A brief story that proves that is the proper coconut cake. It’s so good, it’s virtually miraculous. (Not that I see the face of Jesus within the frosting, however rattling close to as shocking.)
The One has been a lifelong coconut hater. Every time I recommend whipping up a batch of coconut blondies, a coconut cream pie, or some coconut pops, he rolls his eyes and says one phrase. “Chocolate.”
All this month, our buddy Nora has been visiting us from Uruguay. She is, as she places it, “cuckoo for coconut cake.” In consequence, I’ve made this magnificence 3 times.
The primary time, The One nibbled a bit on his slice after which reached for the blueberry slab pie.
The second time, he muttered, “Not too dangerous,” and had a couple of extra mouth fulls. The third time, he demanded I divvy the cake into thirds so he might stake his declare. Now he desires it in regulation summer season rotation.
I drew inspiration from the Magnolia Bakery’s coconut cake recipe. As a lot as I like their cake, I needed extra coconut taste and a moister texture, and I didn’t need to fiddle with two forms of flour (self-rising and all-purpose). I needed what the identify recommend: an outdated trend coconut cake.
After testing and tweaking and retesting, I settled on coconut milk and coconut cream for sweetness and moisture. I added coconut to the batter, and actual coconut extract gave it that additional punch of taste. I settled on simply plain ole all-purpose flour.
Dare I say it restored my religion in, um, the facility of dessert?
Why Our Testers Beloved This
Tester Ayanna Fews struggled to search out the precise phrases to explain how a lot she and her goddaughter adored this classic coconut cake. She cherished that it was “moist, candy, wealthy, and simply pure decadence.”
What You’ll Must Make This
- Sweetened shredded coconut–This provides texture to the cake batter and filling in addition to a sexy garnish to the completed cake.
- Coconut milk and sweetened coconut cream–To create a wealthy cake batter with a number of coconut taste, I take advantage of a mixture of coconut milk and coconut cream. Use the canned variations, not the boxed selection.
- Coconut extract–This delivers an additional enhance of coconut taste. Keep away from the pretend stuff; use actual coconut extract for the very best outcomes.
- Cream of tartar–That is crucial for stabilizing your meringue frosting. Don’t skip it.
The right way to Make This Recipe
- Warmth the oven to 350°F. Butter and flour three 8-inch cake pans.
- Beat the butter in a stand mixer till clean.
- Dump within the coconut and steadily beat within the sugar.
- Plop within the eggs, one by one, beating properly after every addition.
- Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk the coconut cream, coconut milk, vanilla, and coconut extract. Add one-quarter of the dry elements to the mixer whereas it’s working.
- Pour in one-third of the coconut milk combination and mix properly. Alternate including the remaining dry and moist mixtures.
- Divvy the batter between the cake pans. Bake till a tester comes out clear. Cool within the pans for quarter-hour, then take away and funky utterly on a wire rack.
- To make the filling, whisk the coconut milk, sugar, and flour in a saucepan till clean. Prepare dinner till thickened and bubbly.
- Stir in coconut and vanilla, then cool.
- Unfold half of the cooled filling between the primary two layers of the cake, then unfold the remaining half between the second and third layers.
- Put together the Italian meringue and beat till it’s silky with stiff peaks.
- Frost the cake instantly, then sprinkle with coconut.
Frequent Questions
This cake is finest served the day it’s crammed and frosted. But when I’m sincere, The One and I’ve had sliced 48 hours, and it was completely fantastic. To maintain the cake in combating form, it’s finest to retailer it beneath a cake dome. It retains the meringue frosting brisker.
Concern not. When you don’t have three 8-inch pans, you may bake the cake in batches. Simply be certain to not let the batter sit too lengthy as a result of it might have an effect on the cake’s rise. You may additionally use two 9-inch pans and scale back the baking time to 25 to half-hour.
Sure, however with caveats. You’ll be able to freeze the unfrosted cake layers for as much as 4 months. Merely wrap them tightly in plastic wrap, then, for additional security, in aluminum foil or in hermetic freezer baggage.
If you’re prepared to make use of them, allow them to thaw utterly at room temperature earlier than filling and frosting. Right here’s the caveat: The filling and frosting don’t freeze properly, so that you’ll must make them because the cake defrosts. No biggie.
Useful Suggestions
- You can also make the cake layers a day forward of time and the filling and frosting the day it’s to be served.
- Every time I bake muffins, I take advantage of cake strips (these grey spirals in step #1). You moist them and wrap them across the exterior of the cake pan. It prevents the cake from doming.
- For a extra complicated taste, you toast the adorning coconut in a dry skillet over low warmth. Stir continuously till the coconut is evenly coloured. Instantly spoon it right into a bowl to cease the cooking. It provides dramatic colour to the highest of the cake.
Extra Excellent Cake Recipes
Write a Evaluate
When you make this recipe, or any dish on LC, contemplate leaving a overview, a star ranking, and your finest picture within the feedback under. I like listening to from you.–David
That is the very best cake ever! I actually loved making ready it. I’ve been baking for years and am fairly good at it. However it is a very completely different cake combine and a pleasure to create.
diana s.
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Make the coconut layer cake
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Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Butter and frivolously flour three 8-by-2-inch spherical cake pans, then line the bottoms with parchment paper.
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Beat the butter within the bowl of a stand mixer till clean. Dump within the coconut.
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Add the sugar steadily and beat till fluffy, 3 to five minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating properly after every addition.
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Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt In a medium bowl. In one other bowl, whisk collectively the coconut milk, coconut cream, and extracts.
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Spoon the flour combination into the creamed butter in 4 additions, alternating with the coconut milk combination, beating properly after every addition. Divide the batter among the many cake pans.
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Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or till a cake tester inserted within the middle of a cake comes out clear.
☞ TESTER TIP:
Resist overbaking the cake. it is going to be unpleasantly dry and crumbly.
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Let the muffins cool within the pans for quarter-hour. Take away from the pans and funky utterly on a wire rack.
Make the coconut filling
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Whisk the coconut milk, sugar, and flour in a medium saucepan till clean.
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Prepare dinner, stirring continuously, over medium-high warmth till thickened and bubbly, about 5 minutes. Take away from the warmth, then stir within the coconut flakes and vanilla extract. Cool to room temperature.
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Unfold half of the cooled filling between the primary two layers of cake, then the opposite half between the second and third layers.
Make the Italian meringue
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Add the egg whites and coconut extract to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high till foamy, about 1 minute.
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Mix the water, sugar, cream of tartar In a medium saucepan over excessive warmth.
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Because the combination begins to bubble across the edges, stir as soon as to ensure the sugar is dissolved utterly. Let it come to a rolling boil, 2 to three minutes. Instantly take away from the warmth.
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Flip the mixer to medium-high, and pour the sugar syrup CAREFULLY into the crushed egg whites in a skinny, regular stream. Proceed beating for about 7 minutes or till stiff peaks kind, however the frosting remains to be silky.
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Frost the highest and sides of the cake instantly, being beneficiant along with your swoops, swirls, and thrives. Generously sprinkle the highest of the cake with shredded coconut.
- Make forward–The cake layers could be made a day forward of time, and the filling and frosting the day it’s to be served.
- Use cake strips–Cake strips stop doming. They’re indispensable.
- Toast the coconut–For a extra complicated taste, toast the adorning coconut in a dry skillet over low warmth. Stir continuously till the coconut is evenly coloured. Instantly spoon it right into a bowl to cease the cooking.
Serving: 1 portionEnergy: 632 kcalCarbohydrates: 100 gProtein: 8 gFats: 24 gSaturated Fats: 16 gMonounsaturated Fats: 5 gTrans Fats: 1 gLdl cholesterol: 104 mgSodium: 232 mgFiber: 2 gSugar: 76 g
Diet info is robotically calculated, so ought to solely be used as an approximation.
Recipe © 2023 David Leite. Images © 2023 David Leite. All rights reserved.
Recipe Testers’ Opinions
It’s a wonderful cake! Tender and moist. Simply pretty. The coconut cream I purchased was unsweetened and the cake turned out so completely. I actually wouldn’t have favored the cake any sweeter. The marshmallow-y coconut frosting was sugary sufficient for me and my household, who agreed that the cake was excellent. That is proper up there with one other cake–a carrot cake soaked with coconut syrup and swathed in cream cheese frosting.
Studying by way of the recipe, one would assume this traditional cake ought to be a multi-day endeavor. I suppose it might be, but it surely got here collectively rather more shortly than I believed it might.
The Italian meringue is FABULOUS, and the instructions are spot on. My icing reached the stiff peak stage in about 4 minutes utilizing my 30+-year-old bowl carry Kitchenaid. These kinds of icings have been considerably of a nemesis to me through the years, generally turning out completely, different instances wanting like soup (or worse, hardening like divinity sweet).
I’m nonetheless not all in on the coconut IN the cake. It appears to make for a messy reduce. The hubs is completely happy, although. It’s a strong cake. And an enormous one.
It’s onerous to place into phrases simply how unimaginable this old school coconut cake is. It’s moist, candy, wealthy, and simply pure decadence. I shared a slice with my goddaughter, and she or he stated, “It’s so good that it doesn’t make sense!” It truly is!
The filling was superb, and the frosting tasted SO good. (And I’ll admit that I sampled fairly a little bit of the frosting earlier than it made it onto the cake!)
You make the frosting such as you would an Italian meringue, besides you don’t add any butter. It tastes like the very best marshmallow you’ve got ever tasted! The recipe was spot on as written; the one deviation I made was to toast the coconut earlier than placing it on the cake, giving it a considerably nutty style that was properly obtained.
I all the time use somewhat of the batter to make a single cupcake in order that I can style the cake with out having to chop into it, and I can inform you this recipe makes an lovable cupcake, too. I added a small layer of the filling to the highest of the cupcake, then I added the frosting and the toasted coconut, which turned out actually cute!
I can’t wait for an additional cause to make this old-timey cake once more, as that is the sort of cake you could make with the intent to share. In any other case, you could possibly undoubtedly eat this whole cake by your self.
