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Coconut Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Coconut Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting It was Jason’s birthday last Saturday. In true Two of a Kind fashion, I made him breakfast and a special birthday treat. The family also got together for dinner at Sakoon, a place we’ve been wanting to try since seeing it on Check, Please! The meal was delicious.

I’m not one to make a big deal out of birthdays. But one way I do like to celebrate is by baking something sweet for the honoree. I can still remember what I made for each of Jason’s birthdays since meeting him in May of 2008:

This year, Jason requested something “coconutty.” And so I whipped up this coconut cake with cream cheese frosting. It may not be the most elegant offering, but it is divine. The cake is rich, moist and buttery and the frosting is extremely creamy. But the true measure of success? Jason loved it – and that made me happy.

Coconut Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting_slice Recipe adapted from Epicurious.

Coconut Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
 
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Makes 1 6" round, 2-layer cake
Ingredients
Cake:
  • 1¼ cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
  • ½ cup coconut cream
  • 2 eggs, separated
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ cup buttermilk (see notes)
  • pinch of salt
Cream cheese frosting:
  • 1 8 oz. package cream cheese, room temperature
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
  • ¼ cup coconut cream
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Finish:
  • 2 cups shredded sweetened coconut
Instructions
Make and bake the cake:
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Butter two 6" round cake pans, line bottoms with parchment paper and butter the paper. Dust pans with flour, shake out excess and set aside.
  3. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, stirring with a whisk.
  4. In a large bowl, combine the sugar, butter and coconut cream and beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 5 minutes). Add the eggs yolks and vanilla extract and beat well.
  5. With the mixer on low speed, add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat until just combined.
  6. In a clean small bowl, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff peaks form. Then, gently fold the egg whites into the batter with a rubber spatula.
  7. Pour batter into the prepared pans and sharply tap pans once on counter to remove air bubbles.
  8. Bake cakes for 25-30 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes and then invert onto a wire rack. Remove parchment paper and let cakes cool completely.
Prepare the frosting and assemble the cake:
  1. Place the cream cheese in a medium bowl and beat with a mixer on high speed until light and fluffy. Add the butter and beat to blend. Add the coconut cream, powdered sugar and vanilla extract and beat until well blended.
  2. Place one cake layer on a plate and top with about ½ cup frosting, spreading it toward the edges. Sprinkle on ¼ cup coconut.
  3. Top with second cake layer and frost top and sides of cake. Sprinkle remaining coconut on top and sides of cake, pressing gently to adhere. Store cake loosely covered in the refrigerator.
Notes
I rarely buy buttermilk because it's so easy to make with ingredients you likely have on hand. Just pour 1 tablespoon lemon juice or white vinegar in a measuring cup and add enough milk to hit the 1-cup line. Let the mixture sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes until curdled.

Comments

  2. This sounds like a perfect coconut cake. The frosting sounds wonderful and I really adore the use of buttermilk in the cake mixture. So glad I found this recipe. Pinning 🙂

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