Pecan Coconut Cream Cake

By mplsjess

Ingredients

• for the cake
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened, plus 8 tbsp
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups sugar
• 5 eggs, separated
• 1 1/2 cups shredded unsweetened coconut + 1/2 cup for assembly
• 1 cup finely chopped pecans
• for the frosting
• 200 grams cream cheese, softened
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• 2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup roughly chopped pecans, toasted

Details

Adapted from boxofspice.wordpress.com

Preparation

Step 1

to prepare
For the cake.
Heat oven to 350°F/175°C. Butter and flour three 8″ cake pans (or as in my case I have only one. I just divided the batter and baked three times). Set aside. Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Whisk buttermilk and vanilla in another bowl. Cream butter, and sugar in a bowl until fluffy, 2–3 minutes. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. On low speed, alternately add dry ingredients in 3 batches and wet ingredients in 2 batches. Increase speed to high, and beat until batter is smooth, 5–10 seconds. Whip egg whites in a bowl until stiff peaks form. Fold egg whites, coconut, and pecans into batter. Divide batter into prepared pans and smooth top with a rubber spatula; drop pans lightly on a counter to expel large air bubbles. Bake cakes until a toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean, 20–22 minutes. Let cakes cool for 20 minutes in pans; invert onto wire racks and let cool completely.

For the frosting.
Using a hand mixer, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. With the motor running, slowly add sugar and vanilla; beat until smooth.

To assemble, place one cake layer on a cake stand and spread with 1/3 cup frosting, sprinkle a generous amount of coconut; top with another layer and spread with 1/3 cup frosting and the coconut. Top with remaining layer. Pour on top the remaining frosting and sprinkle with pecans; chill cake 1 hour until frosting is firm.