Cake of the Day: Coconut Layer Cake

Every day, Yahoo Food features delectable cakes. They taste good, they look good, and they’re made by good people — talented bakers from around the world. Today, Jane Hornby shares a recipe from her book What to Bake & How to Bake It, 50 easy-to-follow recipes for all home bakers.

Photo: Liz and Max Haarala Hamilton, courtesy of Phaidon

Coconut Layer Cake
Preparation time: 45 minutes
Baking time: 25 minutes
Cuts into 12 or 16 very tall pieces

Tall, frosted, and a little over the top, this cake is built from coconut sponges alternating with a silky-smooth coconut meringue buttercream and lemon curd layers.

For the cake layers:
½ cup unsweetened desiccated finely shredded coconut
 2 sticks (1 cup) soft butter
 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, preferably superfine
 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
 5 eggs, room temperature
 2½ cups all-purpose flour
 1 tablespoon baking powder
 ½ teaspoon salt
 ½ cup full-fat coconut milk

To decorate:
 5 eggs (you will only need the whites)
 2½ cups confectioners’ sugar
 a pinch of salt
 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
 2 sticks plus 5 tbsp (generous 1¼ cups) soft butter
 ½ cup full-fat coconut milk
 1 cup good-quality lemon curd
 2½ cups toasted coconut chips

Soak the desiccated coconut in boiling water for 15 minutes (or longer if you can), then pour it into a sieve and press out the excess water. Use a little of the butter to grease two 8-inch round cake pans with removable bottoms, then line the bottoms with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Using an electric mixer, beat the butter, sugar, and vanilla together until creamy and pale, scraping down the sides of the bowl every now and again with a spatula. Beat in an egg until completely combined, fluffy, and light. Repeat with the other eggs, one by one. If it starts to look at all lumpy, add 1 tablespoon of the flour and it will become smooth again.

Thoroughly mix the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Sift half into the cake batter, then fold it in using a spatula or large metal spoon. Next, fold in the coconut milk, then fold in the rest of the flour mixture, then the drained coconut.

Using a spatula, divide the batter evenly between the pans and spread it flat.

Bake for 25 minutes, or until the cakes have risen, are firm, and slightly shrunken back from the sides of the pans. Let cool on a rack for 10 minutes, then remove from the pans and let cool completely.

For a four-layer cake, you’ll need to cut each cake in half horizontally. Use a large serrated knife and score a line first around the “waist” of the cake, then cut through gently and smoothly, rotating the cake after each cut.

Clean the mixer thoroughly. For the frosting, bring 2 inches water to a simmer in a medium pan. Separate the eggs, then put the whites into a very clean, large, heatproof bowl (one that will sit just on top of the pan), then sift in the sugar. Add the pinch of salt and beat together until smooth. Sit the bowl on the pan, then beat the whites for about 7 minutes, or until very thick and shiny. It’s thick enough when you can stand a teaspoon upright in the bowl without it falling over. Beat in the vanilla.

Scrape the meringue into another cold bowl, then beat for a few minutes more until just about room temperature. Keep the pan of hot water—it may come in handy in a moment. Beat the soft butter into the meringue, one tablespoon at a time, waiting for each one to disappear completely before adding the next. You will find that the volume of the mixture falls at first, and may seem a little loose, but keep going.

The frosting will suddenly change from billowy to silky and thick as you add all the butter. When all the butter has been added, gradually beat in the coconut milk. If the mixture starts to feel a bit lumpy, warm it very gently over the hot water for a few seconds while beating, and it will loosen up again.

You’re now ready to assemble the cake. Place one layer on a serving plate and spread with ½ cup lemon curd. Top with the second layer of cake, then add 1¼ cups frosting and spread it evenly to the edges. Top the third layer with curd too.

Place the final cake layer on top, then spread the remaining frosting all over the cake and smooth it with an icing spatula. Mound it on the top of the cake first, then spread it down and around the cake. Press the coconut chips up the side of the cake and sprinkle them over the top.

Brush any excess chips from the serving plate. Keep the cake cool until serving. If making ahead, chill the cake, but let it come up to room temperature before eating it.

Excerpted from What to Bake & How to Bake It by Jane Hornby (Phaidon, 2014). 

Love coconut? You’ll want to bake these too:

Vertical Layer Coconut Cake

Raw, Vegan Coconut Mango Cheesecake

Lemon, Coconut, and Strawberry Cake