This is the cakey kind of Lemon Coconut Slice, with a lemon coconut butter cake topped with lemon icing, cut into little squares so it’s perfect with a cuppa. And because the icing is the crusting sort, it’s practical for bake sales or tucking into lunch boxes!
Aussie Lemon Coconut Slice Cake
I’m sure this style of cake isn’t exclusively Australian, but I call it Australian because it’s a copycat of lemon cake slices I grew up seeing in cafes and at school bake sales. These days, you’ll even find packaged versions in grocery stores!
It’s a thin lemon butter cake cut into handheld pieces and thickly iced with a glaze that crusts on the surface, making it practical for wrapping, stacking and transporting without frosting smearing everywhere. Sometimes it has coconut in it, sometimes it doesn’t. I like it with, so mine does!
I’ve seen it called Lemon Slice, but in my simple mind, bars and slices have compact bases like these Lemon Bars, whereas this is actually a thin cake. Hence the awkward name – Lemon Coconut Slice Cake!
Ingredients in Aussie Lemon Coconut Slice Cake
Here’s what you need to make this.
1. For the cake part
1 very big lemon or 2 regular lemons – We need 1 tablespoon of zest and 2 tablespoons of juice for the cake, and 7 – 8 teaspoons for the icing. Fun fact: lemon flavour is in the zest. The juice just makes things tangy. 🙂
Flour – Just plain / all-purpose flour, not self-raising flour (wrong amount of baking powder built in for this cake).
Desiccated coconut – This is the finely shredded type that is like panko breadcrumb size, called shredded coconut or finely shredded coconut in the US. Not shavings or flakes (too large), not coconut powder. Make sure it’s unsweetened (standard in Australia).
Note: You can leave the coconut out if you prefer, and make a lemon cake. That’s actually how this recipe started out, but then I added coconut and like it even more. 🙂
Baking powder – This is what makes the cake rise. We only need 1 teaspoon. Don’t substitute with baking soda, the cake gets a bit of a hump in the middle (we want flat for this slice-cake).
Unsalted butter – Softened to room temperature so it can be creamed.
White sugar – Caster / superfine sugar if you’ve got it (it’s finer so dissolves more easily) other regular sugar works too (granulated sugar).
Large eggs – Eggs around ~50 – 55g/2oz each, from a carton labelled “large eggs” (which are 600g for a dozen which suggests 50g each, but not all eggs are exactly the same weight – selfish hens! Why can’t they lay exactly the same size eggs every single time!! 🙄😆).
Milk – Just regular milk is the liquid for this cake! Make sure the milk is at room temperature as fridge cold milk can make butter solidify and you’ll up with greasy little butter pockets in the cake, and it won’t rise as well.
Salt – Just a tiny amount, to bring out the flavours in everything else.
2. For the thick glaze icing
This icing is actually just a glaze, but I make it very thick so it spreads like a buttercream frosting rather than a typical runny glaze that is see-through and runs down the side of the cake. It will set with a crust on the surface and it’s not greasy like buttercream, which makes these slices really practical – you can stack them, wrap them in cling wrap, pack them into lunch boxes and bundle in gift bags without icing smearing everywhere.
Here’s what you need:
Soft icing sugar / powdered sugar – If you’re in Australia, get the type of icing sugar called SOFT Icing Sugar rather than PURE Icing Sugar (which sets harder, like royal icing). If not presented with these options, just get what you can. 🙂
Lemon juice – This is the liquid to make the icing. We only use a very small amount – 7 to 8 teaspoons for 2 cups of icing sugar – which sounds like nowhere near enough, I know! But trust me, keep mixing and smearing and that enormous pile of icing sugar will come together into a thick, smooth icing that stays on the surface rather than running down the sides like typical glazes.
Desiccated coconut – For sprinkling.
How to make an Aussie Lemon Coconut Slice Cake
The most important thing with this recipe is to ensure the eggs and milk are at room temperature, not fridge cold, else the butter will solidify and you’ll get little hards bits of butter in the batter rather than mixing in smoothly.
Oh – also! Don’t use a stand mixer. The volume of batter is so small, you will spend more time scraping down the sides than actual mixing time. (I tried, it was a pain!)
Dry ingredients – Mix the dry ingredients in a medium bowl (flour, coconut, baking powder and salt).
Cream butter and sugar – Using a handheld beater (don’t use a stand mixer, there’s not enough batter), cream the butter and sugar for 2 minutes until it’s light and fluffy. Start on low speed so you don’t get sugar spraying everywhere, then increase the speed to high when you can.
Beat in the eggs one at a time until it’s mix in, then the lemon juice, zest and vanilla. The batter will look a little curdled once the lemon goes in but it’s ok, it will come together into a smooth batter when the flour is added.
Flour and milk, alternating – Add 1/3 of the flour mixture and beat on low speed just until the flour is mixed in, then stop. Add half the milk, beat on low just until incorporated, then repeat again with half the remaining flour, beat, milk, beat, then remaining flour and beat. Stop when you can no longer see flour.
Using this method minimises the mixing required to incorporate all the flour and milk (ie if you dump them all in one go, you have to beat for longer to mix in), and less mixing = softer cake. Over mixing batter = hard cake!
Finish by hand – Use a rubber spatula to sweep around the bowl and mix in any stray bits of flour.
Pour into a 20cm/8″ square pan lined with paper and smooth the surface.
Bake for 30 minutes at 180°C/350°F (160°C fan) or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Cool upside down – Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn it out onto a rack and cool it upside down. This gives us a perfect flat surface for icing.
Icing (frosting) – This is a very thick glaze, almost like buttercream, so it sits on the cake rather than running down the sides. Mix the icing sugar and lemon juice with a rubber spatula using firm smearing motions. It will seem impossibly dry at first, but persevere – at first it will turn into a dough-like mixture, then into smooth thick icing. Aim for a peanut butter consistency: spreadable, not drippy. If needed, add more lemon juice just 1/2 teaspoon at a time – glazes go from too thick to too runny very quickly, so use a tiny bit at a time!
Ice and shower – Once the cake is completely cool, spread the icing on from edge to edge. Sprinkle with desiccated coconut, then let the icing set for half an hour before slicing into squares or bars to enjoy!
Stays fresh for a week
Another very appealing feature of this cake is that it stays fresh for a week, thanks to the coconut which adds moisture into the cake. Nice not to have to resort to any bakers’ tricks for keeping this cake moist like buttermilk, yogurt, sour cream or oil!
In fact, I swear the cake was even softer and tasted better on day 2, once the lemon and coconut flavours had settled in and the moisture had worked its way through the crumb. A cake that improves overnight and stays fresh for a week – what more could you ask for! 🙂 – Nagi x
Lemon Coconut Slice Cake FAQ
This cake will stay fresh for a week. Keep it in a cool pantry in an airtight container. If it’s hot where you are, keep it in the fridge but I highly recommend bringing to room temperature (cold cake is hard and you can’t taste the flavours as well).
These worked very well with gluten-free flour! The cake was a little more crumbly when cutting but not so crumbly that it’s a problem to eat with your hands. The taste is the same, the texture has the faintest powdery-ness that comes through in some cakes using GF flour, but it is barely noticeable. I think I only notice it because I’m looking for it.
Note: These were tested with White Wings Gluten-Free flour, a brand that is carried by large grocery stores here in Australia. Gluten-free flour blends vary a lot between brands, so I can only vouch for White Wings. However, the fact that it worked so well gives me confidence other good gluten-free flour blends should work too, though results may vary.
I haven’t tried but the recipe as written should work for limes, oranges and other citrus fruit. The only question is how strong the flavour is – lime should be fine, but oranges etc may be a little light on flavour. If you’re after full-on orange flavour, you can’t beat this Whole Orange Cake – rind and all!
Watch how to make it
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Aussie Lemon Coconut Slice Cake
Ingredients
Dry:
- 1 cup plain flour / all-purpose flour (Note 3 for gluten-free)
- 3/4 cup desiccated coconut , unsweetened (Note 1)
- 1 tsp baking powder (make sure yours is still active)
- 1/8 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt
Wet:
- 125g / 8 tbsp unsalted butter , softened (Note 2)
- 3/4 cup white sugar , caster/superfine or regular/granulated
- 2 large eggs , at room temperature (~50-55g/2 oz)
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- 2 tbsp lemon juice , at room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 cup milk , full fat, at room temperature
Lemon Icing:
- 2 cups soft icing sugar / powdered sugar , sifted
- 7 – 8 tsp lemon juice , BE CAREFUL! Goes from perfect to runny with the teeniest amount too much!
- 2 tbsp desiccated coconut , for sprinkling
Instructions
ABBREVIATED RECIPE:
- Whisk Dry, set aside. Cream butter and sugar, beat in eggs one at a time. Beat in vanilla, zest and juice. On low, beat in 1/3 flour then 1/2 milk, repeat, finishing with flour. Finish mixing by hand. Bake in 20cm/8" lined pan 30 min at 180°C/350°F (160°C fan). Cool upside down, spread with icing, sprinkle with coconut.
FULL RECIPE:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan-forced). Grease and line a 20cm/8" pan with paper.
- Dry ingredients – Whisk the Dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Cream butter – Using a handheld electric beater, cream the butter and sugar in a separate bowl until it is smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes (don't use a stand mixer, there is insufficient volume).
- Eggs, lemon and vanilla – Beat in the eggs one at a time until smooth. Then add the vanilla, zest and lemon juice and beat just until combined. It will look a little curdled at this stage, that's ok, it comes together in the next steps.
- Alternate flour and milk – Add 1/3 of the flour and beat on low until mostly mixed in. Add half the milk and beat just until incorporated. Repeat with another 1/3 of the flour, the remaining milk, then the remaining flour, mixing only briefly after each addition. Stop beating as soon as the flour disappears, then finish mixing by hand with a rubber spatula, making sure all the flour is mixed in. The batter should be like softly whipped cream – not runny, but not thick like peanut butter, with little lumps from the coconut.
- Bake – Scrape batter into the cake pan and smooth the surface. Bake 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
- Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then cool upside down on a rack – we will ice the base as it's nice and flat. Fully cool before icing.
- Spread with the Lemon Icing, all the way to the edge. Then sprinkle with coconut while wet, so it sticks. Let the icing set for 1 hour before slicing to serve!
Lemon icing:
- Persevere! Put the icing sugar and lemon juice in a large bowl and use a rubber spatula to mix, using a smearing motion to combine until the glaze becomes a thick spreadable consistency like peanut butter (rather than the runny drippy kind). Be patient, it takes time to mix and assertive smearing to combine just a bit of lemon with lots of icing sugar! Only add extra lemon juice 1/2 teaspoon at a time if needed – glazes go from too thick to runny very easily!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
For lemon lovers 🍋🍋🍋
Life of Jaffle
The idea for this cake came with the first ripe lemons on my dwarf lemon tree, which of course immediately became Jaffle’s favourite toys. Because that’s the rule, right? Everything that’s mine is his!
Though, he trotted off gleefully with his prize and I think he gave it a few enthusiastic squeezes in his mouth that must have released a bitter little spritz of lemon because he suddenly stopped, looking confused and unimpressed. 😂
Great recipe and delicious . I was short on lemons, but used some limes for a great combination .
This is so amazing, I’m making it again for my birthday next week.
The only things I did differently:
1. I didn’t add the salt as I used salted butter.
2. I used my Kitchenaid stand mixer as the bottom of the bowl is designed for small quantities. It worked well.
3. I misread the recipe and added the 2 tbsp coconut to the icing mixture! It was lovely and thick and coconuty. SO good that I’m going to keep doing this 😁
I baked this delicious cake today.
Another winner from Nagi.
Absolutely delicious and so easy to make.
I tried the recipe today and reduced the sugar to 80g and halved the icing. I wasn‘t as patient as you Nagi so I didnt half the lemon juice in the icing and just went with 6tsp but it was fine anyway 🙂 Its a very floofy and lemony cake. My husband and I enjoyed it a lot. Thank you for the very nice recipe!
If you only have pure icing sugar you can make it icing sugar mix • 1 tablespoon of cornflour (or tapioca starch) per 1 cup of pure icing sugar.
🙂
Can I use lower fat/skim milk? It’s what I usually have on hand
Lovely cake – although like many of the cakes I make it never gets to the icing stage! Once its out of the oven its fair game 😉 We all enjoyed it without the finishing touch.
This was made in no time and enjoyed by family and friends. Easy, moist cake that could actually have a bit more than 2 Tbls of lemon added if you enjoy a stronger flavour. I agree the cake is even better in the days to follow. You won’t be disappointed.
Perfect recipe – l actually think l prefer it over a traditional lemon slice!
Absolute perfection. I love finding recipes that I already have the ingredients for at home. Makes my life easier.
The cake was decliously lemony. I have only just made and already eaten so much of it. My 3 year old loves it too. Thanks Nagi!
I made this recipe & it was delicious. Not too sweet & it was even better the next day. I mixed it in the stand mixer as I have a small bowl & it worked well. I will make this regularly as it is so easy.
I’m so pleased to hear that Vanessa! And thank you for the tip on the stand mixer small bowl, I will add that 🙂 – N x
I made this recipe & it was delicious. Not too sweet & it was even better the next day. I mixed it in the stand mixer as I have a small bowl & it worked well. I will make this regularly as it is so easy.
Cannot wait to try these!
Nagi / JB, would love love love to see a recipe for eclairs if you ever choose to create that one day 🤩
Hi Lucy, Nagi already has a recipe for eclairs and it’s awesome!
Yes! Here it is! https://www.recipetineats.com/eclairs/
Wonderful recipe. It stays fresh for so long. Coconut is so good for you and am trying to find more recipes with it. Thank you!
So glad you enjoyed it! And yes, the keeping qualities are one of my favourite things about this cake. It’s almost miraculous how long it stays fresh! 😂 – N x
I made this today for school lunches and it turned out amazing! I had to swap out the butter and flour for wholemeal flour and cholesterol lowering Marg (teaches me for not reading before hand) but a few tweaks to the mix order and they came out perfect!
For those having to swap out for health reasons, I kept everything the same except I used 100ml of milk instead of 125. Cream butter into all the dry ingredients then add the wet and that helps deal with the Marg and wholemeal flour swaps
Kiara! This is fantastic, thank you so much for sharing your tweaks! So helpful for others who need to make similar swaps. And I love that they’re going into school lunchboxes! – N x
Hi Nagi, need your expertise advice? I doubled the recipe and made it in two metal round pans. Cake turned out absolutely delicious. I want to make it for Xmas. The problem I had is they didn’t rise as much as yours. This is what I did, I baked them at 325 for 45 min instead of 350 for 30min as per your recipe. I was worried they wouldn’t be cooked on the inside and to brown on the outside. Was this a mistake to do this. Please explain what the temperature has to do with it rising, if this is where I went wrong.?
Hello? Please respond Nagi
Hi Sami! Yes, I suspect the lower oven temperature contributed to the reduced rise. The initial heat is important because it gets the baking powder working and helps set the cake structure as it rises. At a lower temperature, the cake can spread rather than rise as much. I’d stick with 350°F next time, though you may need to adjust the baking time for round pans depending on their size. So glad you loved the flavour! – N x
Thankyou Nagi. Since mine didn’t rise as much, I ended up topping it off with lots of whip cream, coconut, sliced almonds and fresh fruit. We devoured it.
Made this for family yesterday. So easy and so lemony- love it.
Icing I used the recipe but mixed it differently. Dry ingredients mixed together and then added the lemon juice. Yes I needed more juice however I find that coconut mixed into the icing sugar is better all-round as you don’t get that hard coconut texture nor the occasional inhalation of the odd crumb tgat makes you cough. Worked well.
Peta! So glad you loved it! Love the idea mixing the coconut into the icing. I hadn’t thought of doing that! Thanks for sharing! – N x
Beautiful recipe. The slices taste amazing and are easy to make. The icing is definitely the hardest part but with practice I am sure I could make it faster. Thanks RTE team!
Bronwyn! So happy you loved it! 😂 The icing does take a bit of elbow grease but once you get the hang of it, it’s a breeze. Thanks for trying it! – N x
I made this with GF flour and it was devoured by everyone. My son’s wife can’t have gluten and it’s great when I find a recipe that we can all enjoy! Thanks Nagi for a super-lemony, coconutty, delicious slice cake 👍 😁
Julie! This makes me so happy to hear! I love that you could make one cake for everyone without anyone feeling like they’re missing out. And great to know it worked with GF flour! – N x