Coconut Cake

This gorgeous coconut layer cake is easy to make, and absolutely loaded with coconut flavour.  Sure to be a hit this holiday season!

This coconut layer cake is divine. It has such much flavour packed into it. It uses coconut milk, plus coconut extract for that extra something special. Speaking of something special I would like to wish my co-host Susan of The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen a Very Happy Birthday today. I heart you my friend! So very much. I hope your special day is filled with friends, family and lots of amazing food!

Welcome to Day One of Christmas Week. This event is hosted by Kim of Cravings of a Lunatic and Susan of The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen. We hope to inspire you to break out those holiday sprinkles and get your bake on!

Each year I team up with my buddies to bring you Christmas Week. This year is no exception. We have 5 full days of recipes coming at you. I really hope it helps to inspire you to bake this holiday season.

I decided to make coconut layer cake. It's something I've been wanting to make for the blog for some time. I think I've been saving this recipe for a couple of years now. So it was high time to get on with it and make it.

I'm not a big layer cake kind of person. Not that I don't love them. I enjoy eating them, I appreciate how gorgeous they are. But I am not a patient person. So taking the time to layer it all perfectly is just too tedious for me.

For this one I threw caution to the wind, and figured the worst that could happen is I turn it into a coconut cake parfait. Luckily it cooperated with me. Worst case scenario the layers are not perfect. However I'm not sure anyone will care if it's covered in gorgeous coconut.

You could totally do this one with toasted coconut if you like. Again, I'm not very patient so waiting for coconut to toast perfectly is not going to happen. So white coconut it is. I'm easy like that.

I highly suggest you try this one. If I can make it anyone can. Seriously, not a cake maker over here. You will rarely see them on my blog. So I am not kidding when I say "if I can make it, anyone can make it". A monkey could make this cake. Although I'm sure he'd prefer banana cake.

I digress.. Be sure to scroll to the bottom for all the recipes from our other participants for Christmas Week. There's also an awesome giveaway so be sure to peek in on that as well. Keep tuning in all week for lots of amazing holiday recipes.

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4.60 from 5 votes

Coconut Cake

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 40 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour

Servings 1 Cake

Author Kim Beaulieu

Ingredients

For the Coconut Layer Cake:

• 1 cup butter softened
• 1 ½ cups sugar 4 large eggs separated
• 1 teaspoon coconut extract
• 3 cups cake flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 ¼ cups coconut milk

For the Coconut Cream Frosting:

• ½ cup butter softened
• ⅓ cup coconut milk
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon coconut extract
• 5 ½ cups confectioners' sugar

For the topping:

• 2 cups of sweetened flaked coconut

Instructions

For the Coconut Layer Cake:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Spray three 9-inch round baking pans with non-stick spray, then lightly flour. Set aside.
• In a stand mixer combine the butter and sugar. Beat on medium speed until the mixture is fluffy.
• Now add the egg yolks, one at a time, into the mixer, continue to mix well after each addition.
• Add the coconut extract, mix again until combined.
• In a separate medium sized bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Sift this twice, don't skip this step, it's worth the time it takes.
• Now gradually add the butter mixture alternating with the coconut milk, making sure you begin and end with the flour mixture. You want to mix the ingredients thoroughly.
• Now in another separate mixing bowl, beat the egg whites with a hand mixer on high speed until the mixture forms stiff peaks.
• Now you are going to fold that gently into the other batter, make sure you do not over-mix, nor use a mixer at this time. Folding in carefully is important.
• Spoon the batter evenly into each pan, and place them in the oven. Bake for about 18 to 20 minutes. The top should be golden, and if you insert a toothpick in the middle of the cake the toothpick should come out clean.
• Now you want to carefully remove the cakes from the oven. Allow to cool in the pans for about 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire cooling rack, and continue to cool completely.
• Once cooled you can slice each cake layer in half horizontally. Set them aside while you prepare the frosting.

For the Coconut Cream Frosting:

• *note: I used three batches of icing for this cake because I used it for the layers. I also did a scratch coat before the final coat.*
• In a stand mixer, using the whisk attachment, mix the butter, coconut milk, heavy cream, and coconut extract until creamy. Now add the confectioners' sugar gradually, mixing until smooth.
• Use this frosting to put in all your layers. So lay the first layer on a plate or cake stand, spread frosting over it evenly. Continue this process until all the layers are stacked. Coat the entire cake with a thin layer of frosting. Allow to set up.
• Now add your final coat of frosting over the whole cake. Carefully place all the coconut over the cake so the entire thing is covered.
• Place in fridge until ready to serve.
• Serve with a big old coconut loving smile!

Notes

Recipe adapted from Jamie Deen's many-Layered Coconut Cake

Thanks to our sponsors for Christmas Week. Anolon is donating a 5-piece Bakeware Set. Swing by their Facebook Page to show them some love. We also have Ball supplying us with 4 sets of Jars in their gorgeous Green Heritage Color. Swing by their Ball Canning and Recipes Facebook Page to say hello.

Swing by all the participants to see what they've been whipping up for the holidays:

• Cookie Cake by The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen
• Eggnog by Cookistry
• Chewy Molasses Cookies by Dinners, Dishes, and Desserts
• Eggnog Muffins with Eggnog Glaze by Food Lust People Love
• Finnish Pulla (Cardamom Coffee Braid) by Farm Fresh Feasts
• Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie by My Catholic Kitchen
• Cranberry Berry Pomegranate Sangria by Mind Over Batter
• Cranberry Cheesecake by From Gate to Plate
• Millionaire's Shortbread Bars by Cooking In Stilettos
• Red Velvet Fudge by That Skinny Chick Can Bake

Giveaway Prizes Up for Grabs this Week include:

• One 5 piece set of Anolon Bakeware Set
• Two Sets of Ball Heritage Collection Quart Jars (each set includes 6 jars)
• Two Sets of Ball Heritage Collection Pint Jars (each set includes 6 jars)
• One Set  of 1 Dozen Assorted Cookie Sampler Box from The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen Bake Shop
• Two Sets of Brownie Brittle Snack Sampler (each set  includes One 5-ounce bag of each flavour)
• Plus 1 Copy of each of these cookbook:
• One Autographed Copy of Make Ahead Bread by Donna Currie
• One Copy of The Mixer Bible by Meredith Deeds
• One Copy of 175 Best Babycakes Cake Pop Recipes by Kathy Moore and Roxanne Wyss
• One Copy of 175 Best Mini Pie Recipes by Julie-Anne Hession
• One Copy of The 250 Best Brownies, Bars & Squares by Ester Brody
• One Copy of Oatrageous Oatmeals by Kathy Hester
• One Copy of Adventures in Comfort Food by Kerry Alteiro
• One Copy of Food Truck Road Trip by Kim Pham
• One Copy of Decadent Gluten-Free Vegan Baking by Cara Reed
• One Copy of 100 Juices, Smoothies and Healthy Snacks by Emily von Euw
• One Copy of CopyKat coms Dining Out at Home Cookbook Recipes by Stephanie Manley
• One Copy of Copykat.com's Dining Out At Home Cookbook 2 by Stephanie Manley

Be sure to enter the giveaway below. Open to U.S. residents only. Good luck everyone.

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Toodles and smoochies! xx