Recipe: Lemon Coconut Cake

This light, fluffy, and amazingly delicious cake screams spring. Lemon and coconut flavor bursts pair magically with the light taste of the angel food cake.

After feasting on your Easter Sunday meal, a heavy dessert isn't always at the top of the want list. So, we created a tasty dessert to top off the meal with the perfect flavor and substance, and this dessert does just that. The light whipped topping icing is sure to leave the whole family with a smile because it won't sit heavy in the tummy, and as an added bonus, the pudding center is a great custard swap without the extra calories!

Plus, the coconut flakes and lemon slices make such a fresh and elegant presentation, your guests will have a hard time believing you made this yourself!

Recipe: Lemon Coconut Cake

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 35-40 minutes
Yield: 12 servings
Serving size: 1/12th of cake

Ingredients

• 1 (16-ounce) box angel food cake mix

• !Lemon Pudding Filling:

• 1 (1-ounce) package sugar-free, fat-free lemon pudding

• 2 cups skim milk

• 1 single serve lemon non-fat Greek yogurt

• 2 lemons

• 2 (8-ounce) containers light whipped topping

• 1½ cups unsweetened coconut flakes

Instructions

1. Place the oven rack at the bottom of the oven, and preheat it to 350°F. Lay out two round 8-inch cake pans and set aside. Do not grease the pans.

2. Prepare the cake mix according to package directions.

3. Divide the cake mix equally between the 2 cake pans and bake for 35-40 minutes.

4. Allow the cakes to cool in the pans upside down on a wire cooling rack for about 1 hour. Loosen the sides of the cakes with a straight spatula or a butter knife, and carefully slide them out of the cake pans.

5. To make the lemon pudding filling: In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the dry pudding mix and the milk until it starts to thicken, then refrigerate for 20 minutes.

6. Fold the yogurt and lemon zest into the pudding, and refrigerate until ready to use.

7. If the tops of the cakes are rounded, to make stacking them easier, slice off the tops of them to make them lay flat.

8. Set one of the cakes on the serving plate, and spread the lemon pudding filling on top of the first cake, spreading it to the edges. Next, place the second cake on top of it, and completely cover the top and sides of both cakes with the whipped topping.

9. Gently pat the coconut flakes over the entire surface of the cake.

10. Slice the remaining lemon in round slices, then cut each of those in half moon shapes. Garnish the bottom of the cake with the half moon slices all the way around the cake.

11. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Nutrition Information
Per Serving: (1/12th of cake)
Calories: 268
Calories from fat: 63
Fat: 7g
Saturated Fat: 6g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 392mg
Carbohydrates: 44g
Fiber: 2g
Sugar: 28g
Protein: 5g
WWP+: 7
SmartPoints: 13

3.1 The nutrition content of recipes on Popculture.com have been calculated by Registered Dietitian, Jessica Penner, of Smart Nutrition.