Leilah was moving up the hill last summer and I was hanging
around the old house. Page came over from next door, nothing compares to the
excitement of change when you are kid. It was good to have her there; it took
Olivia’s mind off having to leave her pink room. I asked Page if she liked
coconut and she said yes so I handed her a slice of my coconut cake with the “oh
so subtle vanilla flavour”. “It’s a good cake – she said - but I can’t taste
the coconut” Kids will always let you know. The recipe originates from Sky
High: Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes by Alisa Huntsman. The same cake showed
up as “classic coconut” and “southern coconut” on various blogs, and even some magazines
published it. Agreeably it was a good cake, but the coconut was barely
discernible and several days later not at all. I thought what was the point of
all that coconut? I already had a vanilla cake recipe.
Then I set to rework the recipe and the result is as
coconut-y as it can get. I replaced the buttermilk with full fat coconut milk.
The buttermilk also serves as a leavening agent, so I added a teaspoon of white
vinegar. I also added 2 tsp of coconut extract to enhance the flavour. I replaced
the vanilla extract in the frosting with 1-1/2 tsp of coconut extract. It’s a
coconut cake.
COCONUT CAKE
Cake:
2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup full fat coconut milk
2 tsp coconut extract
1 tsp white vinegar
2 cups sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
5 large egg yolks
4 large egg whites, room temperature
1-1/3 cups unsweetened medium coconut
Frosting:
3 1/3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1-1/2 tsp coconut extract
1 240g [8oz] package of full fat cream cheese
1 cup unsweetened large flaked coconut for decoration
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Fully line two 9-inch cake pans with parchment paper.
- Whisk flour, salt and baking soda in a medium bowl.
- In a small bowl combine the coconut milk, coconut extract and the vinegar.
- Beat the sugar and butter until light and very fluffy.
- Add egg yolks one by one, beating after each addition.
- Add flour mixture gradually and alternately with the coconut milk mixture.
- Using clean and dry beaters beat the egg whites in a large, clean bowl until stiff peaks form.
- Add 1/3 of egg white mixture to batter; fold into batter just to blend.
- Fold in remaining egg whites in 2 additions.
- Gently fold in the coconut.
- Divide batter between the prepared pans.
- Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 35 minutes.
- Cool cakes in pans on racks for 10 minutes.
- Run small sharp knife around sides of cake pans.
- Invert cakes onto racks.
- Carefully peel off parchment.
- Cool cakes completely.
- Meanwhile prepare the frosting:
- Beat the sugar, butter, and coconut extract in a large bowl until fluffy.
- Reduce speed and begin to add the cold cream cheese 1 tablespoon at the time, beating to combine after each addition. Do not beat on high speed once the cream cheese has been added; just beat enough to blend it into the butter mixture.
- Place one cake layer with flat side up, on a plate.
- Spread with 1 cup frosting.
- Place the second layer, flat side up, atop of the frosting.
- Spread remaining frosting over top and sides of the cake.
- Sprinkle the coconut on top of the cake.
- Cover and refrigerate.
- Let cake stand at room temperature for 1 hour before serving.
