This Christmas Coconut Cake is quick, easy and the perfect festive dessert recipe for the holidays!
Today I have the pleasure of sharing this Christmas Coconut Cake with you. I am so excited about this one because I'm a huge fan of coconut.
Honestly, any excuse I get to bake with coconut. It's one of my favourite baking ingredients. especially at Christmas time. Coconut makes your cakes and cupcakes look like a winter wonderland.
This quick no bake coconut cake is one of the easiest dessert recipes you will ever make. My Mom used to make this when I was a kid. I'm old, so that's going back quite a long time.
You can also make these in mason jars for a No Bake Cake in Jars, or you make a stackable version like my Coconut Cream Cookie Stacks.
Some folks refer to this as a zebra cake and some people call it an icebox cake. Whatever you call it, I highly recommend making a double batch because it's going go disappear quickly!
Ingredient Notes:
- Chocolate Wafer Cookies - Rumour has it both Mr Christie and Nabisco have both stopped making their famous chocolate wafer cookies. Use whatever kind of chocolate wafer cookie you can find. Oreo cookies work really well too.
- Whipped Cream - I used Cool Whip for my cake but use any kind of prepared whipped cream you have on hand. Or make your own whipped cream from scratch. Personally, I would not use the whipped cream in a can for this recipe. It tends to not hold up quite as well as other kinds.
- Shredded Coconut - For this particular recipe, sweetened shredded coconut is best. The sweetness will work well with the cake. You can toast the coconut if you like. That's a personal choice.
How to Make Christmas Coconut Cake:
- Grab a plate or platter to use for the base. Add a dollop of whipped cream to the plate and smooth it out into a line down the plate. This will give you a good base for the cake to stick as assemble it.
- Take two wafers and coat the back of one with cool whip, sprinkle some coconut on it and then place it on the plate so the cookies edges are facing up.
- Coat the next cookie with cool whip, sprinkle with coconut and stick it to the cookies that are already on the plate.
- Repeat this process until all the cookies are assembled in a log cake formation. (yes, you can assemble the cake in other shapes)
- Spread the remaining whipped cream over the cake and use an offset spatula to smooth out.
- Sprinkle the remaining coconut over top of the cake.
- Place the cake in the refrigerator overnight. This will allow the cookies to soften into a cake like texture.
- Remove the cake from the fridge.
- Slice and serve.
Substitutions for Mr Christie and Nabisco Chocolate Wafer Cookies:
- Oreo Cookies - They actually work quite well for this type of cake.
- Ice Cream Sandwich Wafers - I believe Oreo makes these and they are quite large. They would work well for this cake.
- Oreo Thin Cookies - These are pretty similar to a chocolate wafer cookie.
- Chocolate Graham Crackers - If you can find them, they make an excellent substitution for chocolate wafer cookies.
- Animal Cookies - These will give a different flavour but they're so much fun.
- Biscoff Cookies - Again, they will taste different than a chocolate version but that's okay.
- Chocolate Wafers from America's Test Kitchen
- Homemade Chocolate Wafers by Smitten Kitchen
More Holiday Treats:
- Chocolate Chip and Pistachio Cookies
- Mendiant
- Peppermint Hot Chocolate and Peppermint Wands
- S’mores Cookies
- Microwave Pistachio Brittle
- White Chocolate Oreo Cookie Balls
- Easy Chocolate Peppermint Fudge
- Coconut Filled Sandwich Cookies
Places to stalk Cravings of a Lunatic
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Christmas Coconut Cake
Ingredients
- 9 ounces chocolate wafer cookies
- 2 cups prepared whipped cream (personally, I love cool whip)
- 7 ounces sweetened coconut flakes
Instructions
- Get out a plate or platter. Swipe a layer of cool whip in a line down the middle of the plate.
- Take two wafers and coat the back of one with cool whip, then drop some coconut on it, then place it on the plate so the cookies are standing up.
- Coat the next cookie with cool whip, then coconut and stick it to the cookies on the plate.
- Continue till all the cookies are in a log type cake formation.
- Now spread the rest of the cool whip over the cake.
- Coat generously with coconut.
- Stick in the fridge and let set up overnight.
- The magic of this is the cookies turn into a soft cake. You will not believe it the next day. It's one of the best cakes you can make, yet it's so easy and quick. You will be hooked on it immediately.
- Remove from fridge.
- Serve with a big old Christmas Coconut Cake smile! Then give Martha the finger!
Nutrition
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Toodles! xx
Eileen
Wow, that's my kind of cake. Whipped cream and no baking - perfect!
Marsha
This looks delish! Can you freeze this?
Kim Bee
Thank you. I honestly am not sure. I've never tried freezing it. But I would think yes, it's similar to an icebox cake so it seems like a viable option.
Tina
I made this with a bit of a change. I could not find chocolate wafers so I took the chance and used chocolate graham crackers. It worked great! High five on this recipe! Thanx!
Kim Beaulieu
Yah, I am so happy you liked it. And that you found a replacement cookie. Any thin-ish wafer works great. I make these no bake cakes in jars too, super cute for parties, picnics or showers (of the bridal kind, not the wash your hair kind, lol). Thank you so much for popping back to tell me you liked this. Makes my heart happy. xx
Deena
Just wanted to say I love the title of your Pintrest page! Can't wait to make this coconut confection.
Olga Caddock
I love the idea of this Christmas Coconut Cake, but I'm in England.
Does anybody know of an equivalent for 'Cool Whip' that's available over here, please? I've seen a suggestion for 'squirty cream', but that stuff turns to runny liquid if you let it stand for any length of time - it wouldn't hold up well overnight in the refrigerator.
Thanks for reading :D.
Kim Beaulieu
Hey Olga, it's just whipped cream, so if you have any pre-made brands available there any can substitute in. Or you can make your own. For this I would like start with 1 cup of heavy cream, 1 teaspoon sugar, then whip on high till it becomes fluffy. Any whipped cream, whether store bought or home-made. Hope that helps.
Olga Caddock
Hi Kim - thanks very much for your prompt reply. I think my 'other half' is going to adore this - he's coconut crazy lol!
Kim Beaulieu
You are most welcome. I hope you love it.