The combination of coconut and orange in this dairy free traybake recipe is perfect for Summer parties. With the zesty glaze and gorgeous springy sponge, this bake takes less than 45 minutes from prep to plate and will make you the star of any party.
It’s no secret that I love incorporating fruit in my bakes and coconut is also a firm favourite in our home as well. This cake gives you the best of both worlds and I am happy to report that even my kids love this flavour profile.
Why You Need to Make This
This cake is light and fluffy, packed with citrus and so simple to make. The orange glaze just finishes it off perfectly as well and is just crying out to be eaten with some afternoon tea.
I adore making traybakes that we can just dig into throughout the week. And the combination of coconut and zesty orange juice is a real winner for evoking summer vibes, even on the dreariest of days.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Let’s dive into the ingredients. I am using regular pantry items that you can easily adapt if you are not dairy free. Don’t have self raising flour? Check out my handy tip below to make your own. For vegan and gluten free options, keep on reading. And for more questions, check out my FAQ section or ask below in the comments.
For the Traybake
Dry Ingredients
Self Raising Flour: to create a light and fluffy consistency for our traybake with extra lift, I am using self raising flour. Self raising flour works perfectly as it already includes baking powder and salt. To make your own self raising flour, take 250g of all purpose flour add 12 grams of baking powder and 2 grams of salt. Sift together twice then use as directed in the recipe. Check out this handy ‘how-to’ video to learn how to make your own self raising flour: how to make self raising flour.
- To make this gluten free, I highly recommend using Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 baking flour. I have used this flour blend multiple times with my cake recipes and am always pleased with the results. Follow my directions above to make your own gluten free self raising flour.
Salt: While there is already some salt in the self raising flour, this cake needs just a touch more to cut back on the sweetness, and also enhance the flavours.
Sugar: I’m using white sugar in this recipe to maintain a cleaner sweetness. If you want a slightly caramelly undertone, you could sub with golden or light brown sugar. You can also substitute with coconut sugar for even more coconut goodness.
Shredded Coconut: I love using shredded coconut in my bakes as it adds a great texture to each bite. If you prefer a smoother finish, blitz up your shredded coconut in a food processor or food grinder for a few seconds. I do not recommend using flaked coconut.
Wet Ingredients
Butter: I am using unsalted plant based melted butter to add richness and fat to the cake. You can substitute with a light oil such as canola if you prefer. Or regular unsalted butter if you’re not dairy free or vegan.
Eggs: this cake uses 2 eggs to help with the leavening and also for richness and moisture. I usually use large eggs in my baking, which are equivalent to approximately 50g once removed from their shell. You can also use medium eggs in this recipe. Sub with your preferred egg replacement. My go-to egg replacement when cake recipes ask for 1 or 2 eggs is applesauce. For this particular recipe, sub with 100g apple sauce (50g per egg).
Orange Juice: the addition of orange juice in this cake compliments the coconut perfectly and also helps with moisture levels. I always buy no-pulp orange juice but any type of orange juice will work. You can even sub with a different juice flavour if you prefer.
For the Glaze
To finish the traybake, we will be adding a gorgeous orange glaze. Just 2 ingredients are required: icing sugar and orange juice.
How to Make Coconut Orange Traybake
Before starting this recipe, preheat your oven to 325F (163C) and gather all of your ingredients and supplies. Ensure that your eggs and butter are at room temperature as this will help the batter come together more quickly.
This is the perfect sheet cake (or traybake) for any occasion and bakes quickly. Grease then line your 13-inch by 9-inch baking pan with parchment paper. This will ensure that the cake is easy to remove once it has been baked.
In a mixing bowl, combine 250 grams (2 1/4 cups) self raising flour, 1/2 tsp of salt and 250 grams (1 cup plus 1 and 3/4 tbsps) of plant based unsalted butter.
Mix together with a hand mixer or wooden spoon until just combined. This takes less than a minute. You can also use a stand mixer if you prefer.
Next let’s start adding our flavours. First, we’ll add 250 grams (1 1/4 cups) of white sugar for sweetness.
And 100 grams (1 1/4 cups) of shredded coconut. If you prefer finer coconut, feel free to blitz it up in a food processor first. I love the texture that this coconut gives to the cake.
Give everything another quick mix with the hand mixer.
Add 240 ml (1 cup ) of orange juice. I always use no pulp juice as that’s just the kind that we prefer to drink. But you can use juice with pulp if you wish.
Next, let’s add our 2 eggs for richness and colour. You can sub with 100 grams of apple sauce if you are vegan.
Give it one last mix together. You’ll notice here that the cake batter looks quite wet. Don’t worry! This is completely normal for this type of cake.
Once your batter is ready, evenly spread it into the baking pan with a spatula, making sure that you reach all the way into the corners.
I always tap my cake pans on the counter a few times before putting them in the oven. It helps the batter settle more evenly and also brings any bubbles to the surface.
Time to Bake
Bake in your preheated oven for 35 minutes at 325F (163C). The dairy free coconut orange traybake will be lightly golden and firm to the touch once baked. And the smell! OMG, it’s like a summer party in my kitchen right now. Remove the cake pan from the oven, allow it to sit for 5 minutes then transfer the cake from the pan to a cooling rack.
How to Make the Orange Glaze
This traybake doesn’t take long to cool. While the cake is cooling, make up the orange glaze. Add 150 grams (1 1/4 cups) of icing sugar to a mixing bowl and gradually stir in your orange juice.
I used 30 ml (2 tbsp) of orange juice but you may need to adjust this amount depending on the humidity in your kitchen. In the depths of winter, I usually need a little bit more juice to compensate for the dryness in the air.
Mix until you reach a pourable consistency that ribbons slightly when you drizzle some from the spoon. This glaze also pairs wonderfully with my no-spread sugar cookies and the kids’ favourite, my vanilla cupcakes recipe.
Pour the glaze over your cooled cake and spread out with an offset (tapered) spatula.
You’ll notice here that I haven’t removed the cake from the cake pan. If you are transporting the cake to a party, it’s often easier to leave it in the pan and cover it for transportation. Or you can remove the cake 5 minutes after it comes out of the oven and pop it on a serving board as mentioned above.
Make sure you spread all of the glaze across the entire cake.
Slice up into bite-size pieces and enjoy!
This dairy free coconut orange traybake makes upwards of 16 slices, depending on how generous you are when you slice it.
Smaller inch-sized slices are perfect for kids parties or for an afternoon tea dessert table. Now doesn’t that look yummy!
More Options
Why not swap out the orange juice for lemon or lime juice and add zest to the glaze to finish off the cake. The flavour combinations are endless. Leave a comment below and let me know what other flavours you’re going to try.
Common Questions
You can easily make upwards of 16 slices with this cake, depending on how small the slices are. I usually cut a few larger slices and then make inch-sized slices for the kids. This traybake is large enough for a small to medium sized gathering.
Most definitely. You will need to bake it a little bit longer (check it at 45 minutes).
This recipe is so easy to adapt. Simply swap out the orange juice with your preferred juice, add zest if desired and use flavoured extracts or emulsions to jazz up the flavour. This cake does also work wonderfully as a lime or lemon cake.
This cake is best served on the day it is made but will last in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 to 3 days.
Yes. You can either freeze it before or after your glaze it. Freeze individual slices wrapped in parchment paper then cling wrap in an airtight container.
One Last Close Up
Let’s just have one last look at this glorious cake before you head off to bake your own. That icing just looks so inviting. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about my dairy free coconut orange traybake and feel inspired to try making one.
Want More Cake Ideas?
If you like this recipe for coconut and orange traybake, why not check a few of my other cake recipes:
- Enjoy the perfect afternoon tea with my favourite coffee maple layer cake
- Indulge with my scrumptious butterscotch traybake
- Treat yourself with my ultimate dairy free carrot cake
- Get all fruity with my rustic almond blueberry cake
Coconut Orange Traybake (Dairy Free)
Ingredients
For the cake
- 250 grams Self Raising Flour (2 1/4cups)
- 0.5 tsp Salt
- 250 grams Plant Based Butter (unsalted) (1 cup plus 1 and 3/4 tbsps)
- 250 grams White Sugar (1 1/4 cups)
- 100 grams Shredded Coconut (1 1/4 cups)
- 2 Eggs (large – see note)
- 240 ml Orange Juice (1 cup – see note)
For the glaze
- 150 grams Icing Sugar (1 1/4 cups)
- 2 tbsp Orange Juice
Instructions
Prep:
- Gather all of the ingredients and equipment. Ensure that your 2 eggs and butter are at room temperature. I usually remove them 15 minutes before I start baking.
- Preheat your oven to 325°F (163°C) and grease then line your baking pan with parchment paper.
For the Cake:
- In a mixing bowl, combine 250 grams (2 1/4 cups) self raising flour, 1/2 tsp of salt and 250 grams (1 cup plus 1 and 3/4 tbsps) of plant based unsalted butter.
- Add 250 grams (1 1/4 cups) of white sugar and 100 grams (1 1/4 cups) of shredded coconut. Mix together until combined.
- Add 240 ml (1 cup ) of orange juice and 2 eggs. I always use no pulp juice as that's just the kind that we prefer to drink. But you can use juice with pulp if you wish.
- Give everything one final mix together ensuring the batter is fully combined.
- Evenly spread the cake batter into the baking pan, ensuring you fill right up to the corners.
- Tap the pan on the counter a few times to even out the batter and remove any air bubbles.
- Bake at 325°F (163°C) for 35 minutes until well risen and golden. The cake will be firm to the touch.
- Allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring on to a serving plate or cake board.
For the Glaze:
- Add 150g (1 1/4 cups) icing sugar to a mixing bowl and gradually stir in the orange juice (2 tbsp). The glaze should be pourable and create a ribbon effect when drizzled from a spoon.
- Spread over the completely cooled cake with an offset spatula.
- Once the icing has set, slice up the cake and serve with tea or coffee. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- This cake makes approximately 16 generous slices or at least 24 small slices (the perfect size for kids parties).
- You can use pulp or pulp free orange juice (personal preference).
- This cake is best served on the day it is made but will last in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 to 3 days.
- Freeze any remaining cake slices by wrapping them in parchment paper, then plastic wrap and freezing in an airtight container. Perfect when you want a quick slice of cake but don’t want to bake.
- I usually use large eggs in my baking, which are equivalent to approximately 50g once removed from their shell. You can also use medium eggs in this recipe.
- This recipe can also be baked as a loaf cake. Fill your loaf pan to three-quarters full and increase the baking time to 45 minutes.
- Check out the full recipe post for vegan and gluten free substitution options and different flavour ideas.
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