Miss Patsy’s Too Easy Coconut Cake (And a tale of Meant To Be)
This is the second coconut cake recipe on SouthernPlate.com. To see my recipe for Daddy’s Coconut Cake, please click here.
Today I had planned on impressing you with my detailed listing of the name of every teacher who has ever taught me. I even had the entire post written up in a rough draft, weaving a storyline in betwixt of the impact all of my teachers have had on who I am today. But sometimes, just because you are ready to tell a story, doesn’t mean it is time for that particular story to be told.
You see I just returned home, and now I have another story.
This morning Brady had to go take a placement test at his school so I took my computer up there with me, thinking I’d sit and work on my blog post while I waited – but apparently that wasn’t what I was meant to do today. I just love it when our own plans are pushed aside for something better, don’t you?
I learned back on my book tour how important it is to pay attention to people who are placed right in front of you, or in many cases beside you. Up until last October, I was not well acquainted with traveling by myself and had never thought I would be. But I found myself on countless flights that month, each time traveling alone, and just about every time sitting right next to the exact person I needed to be sitting next to. At the start of my tour I would carry a book as a backup plan but by the time the end of my tour rolled around I would just get on the plane, situate my stuff, and sit and wait to see what was in store for me. I’d watch the door as other passengers boarded and got so in tune with the ebb and flow of fate that oftentimes I instantly recognized who my seatmate was the moment they came on the plane. “Well, lets see what I’m gonna learn on this leg of my trip” I’d think to myself.
Sometimes it would be a person I would have an opportunity to help in some way, sometimes it would be a person who was there to help me in some way, but each time I sat beside someone with an open and receptive heart, I was able to glean the wisdom they were there to give and as a result, each time I got off an airplane, I was a better person than when I had boarded.
Interesting point: Every time this has happened to me, it has always begun with the other person looking me straight in the eye and smiling. Perhaps that single gesture is the divine prompting or introduction saying “Alright Christy, here we go..”
It’s amazing how many people like this are put into our lives every single day. It’s like a fishing pole with bait is placed right before us all throughout the day and whenever we bite, whenever we pay attention to it, we get the benefit of the worm. I shudder to think of how many times I’ve waded right through water infested with worm filled hooks just waiting on me and I never noticed a single one because my mind is too busy with tasks at hand or worries of the day.
Like most other fish in this big ocean of ours, I’ve suffered some severe malnutrition in my time simply by not taking notice of the worms around me.
And so, as I’ve grown in years and lessened slightly in my own foolishness, I’ve learned to be more receptive.
Such as today, when a lady walked into the empty art room I was busy typing away in and sat down, looking into my eyes with a smile and a whispered “I’m sorry, is it okay to wait in here?” I smiled back and said “Oh sure, and don’t worry about being quiet. I’m so used to having kids hollering about that the quiet actually bothers me to work in anyway.”
Her smile had come just as easily as my own and over the next few minutes we struck up a conversation that had me closing my computer and leaning in on it as she spoke. It was one of those conversations where a stranger begins suddenly sharing their heart with you and every word seems to echo one that was already in your head. Definitely not a coincidence, but a meant-to-be.
Teresa and I were both still talking when her son got finished with the test and came in to patiently wait on us. We were still talking several minutes later when Brady came in and sat down to patiently wait on us. When we finally rose to exit, we continued talking down the hallway, down the stairs, into the lobby, and down the front walkway of the school. She encouraged me, she enlightened me, she shared with me words of wisdom that echoed thoughts already in my head and words of wisdom that turned on light bulbs.
I had expected to get some work done but I didn’t realize when I woke up this morning and someone else was planning on orchestrating an encouragement session for me through the guise of a stranger waiting in an empty classroom.
I don’t believe in coincidences. I believe in meant-to-be. It’s not only early birds who get the worm. It’s the person who has the sense to see it when it looks them in the eye and smiles.
I think we’re all offered worms each day. It is our own fault if we go away hungry.
This cake is from another gem of a person who was placed into my life, Miss Patsy McGough. We had a ladies meeting at church this past Sunday and everyone was asked to bring a dish. Lo and behold, I ended up with a piece of one of the best coconut cakes I’ve ever had on my plate and guess who should make it but Miss Patsy herself!
I chatted with her a few precious minutes and it turns out she follows Southern Plate. I said, “This cake is wonderful” and she replied “Aw honey, I hate to tell anyone the recipe because it’s just too easy!”. I assured her that the recipes I always thought of as “too easy” were the ones that were the biggest hits on Southern Plate and when she shared it with me I remarked about how it was very much like my Butterfinger cake, which is one of the most popular recipes on the website. She was kind enough to give me permission to share her recipe with you and I know you’re going to enjoy the ease and amazing coconut infused taste of this light tasting cake.
Miss Patsy, just getting to talk to you those few minutes made my step a little lighter and my heart a little happier. I hope you read this post and understand that when I say you were definitely a worm for me that day, I mean that in the best kind of way!
You’ll need: Yellow Cake Mix (which you will prepare according to package directions), Cream of Coconut, sweetened flaked coconut, sweetened condensed milk, and some whipped topping*.
I’m using Dollar General generic whipped topping because I’m all elite like that ~grins~
Prepare your cake according to package directions.
Normally, we’d make a 9×13 cake but with only four of us and all of the baking I do, that is just too much cake. So today I’m dividing it up and making two 8×8 cakes instead, then I can send the other one to a neighbor, friend, or family member. Whoever picks up the phone when I call 
Pour your sweetened condensed milk in a bowl…
You know, any time a recipe calls for a whole can of sweetened condensed milk, I always add almost a whole can…because I have to have a little bit for myself! I love this stuff. A few folks have posted on Facebook and in comments that they use it in my iced coffee concentrate to make the perfect cup of coffee and that is at the top of my to do list to try one of these days.
Add your cream of coconut.
Give that a good stir
As soon as your cakes are done, poke holes all in the top of them with a fork.
I am using a plastic fork because I was photographing this and sent Brady into the kitchen to get me one and this is what he brought back.
For a moment I paused and thought about “Now it won’t look very nice if I’m using a plastic fork in the photos on Southern Plate”. Then I immediately got over myself and just used it. We’re all family here, anytime we feel the need to put on airs we’re just wasting energy that can best be spent cleaning our kitchens anyway.
Pour the mixture over your hot cake.
Like so.
It’ll all soak in there real good over time. Now cover your cake and let it cool, then put it in the refrigerator until it is completely cold.
Once your cake is good and cold, ice with whipped topping.
If you want, you can make this from scratch but I usually opt for doing it the easy way because it saves a lot of money and is one less dish to wash.
My recipe for homemade whipped cream is on this post (click here).
Now we need to toast our coconut. You can add it on there as it is but toasting it gives it a neat, nutty texture and a beautiful color. Either way, just go with what you’re in the mood for but I’m gonna show ya how to toast it just in case.
Place coconut on a baking sheet and put it in a 350 degree oven.
Watch this carefully and stir it often until it is nice and uniformly brown, anywhere from 10-15 minutes.
Here it is, all done! You can toast it more or less, depending on the level of patience you have at the time you are fooling with it.
Let it cool for a few minutes when you’re done before moving on to the next step.
Sprinkle that on top of your cake and you’re ready to go!
Enjoy – and share!
Ingredients
- Yellow Cake Mix, prepared according to package directions
- 16 ounce whipped topping
- 12 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
- 15-16 ounce can Cream of Coconut*
- 1 cup sweetened flaked coconut.
Instructions
- Remove fully baked cakes from oven and immediately poke holes all in the top of them with a fork.
- In medium bowl, whisk together cream of coconut and sweetened condensed milk until well combined. Pour over hot cake.
- Allow cake to cool and then cover and refrigerate until fully cold.
- Top with whipped topping and toasted coconut. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
- To toast coconut: Spread coconut out on a baking sheet and place in 350 degree oven, watching carefully and stirring often, until lightly browned, about ten to fifteen minuts.
- * Cream of Coconut is usually found near the alcohol section in stores because. It has no alcohol in it but is often used in mixing alcoholic drinks, thus the placement.
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This recipe format and the “save recipe” feature (see top of recipe above) is brand new to Southern Plate! You can now save Southern Plate recipes to a recipe box and use that box to add ingredients to a grocery list as well. There is even a free corresponding iPhone app that allows you to access your recipe box on your telephone (Just search for ZipList in the app store). I am in the process of coding every single recipe on SouthernPlate.com to work with this great new feature so in the meantime you may notice that some recipes do and some don’t as of yet. I hope to have them all converted in the next few weeks so stay tuned!
“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.”
~ Melody Beattie
Submitted by Michelle. Submit your quote by clicking here (I always need more quotes!)
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Posted by Christy Jordan
on Aug 3 2011. Filed under Cake, Dessert.
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Hey, Christy! Amen to your worm story and meant-to-be’s! And your cake looks yummy, too! Have a great day all!
Love this cake! Have been making it for years! It is always a huge hit and people think you spent so much trouble on it!
I’ve been making this recipe for years, with a small difference. I use coconut flavoring that is in the section where you find vanilla flavoring. This is my oldest Grandson’s favorite cake.
My Mama taught me to make this cake many years ago with white cake mix and untoasted coconut- it is the favorite of 2 of my 3 daughters! It never lasts a whole day at my house even with the kids being all grown. Thank you so much for sharing this. Great potluck cake!
Christy, I make this cake every year for my husband’s birthday. It is his favorite and I don’t mind it is soooo easy. Thanks for posting it and hope all that try it will enjoy it, like me and my husband do!!!
Love this cake–been making it for years except for the toasted coconut. Will try that to. I know it as Pina Colata Cake. I have a recipe along the same line I would like to share. This one is not as rich as Miss Patsy’s but still pretty tasty. I got it out of a magazine many years ago.
MOIST ‘ CREAMY COCONUT CAKE
1 pkg. yellow cake mix or pudding included mix.
1 1/2 Cups Milk 2 Cups Coconut
1/2 Cup Sugar 3 1/2 Cups or (8 oz.) Cool Whip
Prepare cake mix as directed, bake in 13 x 9 pan. Cool 15 min.–Then poke holes down through cake with fork. Meanwhile, combine milk, sugar and
1/2 cup of the coconut in sauce pan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for one minute. Carefully spoon over warm cake, allowing liquid to soak down through holes. Cool completely.
Fold 1/2 cup of the coconut in whipped topping and spread over cake.
Sprinkle with remaining coconut. Chill overnight.
Store leftover cake in refrigerator.
Hi Cristy This is my first or second time commenting. Seeing this coconut cake, made me think of my granny. She used to make like four different cakes every Christmas and coconut was one of them. Of course it had to be completely homemade even to the frosting. Thank you for helping me think of my granny. She passed away in 2005 and I still miss her so much.
I’ll have to make this with a raised eyebrow, Christy. Your Daddy’s Coconut Cake is a favorite around here. However, if one cake is good, two will be twice as good. =-)
I also make this cake with white cake mix. Every time I make this I get multiple requests for the recipe. I have made this at Easter with tinted green coconut and jelly beans for eggs in the grass. I have also topped this with halved maraschino (sp?) cherries, one for each slice of cake.
I would love to try this one day with a devils food cake mix, to attempt a Mounds Cake, or add almonds on top and call it an Almond Joy Cake.
I’ve done that at Easter, too. It’s very festive and fun. I love the idea of a Mounds or Almond Joy cake! MMM!
Great idea: Almond Joy cake! As written this is one of the easiest cakes to make/take with no leftovers. I prefer a less sweet cake and omit the sweetened cond. milk. Think this weekend I’ll spend some time making the Almond Joy cake: homemade chocolate cake with almond extract punched/poured with the cream of coconut, real whipped cream icing, side coconut and top chopped almonds. LOL, I’d better invite a passel of friends to a bbq as hubby isn’t into sweets and I could just glue them on my muffin top.
mmmmm…..chocolate mounds or almond joy cake!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I can’t wait to try this cake, my Mom made one with the cake and pour Ancil coconut on top we all love it. Just open can, i pour in bowl, stir it, and spread on top of cake after you punch holes in cake.
Looks good! Unfortunately, I can’t make it because if I do, I will want to eat all of it! : ) You know, you can also toast coconut in a skillet on top of the stove. Just put the coconut in the skillet dry (no oil) and stir it until it gets nice and toasty. I do the same thing with nuts. If I put them in the oven, I most likely will forget about them!
That looks scrumptious. I love your tip for tasting the coconut and the nuts. Great. Come over and visit us today. We have a wonderful Southern favorite to try!
One of my favorites! I just have a hard time finding people who like coconut as much as me! Thanks for the directions and pictures of toasting the coconut. I’ve never done it before, but now I know just what to do! Thanks, too, for sharing about the worms. It’s way too easy to get caught up in my own busy-ness and to ignore or miss those opportunities around me.
an inspirational post today.. and not good to read when your hungry by the way..
This is one of our must haves for any time our family gets together. Love it and may have to try a mounds or almond joy cake.
I wonder how this would be if you made the whipped topping like the one on your mandarin orange cake? (my favorite) I was thinking if it would be too much..
substitute regular milk for the cream of coconut, add a can of evaporated milk, and you have yourself a tres leches cake (3 milks cake). A mexican favorite!
Christy,
Your words are really a blessing to me. Love your recipes, but especially love your inspiring thoughts! (Like this one!)
Blessings,
Susan
Thank you so much Susan. You are a blessing to me as well!!
Love this cake. I make it with Devils Food Mix
Oh Christy I made this cake and it was a soggy mess!!! lol I put coconut MILK on my list instead of coconut CREAM…gonna try again this weekend.
Thanks for sharing your OOPs Tina, I know I’d have probably done the same.
I can’t wait to try this! We’re looking for a new house (and staying in a hotel in the meantime) so I’m looking forward to breaking in the new kitchen. =)
I have made this cake for years Christy! I love it best with WHITE cake mix instead of the yeller……..and I find that when you mix the two cans of stuff (Coco Lopez and condensed milk) your gonna have a TON of liquid and I never use it all or your cake will be way SOUPY. But this IS the best coconut cake you will ever put in your mouth. I make two 9 x 13 size cakes (2 cake mixes) then you wont waste none of your coconut and milk mixture. And get you a wooden skewer to poke you some real holes in them cakes girl! OK, mouth is drooling.
I made this last Sunday, and more than half is still in the fridge. I’m not a hater, because the cake is quite tasty and everyone had a few bites with huge smiles. But for our family, it was TOO much. Were I to ever make it again, I might divide the batter into thirds and freeze the cakes for a future dessert. I’m really really sorry I can’t be more enthusiastic.
Hey Syd!
I’m so glad your family liked it and I appreciate you taking the time to let me know. The great thing is that I found a LOT to be enthusiastic about in your comment!
1. Obviously, you are a very kind person. You took a lot of care in how you worded your comment and your disappointment in the cake being so large.
2. You made a cake for your family!
3. You have a family (triple yay!).
4. Next time you make the cake, you will end up with three desserts because you are so clever to think to divide it!
5. Your family liked your cake!
6. Well from here on I would normally go into the fact that we have grocery stores, money to buy groceries, food in the stores readily available, the luxuries of us being able to even afford to feed our family much less have dessert, etc, but I know you get all that so I’ll spare you
My point is, WOW! There is a LOT to be enthusiastic about in those few sentences and YOU ROCK!
Gratefully,
Christy
I made this today for the fellowship meal tomorrow at church. I had a hard time finding the cream of coconut though. Went to the local Dillons and bought everything else but they had coconut milk not cream. So I went to the liquor store on the corner and they didn’t have it either. I then drove 4 miles down and went to Wal-mart and found it there after asking a manager where it was. I guess I should have went there in the first place since you shop there a lot, Christy. It looks pretty, hope it tastes just as well.
I hope it was a hit Michelle, but I have a feeling it was.
Just got finished eating a piece of this cake. I used a chocolate cake mix and didn’t toast the coconut. Kinda reminded me of a Hostess Snowball..
I’ve used the yellow mix many times for Easter.
I made two 8″ pans and froze one for later. Had to put party picks in them so saran wrap wouldn’t stick to the top.
I hope you like it Ginny!! Great idea to freeze one for later!
this is very similar to Tres Leches (3 milks) dessert, except Tres Leches uses real whipping cream instead of topping, and sometimes it uses the Dulce de Leche version of the condensed milk.
Aaah this is just like Pastel de tres leches – which I love! To me, it’s a perfect summertime cake as I always store it in the fridge. Delicious!
Duncan Hines carries coconut cake mix year-round now. They used to just carry it around Christmas. The cake is much better if it sits overnight, too. I love this recipe! I don’t usually post on websites, but thanks for having real recipes we can eat. I made a recipe about six months ago from a well-known food/housekeeping expert. I was at the store and looking for the ingredient and luckily I had my teenage son with me who had to google a photo of what we were looking for, because I had never heard of that ingredient. After all that was said and done, my three teenager, who will eat anything, were like “Mama, what in the world is this. It is terrible.” Ha!Ha! So a big THANKS
Sorry, hit the wrong button and sent it without finishing. So anyway, A BIG THANKS FOR PUBLISHING REAL RECIPES THAT MY TEENAGERS LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!!!
This just made my day, I am so glad to hear that you are enjoying the recipes.
Yummy!
I made this cake to bring to work, in 2 8×8 pans, a bit easier to carry in a tote bag on the bus than a 9×13. It’s a big hit. I’m glad I brought it to share cause otherwise I would eat way too much myself!
One thing I noticed, my condensed milk-coconut cream mixture pooled up along the sides of the pan cause my cake had pulled away some. So I just poured it back into the measuring cup, waited a minute and then poured it on again. That time, it soaked right in to the top. And I didn’t toast my coconut but it’s just as good with “raw” coconut on top.
How sweet of you to share Carole!! Your co-workers are going to love you!!!
My husband loves coconut, and I don’t. I’m trying this for our dinner party tonight.
Made this cake for a graduation party last weekend and it was a hit, everyone loved it…. One lady told me, oh this is good, so good I wanna take it to bed and eat on it all nite. lol…… Love your receipes, I’m from the northwest and there are alot of things on here I’ve never tried or heard of, but I’m loving the trial and error….Making sticky chicken on Sunday, wish me luck !!!
I am so glad the cake was a hit Jeanne!!! I hope you like the sticky chicken.
I make a similar cake. We love pineapple, so I do the same you did but I leave out the can of milk. Instead, I pour an entire can of crushed pineapple over the cake after the cream of coconut.
I love your website! Thanks for all the recipes and wonderful stories…
One of my favorite cakes. And three pregnancies produced a LOVE for sweetened condensed milk..straight from the can sitting in front of the tv! Now I don’t scrape too hard with the spatula when pouring into a recipe…cause I need some of it just to taste..and roll around on my tongue…. and sigh!!!!
~giggles~ I like the way you think Terri!!!
i have made this cake for years, it is one my family always asks for. the only difference is that i only use a can of cream of coconut, and fresh coconut or the frozen kind…it is way too sweet for us with both the condensed milk and the cream of coconut.
Hi Christy
Love this recipe I live in UK and don’t use boxed cake mixes as they taste processed plus have a husband who is gluten free. Could I use a coconut cake as base and leave the cream of coconut out and just pour the condensed milk over
You will want to mix the condensed milk with something firstly to thin it out as straight condensed milk will not soak and secondly to take a bit of the rich sweetness off it. I suggest you mix it with evaporated milk. This is what you’d do if making pastel de tres leches which is a very similar cake. If not evaporated milk then plain light/skim milk.
Christy, such a blessing to read this today. Truly touched my heart. I look forward to making this cake.
I have made this cake for years. When I started out the coca lopez came in smaller cans and that is what I used . Now I can only find the larger ones so I use ½ to ¾ of the can in the cake and save the rest for smoothies or shakes.
I just wanted to ask about that pretty turquoise baking dish. I have seen you use it before and was wondering what kind it was, etc. I have never seen one like it and I just love it!
It is made by Chantal, I found it at Marshall’s one day for $9.99
I made this cake last week and it was divine! I love the idea of make two smaller cakes and giving one away. It is just DH and me now, so that’s the perfect solution to being able to enjoy but not over do! Thanks Christy!