This is one of the best cakes I have ever had! Okay, okay… I might be a little dramatic here, but this is one amazing cake! I have been dying to make a layered cake for a while now. Seriously, I have cupcakes coming out of my ears. Don’t take me wrong, you can never go wrong with a cupcake, but nothing beats the beauty of an impressive slice of layer cake!

Coconut can sometimes get a bad rap. It is a flavor that either you love or you can’t stand it. Well let me be clear, this cake can possibly change the minds of those not so keen on coconut out there. This cake has a beautiful crumb, is moist and velvety, and has the faintest of coconut flavors.

Creative Clue

This cake can be paired with so many things, but we took the tropical route. We went ahead and layered this cake with a homemade pineapple curd, frosted it with a silky smooth Coconut Milk Frosting, and topped it off with a homemade pineapple marmalade. Yum!  You would think that  would be enough, wouldn’t you? Well we went ahead and cracked open a fresh coconut, shaved it down, and roasted it for the finishing touch!

Yup… it was love at first bite!

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Coconut Cream Cake
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Yields: 8-16
 
Ingredients
  • 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1⅓ teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1⅔ cups granulated sugar
  • 1 (13.5-ounce) can sweetened cream of coconut, well stirred (recommended: Coco Lopez)
  • 4 large eggs, separated
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • ½ cup sour cream
  • ½ cup whole milk
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour 2 (9-inch) diameter cake pans with 2-inch high sides.
  2. Pour the flour, baking powder, baking soda and ¼ teaspoon salt in a medium bowl. Use a whisk to stir together.
  3. In a separate large bowl, beat the sugar, butter and sweetened cream of coconut until fluffy and it resembles whipped cream, about 2 minutes.
  4. Beat in the egg yolks and vanilla extract. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and stir to incorporate all the ingredients.
  5. With the mixer on low speed, beat in ½ the dry ingredients, followed by the milk and sour cream, and the remaining dry ingredients, scraping down the sides in between each addition, just until blended.
  6. Using clean, dry beaters, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt in another clean large bowl until the egg whites are stiff but not dry.
  7. In batches, fold the beaten egg whites into the batter, being careful not to deflate the whites. Divide the cake batter evenly between the prepared cake pans. Spread the batter with an offset spatula to level the batter in the pan.
  8. Bake the cakes until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Cool the cakes in the pans on a wire rack, about 10 minutes. Gently run a small sharp knife around the pan sides to loosen the cakes. Turn the cakes out onto the racks and cool completely.
Notes
As the cakes cool they will shrink slightly, pulling away from the sides of the pan. By running the knife around the sides of the pan you are helping in the process by taking away any resistance. Finish cake by filling with a pineapple curd and topping with pineapple marmalade: 1) The pineapple curd we used was based on our meyer lemon curd, substituting pineapple juice for the lemon juice and rind (it also took longer to cook than the lemon curd) 2) The pineapple marmalade was made with 2 cups of sugar per whole pineapple (cored and crushed)