Moist and tender coconut cream cheese pound cake is the perfect dessert for sharing, and making it with a doctored-up cake mix is the ultimate shortcut.

You’ll love how easy it is to make coconut pound cake using a cake mix! It’s flavorful and velvety soft, topped with a simple vanilla coconut frosting drizzle.

Slice of easy coconut pound cake, topped with icing and shredded coconut, served on a white plate. Another slice is in the background, as well as a portion of the bundt cake.

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Coconut cake is one of those southern classics that makes the rounds regularly at church potlucks and family gatherings.

It’s especially popular in springtime, as it makes such a lovely Easter or Mother’s Day dessert. But it also often appears at Christmas gatherings, thanks to its pretty winter white palette.

No matter the time of year, a good shortcut recipe is always a great way to enjoy a traditional favorite, but without a lot of extra effort.

This coconut pound cake is made using a doctored-up cake mix, so it has the soft, dense crumb you love in a pound cake, but with the ease of using a boxed mix.

A few strategic additions give it that homemade flavor, so you can whip up an impressive dessert even when you’re short on time!

It’s on our list of the best cake mix dessert recipes, and once you give it a try, I’m sure you’ll see why.

side view close-up of a coconut bundt cake drizzled with icing.

Making Pound Cake with a Cake Mix

I’m a big fan of pound cake recipes, whether they’re made from scratch or with a cake mix.

To make a pound cake from a cake mix, I deviate from the instructions on the box and add some specific ingredients.

First of all, using butter and cream cheese ensures the cake has plenty of moisture. There’s nothing worse than a dry, crumbly pound cake, so we’re avoiding that!

Adding some extra sugar and flour helps to create the density pound cakes are known for.

And in this case, using a coconut cake mix and some coconut extract gives the cake just the right amount of coconut flavor without being overpowering.

More Cake Mix Pound Cake Recipes:

slice of easy coconut pound cake served on a white plate, with two forks and the remainder of the bundt cake in the background.

How to Make Coconut Pound Cake

It’s really easy to whip up this dessert.

Find the full printable recipe available below

Beat butter and cream cheese with sugar. First, you’ll beat together softened butter and cream cheese until smooth.

Then add in some sugar, beating until nice and fluffy.

two photos; one shows cream cheese and butter beaten together in a mixing bowl; the other shows sugar beaten into the mixture until fluffy.

Finish the batter. Then, you’ll mix in the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bowl after each. Add in the extract and mix to combine.

Then, add in the cake mix and flour, mixing on low speed until just incorporated. The batter will be pretty thick, so then you’ll add in some warm water and mix until it’s combined.

two photos; one shows batter mixture after adding eggs, the other shows coconut cake batter mixture after adding dry ingredients and water.

Bake. Spread the batter in a 12-cup bundt pan and bake for about an hour or so. A toothpick inserted in the center of the cake should come out clean.

two photos; one shows coconut cake batter in a bundt pan; the other shows the freshly baked southern coconut cake turned out onto a white serving plate.

Add frosting. Microwave some canned frosting with coconut extract until it’s smooth and pourable. Drizzle that over the top of the cooled cake.

If desired, sprinkle with shredded coconut. Give it a few minutes for the icing to set up, then slice and serve!

two photos; one shows vanilla coconut icing in a small bowl; the other shows the icing drizzled over the coconut cake.

Notes and Adaptations:

I used Duncan Hines Dolly Parton’s Coconut Cake Mix. If you can’t find a coconut cake mix, you can substitute a white cake mix and increase the coconut extract in the cake to one tablespoon.
The use of shredded coconut as a topping is optional. You can also use it to sprinkle individual slices with, if you don’t want to put it on the whole cake.
Leftover cake can be covered and stored at room temperature for up to 2-3 days, or refrigerated for up to a week.
If you prefer to make your own frosting instead of using canned frosting, you can use the cream cheese frosting from my white mayonnaise cake (and add 1/2 teaspoon coconut extract) or the simple icing from my vanilla pudding cake (and use coconut extract instead of vanilla extract).