This classic Vanilla Wafer Cake which uses vanilla wafer crumbs in place of flour has AMAZING flavor from pecans and coconut!
Once you've had a slice, you will understand why this rich, ultra moist cake has been a go-to cake recipe for decades. So good!
How to Make a Vanilla Wafer Cake
*You can find the full, printable recipe further down in this post. But here is a quick rundown of our steps!
Surprisingly, if it weren't for the name, you would never know that this cake had Vanilla Wafers in it at all. The cookies are actually finely crushed and used in place of the flour.
Although the crushed Vanilla Wafers surely add an additional layer of flavor, it is the combination of coconut and pecans that stand out the most. If I were blindfolded, I would almost think I was having a slice of carrot cake ;0)
As you can see in the photo above, every slice of this vanilla wafer cake is packed with coconut and pecans, creating a slightly more dense, rich cake and a texture that we just love.
A Basic Rundown of our Steps
- First, preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Prepare a bundt pan- This cake seems more prone to sticking so we used homemade pan release (goop) with great results- See the notes section of our recipe for details!
- In a medium size bowl, add the chopped pecans and coconut, set aside.
- Crush the vanilla wafers in a plastic bag using a rolling pin or crush fine using a food processor.
- In the bowl of your mixer mix the butter until smooth.
- Gradually add the sugar and mix 3 to 5 minutes or until fluffy
- Add the room temperature eggs one at a time, mixing after each until the yellow of the yolk has blended in.
- Next, add the crushed vanilla wafers, milk and vanilla and mix well.
- Stir in the coconut and chopped pecans.
- This is a thick cake batter. Spoon into a prepared bundt pan.
- Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 10 minutes. At the one hour mark, check using a long skewer or toothpick. It is done when the toothpick is clean or with just a few crumbs attached
- Cool 10 to 15 minutes then turn out.
- We topped our bundt cake off with a dusting of powdered sugar (by lightly tapping it through a sifter)
Homemade Cake Release - "Goop"
Have you ever tried homemade cake release before? We've always just greased and floured our bundt cake pans but for this cake, we highly recommend homemade Goop Cake Release.
Bakers have sworn by this simple cake release recipe for years but it wasn't until today's recipe that we actually tried it. The first time we made our Vanilla Wafer Cake, it stuck to the pan even though it had been thoroughly greased and floured as usual. There's nothing worse than flipping out a bundt cake only to have the top portion stick the pan!
The next time, we coated the pan with goop cake release and the baked cake slid right out of the pan with no issues! Homemade Goop Cake Release is equal parts flour, vegetable shortening, and vegetable oil. We used a cup of each.
Simply mix the ingredients on low speed until the flour is moistened, increase the speed to medium, and mix until smooth. (You can also just combine and stir by hand if you'd rather). Transfer the cake release into an airtight container.
The general rule of thumb is that the cake release will stay fresh for a few months at room temperature, or for six months in the refrigerator.
When ready to use, coat the inside of your cake pan generously using a silicone brush, or paper towel, etc. That's it!
For layer cake pans, I'll still line the bottom with circles of wax paper or parchment to be on the safe side, but for bundt cakes, this is an awesome alternative to greasing and flouring or cake release sprays. Try it!
Can Vanilla Wafer Bundt Cake be Frozen?
Yes it can! Whether you are baking in advance to make life easier, or you'd like to save leftover slices for another day, this cake can easily be frozen.
Simply wrap the bundt cake tightly in plastic wrap and follow with a layer of aluminum foil. Into the freezer it goes!
When you'd like to thaw the cake, remove from the freezer and keep it wrapped until thawed.
The cake will taste as fresh as the day that it was baked! You can wrap individual slices of cake in the same way.
More Bundt Cakes to Try!
We love bundt cakes like today's recipe not only for the delicious flavor, but also because they are easy make and decorating is quick and simple! Here are just a few more of our favorite bundt cakes
Lemon Blueberry Sour Cream Pound Cake
Chocolate Cream Cheese Pound Cake
More Cakes with Coconut
If you love cakes with coconut like we do, don't miss these other favorite cake recipes!! We are sharing a few below but you can find the full listing of fabulous coconut cakes here: Favorite Coconut Cake Recipes
Enjoy the Recipe!
Thank you for stopping by! We hope that you enjoy this Vanilla Wafer Cake as much as we have! If you give it a try, we’d love for you to leave a photo or comment below.
If you're interested in more cake recipes or cake decorating tutorials, make sure to check out our Cake Recipes & Tutorials Section as well! We have so many cakes to share with you!
Vanilla Wafer Cake- A Classic Recipe
This moist, rich Vanilla Wafer Cake doesn't taste like Vanilla Wafers at all! ;0) This vintage cake which uses the crushed cookies instead of flour is bursting with coconut and pecan flavor.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups (150g) chopped pecans
- 8 oz. (150g) (3 cups) sweetened coconut — we used Baker's Angel Flake Coconut
- 11 oz. (311g) box of vanilla wafers, crushed
- 2 sticks (1 cup) (226g) butter, softened
- 1 ½ cups (300g) sugar
- 6 large eggs, room temperature
- ½ cup (121g) milk
- 2 teaspoons (8 g) vanilla extract
- Optional: A dusting of powdered sugar on top just before serving.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Prepare a bundt pan (We used "Goop" -an easy homemade non-stick pan coating. Please see notes below)
- In a medium size bowl, add the chopped pecans and coconut, set aside.
- Crush the vanilla wafers in a plastic bag using a rolling pin or crush fine using a food processor.
- In the bowl of your mixer mix the butter until smooth.
- Gradually add the sugar and mix 3 to 5 minutes or until lightened in color and fluffy
- Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each until the yellow of the yolk has blended in.
- Add the crushed vanilla wafers, milk and vanilla and mix well.
- Stir in the coconut and chopped pecans.
- The batter will be thick. Spoon into a prepared bundt pan (prepared using Goop (see Notes below) or greased and floured.
- Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 10 minutes. At 1 hour check using a long skewer or toothpick. It is done when the toothpick is clean or with just a few crumbs attached
- Cool 10 to 15 minutes then turn out.
- Optional: Apply a dusting of powdered sugar to the top of the cake by spooning a small amount into a sifter and lightly tapping the side. This should be done soon before serving as the powdered sugar will absorb over time.
Notes
We highly recommend this mixture for greasing your pans! It is a popular homemade non-stick recipe that we finally tried for the first time when our usual "grease and flour" method didn't work with this cake!
Homemade Goop Cake Release
You can make half the recipe or any quantity you want, just use equal amounts of the 3 ingredients.
1 cup (121 g) Flour
1 cup (191 g) Vegetable Shortening
1 cup (215 g) Vegetable Oil
Add all ingredients to a mixing bowl. Begin mixing on low speed until the flour is moistened. Increase the speed to medium and mix until smooth. (Can also be mixed by hand). Coat your cake pan liberally with the cake release.
Transfer the remaining cake release to an airtight container. The general rule of thumb is that it lasts 3 months at room temperature or up to 6 months in the refrigerator.
Wow now that's interesting! Never heard of such a thing. Looks delish! :-)