Bake

Yuzu Coconut Cake With Caramelized Sugar Crust

by:
July  8, 2020
5
6 Ratings
Yuzu Coconut Cake With Caramelized Sugar Crust
Photo by Amanda Widis
  • Prep time 20 minutes
  • Cook time 1 hour
  • Makes 1 large bundt cake
Author Notes

This totally plant-based cake is a bit unusual in that it gets better as it sits—it has an incredibly moist crumb due to the olive oil and coconut milk, and over time, the crumb tightens up and absorbs the moisture. I find the flavor of the yuzu intensifies as well; if you try it warm (which is still delicious!), you’ll really taste the olive oil and coconut.

Over the first day as the cake sits, the olive oil flavor mellows and the citrus really shines. Yuzu is an exceptional citrus: delicate and more floral than most. If you can’t find it, feel free to substitute a blend of lemon, lime, and orange, which will impart the same bright-yet-sweet citrus flavor. The step about sugaring the pan might seem strange if you’re used to buttering and flouring your cake pan, but trust me here. The sugar both helps to prevent the bundt from sticking and also creates a gorgeously crackly, caramelized crust on the finished cake.

The cake keeps beautifully at room temperature, but also freezes exceptionally well, so it’s a great option for a make-ahead dessert. Serve it plain, or with a scoop of ice cream (dairy or non-dairy!), or try topping it with a quick fruit compote—just cook some diced fruit (a tropical option like pineapple would be nice) with a little water, sugar, and a pinch of salt until soft and jammy. —Posie (Harwood) Brien

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1/4 cup yuzu zest
  • 2/3 cup olive oil
  • 1 can (14 ounces) full-fat coconut milk
  • 1/2 cup fresh yuzu juice
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut, lightly toasted (optional)
Directions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 10-cup Bundt pan very well with baking spray; you can also grease it with butter or shortening but it’s much harder to get into all the nooks and crannies, which is important to prevent the cake from sticking. (I’ve had the most success using Everbake spray.) Sprinkle granulated sugar on the inside of the pan, turning it upside down and tapping to get rid of the excess. Try to sugar all the crevices.
  2. Place the sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the yuzu zest and, using your fingertips, rub the zest into the sugar until fragrant and well incorporated.
  3. Add the olive oil, coconut milk, yuzu juice, and vanilla. Mix well.
  4. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix until just combined.
  5. Fold in the shredded coconut, if using.
  6. Pour the batter into your prepared pan. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes (start checking as early as 50 minutes). The cake is done when it’s golden brown on top and a tester inserted into the middle comes out without any wet batter clinging to it.
  7. Remove the pan from the oven. Immediately run a small knife (I like an offset spatula) carefully around the top edges of the pan. Depending on how intricate the shape of your Bundt pan is, you won’t be able to get your knife in too far—just try and get in there a bit and encourage the loosening. Let the cake cool for 15 minutes. Don’t try to flip it any sooner or it’ll fall apart as it’s too hot, and don’t wait much longer or it will start to stick.
  8. After 15 minutes, place a wire rack over the pan and invert it to flip the cake out. Let cool, then eat! Note: This cake is much better the second (and third and fourth!) day and it freezes beautifully.
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See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • bhilz
    bhilz
  • Posie (Harwood) Brien
    Posie (Harwood) Brien
  • htibbo
    htibbo
  • Brooke Buettner
    Brooke Buettner

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11 Reviews

htibbo
htibbo November 11, 2023
I love this cake! I have baked it several times now (replacing Yuzu for lemon, since I cannot find any Yuzu in my area...) and have impressed many people with the cake. It's almost unbelievable that it doesn't contain eggs or butter.
 
Brooke B.
Brooke B. October 18, 2021
I made this yesterday. I was concerned on the yuzu flavoring really coming through bc I’ve yet to find a recipe where this flavors shines through. First let me say this texture was amazing!! I added an extra 1/4 cup of the yuzu and the moisture level was perfect. Sure enough, the yuzu flavor was much too subtle. I even added a concentrated lemon oil extract in addition to the extra juice and made a yuzu glaze and still not citrusy. I’ll make the cake again but I’d prob add almond extract and maybe plain lemon juice since it’s less expensive than yuzu. For those that can’t find yuzu, Amazon sells it. Also my cake came out perfectly. For Bundt cakes, I spray the heck out of it with spray canola oil. Butter is less consistent.
 
Aditi
Aditi October 21, 2020
Made this with some other type of lime (maybe a type of citron? Not sure), and left out the shredded coconut since I didn't have it at the time. Cake was super easy to put together, and the taste and texture (soft, fluffy) were great. However, I used a bundt pan and the greasing + sugaring didn't work well - some of the cake stayed stuck to the pan. I think that method may work better for creamed-butter-type cakes rather than liquidy oil-based cakes.
 
judy
judy July 23, 2020
I did the citrus blend. The texture of the cake was nice. I used toasted coconut. but the overall flavor was flat. Did not really taste the citrus. I'm sorry, but I did not like the olive oil. Maybe if I tried it with butter. It was really oily also. I think the combination of both oils: olive and coconut simply overwhelmed the citrus. but it was a fun effort and easy to put together. Maybe I'll try again when I have yuzu...
 
bhilz
bhilz July 10, 2020
Hmm I have some passionfruit juice/pulp that I've been meaning to use up, which would probably play well here too. Might up the sugar a bit since passionfruit is so tart. Can't wait to try it!
 
Leigh
Leigh July 8, 2020
Unfortunately, no store or market offers yuzu in my area. You mentioned a substitute a blend of lemon, lime, and orange. Do you mean a mix of the three zests and juices together?
 
Posie (.
Posie (. July 9, 2020
Yes!
 
LULULAND
LULULAND July 11, 2020
How much zest of the three please?
 
Posie (.
Posie (. July 11, 2020
Use the same amount in total (1/4 cup)—any ratio will work!
 
LULULAND
LULULAND July 11, 2020
Thank you!
 
judy
judy July 23, 2020
I did the citrus blend. The texture of the cake was nice. I used toasted coconut. but the overall flavor was flat. Did not really taste the citrus. I'm sorry, but I did not like the olive oil. Maybe if I tried it with butter. It was really oily also. I think the combination of both oils: olive and coconut simply overwhelmed the citrus.