola oil)
- Limoncello in the batter adds a boost of flavor. We use it in the glaze as well. (Any brand)
- Sour Cream for richness
- Milk
- Lemon Juice and Zest
- Lemon Extract and Coconut Extract
- Flaked Coconut- We used sweetened because it is softer and more moist.
*The buttery limoncello glaze consists of butter, limoncello, sugar, and a splash of water. It is poured over the cake while still in the bund pan.
How to Make a Limoncello Coconut Cake
You can find the full, printable recipe further down in this post. Here is a quick look at our steps!
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F, and grease and flour a bundt or tube pan.
- Zest and Squeeze the juice from one lemon, set aside (about ¼ cup).
- Sift the cake mix into your mixing bowl. Add the flour, lemon pudding mix, and sugar and combine.
- Add all of the other ingredients to the mixing bowl (except for the flaked coconut). This includes the zest and juice of one lemon, vegetable oil, sour cream, four eggs, Limoncello, lemon extract, coconut extract, and milk.
- Mix at low speed for about ten seconds to incorporate before increasing to medium speed for two minutes.
- Gently stir in the coconut.
- Scoop the cake batter into the prepared bundt pan.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a skewer or toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached. *Bake times will vary and so peek in as the end time approaches and adjust accordingly.
- We prepared the glaze in a saucepan during the last 15 minutes of baking.
Place the freshly baked cake, still in its pan, on a cooling rack. We then poured the glaze over the top and around around the sides, reserving just a bit for later. (We reserved about ¼ cup.)
*You can poke holes in the cake here and there with a toothpick to help the glaze absorb even more quickly if you'd like. We got a little carried away with pouring towards the center of the cake- it absorbed eventually!
Fifteen minutes later...
Turning out the cake: We allowed the glaze to soak into the cake for about 15 minutes before placing a pedestal/cake plate upside down on top of the cake pan. We then carefully turned it over, all as one, so that the cake plate was now right side up and the pan was inverted. We lifted the pan to reveal the cake.
You can apply any reserved glaze to the cake using a pastry brush. This step is optional, but sometimes you'll find areas of the cake that need a bit more glaze once the cake has been turned out.
Final Details
The glaze gives a nice sheen to the cake, it needs little to no decoration. We kept things very simple, and sprinkled the top with coconut and lemon zest.
The limoncello flavor is light but unmistakeable, especially around the outer edges of the cake where the buttery glaze is the most concentrated. We hope that you enjoy this cake as much as we have! Make sure to leave a comment if you give it a try. We'd love to hear from you!
More "Boozy Cakes"
We've made many boozy cakes over the years, from champagne cakes to cocktail-inspired combinations and more. Our Pink Champagne Cake, Banana Rum Cake, Baileys Chocolate Bundt Cake, and Pina Colada Cake are just a few of our favorites.
Have you made this? We would LOVE for you to leave a ⭐️ rating as well as a comment and photo below! We really appreciate your feedback!
Limoncello Coconut Bundt Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 1 Box White Cake Mix We used Duncan Hines Classic White Perfectly Moist
- 1 Small Package 3.4 oz/96g Instant Lemon Pudding (Don't prepare the pudding)
- ½ cup All Purpose Flour (60g)
- ½ cup White Sugar (100g)
- 4 eggs
- ½ cup Vegetable Oil (we use Canola oil) (108g)
- ½ cup Limoncello (121g)
- 1 cup Sour Cream (227g)
- ½ cup Milk (We use whole or 2% fat)
- Juice and Zest from one Lemon (Approx. ¼ cup lemon juice)
- 2 Teaspoons Lemon Extract (8g)
- 1 Tablespoon Coconut Extract (12g)
- ¾ cup Sweetened, Flaked Coconut (We use Bakers brand)
For the Glaze
- 1 cup White Sugar (200g)
- 1 stick Unsalted butter (113g)
- 3 Tablespoons Water (44g)
- ⅓ cup Limoncello (75g)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F
- Grease and flour a 10 or 12 cup bundt pan.
- Zest and Squeeze the juice from one lemon. (We used ¼ cup juice- if you have less, make up the difference with a bit of water). Set aside.
- Sift the cake mix into your mixing bowl. Add the flour, lemon pudding mix, and sugar and combine.
- Add all of the other ingredients to the bowl (except for the flaked coconut): zest and juice of one lemon, vegetable oil, sour cream, our eggs, Limoncello, lemon extract, coconut extract, and milk.
- Mix at low speed for about ten seconds to incorporate before increasing to medium speed for two minutes.
- Gently stir in the coconut. Scoop the cake batter into the prepared bundt pan.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a skewer or toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached.
- During the last 15 minutes of baking, make the glaze.
Glaze Instructions
- In a saucepan, stir the glaze ingredients (sugar, butter, water, limoncello) over low heat until butter has melted. Raise the heat to medium heat, stirring constantly until it begins to boil. (Be careful-It may boil over if you are not stirring.) Boil for 3 minutes and remove from heat.
- Pull the bundt cake out of the oven and place on a cooling rack. Pour the warm glaze over the cake (still in pan) and let it sit for 15 minutes to absorb. *We reserved about ¼ cup for later.
- After 15 minutes has passed, when the glaze has been absorbed, place your cake plate/pedestal upside down against the cake pan and then flip it all as one so that the cake plate is now right side up with the inverted pan on top. Remove the can pan to reveal the cake. If you reserved any of the glaze you can use a pastry brush to brush over any missed areas as needed.
- Serve the cake just as it is, or you can sprinkle the top with a bit of coconut and lemon zest.
- This cake is fine to sit at room temperature for 2-3 days under a cake dome or in an airtight container. It is such a great cake, we especially love it when it is still warm!