Coconut milk and coconut oil can be useful baking ingredients, but they may announce themselves clearly. Vanilla or lemon does not always hide that flavor, especially in a simple pale cake.
Read whether the oil is refined or unrefined and follow the recipe's specified state: liquid, softened, or solid. Temperature changes its texture, which can affect how it mixes with the other ingredients.
If you dislike coconut, begin with a recipe designed around another fat or liquid. Swapping several coconut ingredients at once may change moisture and structure as well as taste.
For a dessert where coconut is welcome, let it be part of the description. Guests should know what to expect, and the cook can stop treating a noticeable flavor as something that needs disguising. An ingredient works best when it has a clear job.