This coconut lime loaf is a delicious summer vegan dessert. It is a rich, vegan lime and coconut loaf cake topped with coconut lime frosting made with coconut cream. The dense and moist cake is fragrant with lime zest and shredded sweetened coconut. It’s covered in a soft frosting that uses coconut cream in place of butter. This coconut lime loaf is an easy cake to make that’s refreshing and tropical for any time.
I love to make this vegan coconut lime loaf in the summer because of the tropical flavors, but it can be made at any time in the year. If I’m feeling extra motivated, I also make this vegan mandarin chocolate loaf and enjoy both of them!
What You’ll Need To Make This Coconut Lime Loaf
How To Make This Vegan Coconut Lime Loaf
1. Preheat oven to 350° F/175 C. Grease an 8” x 4”/20cm x 10cm loaf pan and line with parchment with over hang in at least one direction for easy removal.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt. Stir to evenly distribute.
3. Make a well in the center and add low-fat coconut milk and oil. Whisk or use a handheld mixer to blend until smooth.
4. Pour in the lime juice and zest and beat until completely smooth. Work quickly from this point as the lime juice will immediately react with the baking soda and you want to trap those bubbles in the oven.
5. Fold in the shredded coconut.
6. Scrape into prepared pan and level out.
7. Bake for 45-55 minutes, until golden brown, set in the center, and skewer inserted comes out clean.
8. Allow to cool in the pan for at least 20 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
9. When the loaf is mostly cool, make the frosting.
10. Whip the cold coconut cream with lime zest and half the powdered sugar with a hand mixer until smooth. Add the remaining powdered sugar and whip until thick, glossy, and very smooth. Add more powdered sugar if it is too soft.
11. Spread over the loaf and allow to set. Sprinkle with shredded coconut and lime zest.
12. Best the same day or can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Bring to room temperature before serving. Icing is not stable for an extended period of time at room temperature.
Important Recipe Notes
Oil choice: Neutral oils like canola, sunflower, or vegetable oil will provide the most lime flavor in the loaf. For a more sophisticated loaf, replace half or all of the oil with a high quality olive oil.
Low-fat vs Full-fat coconut milk: Full fat coconut milk has too much fat for this recipe and will result in an overly dense cake. But if you use a coconut milk without emulsifiers, you can retrieve the coconut cream for the icing and the remaining fat level will be perfect for the cake.
To retrieve coconut cream from coconut milk: Allow the can to sit undisturbed in the fridge overnight. Open the can without inverting and scoop out the solidified portion. Shake or stir the remainder together before using in the cake.
Coconut Lime Loaf
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Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups/300g all-purpose flour
- 1 cup/200g granulated sugar
- ½ tsp/3g salt
- 2 tsp/8g baking powder
- ½ tsp/2g baking soda
- ½ cup/120ml neutral oil
- 1 cup/235ml low-fat coconut milk
- 2 tbsp/12g lime zest 2-3 large
- 5 tbsp/75ml lime juice
- ¾ cup/75g sweetened shredded coconut
- 1 1/2 cup/180g powdered sugar
- 4 tbsp/60ml coconut cream cold
- 1 tsp/2g lime zest
- Sweetened shredded coconut
Method
- Preheat oven to 350° F/175 C. Grease an 8” x 4”/20cm x 10cm loaf pan and line with parchment with over hang in at least one direction for easy removal.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt. Stir to evenly distribute.
- Make a well in the center and add low-fat coconut milk and oil. Whisk or use a handheld mixer to blend until smooth.
- Pour in the lime juice and zest and beat until completely smooth. Work quickly from this point as the lime juice will immediately react with the baking soda and you want to trap those bubbles in the oven.
- Fold in the shredded coconut.
- Scrape into prepared pan and level out.
- Bake for 45-55 minutes, until golden brown, set in the center, and skewer inserted comes out clean.
- Allow to cool in the pan for at least 20 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
- When the loaf is mostly cool, make the frosting.
- Whip the cold coconut cream with lime zest and half the powdered sugar with a hand mixer until smooth. Add the remaining powdered sugar and whip until thick, glossy, and very smooth. Add more powdered sugar if too soft.
- Spread over the loaf and allow to set. Sprinkle with shredded coconut and lime zest.
- Best the same day or can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Bring to room temperature before serving. Icing is not stable for an extended period of time at room temperature.
