The Coconut Chiffon Cake

By LRay

Southern Living, February 2016, page 233.

White as a Sunday Glove, coconut is the doyenne of Southern layer cakes, a masterpiece of home cookery that has crowned dining room sideboards for more than a hundred years. Purists sing the praises of simple but divine, opting for coconut water-doused cake layers and dreamy swirls of meringue. No argument there. In fact, it’s one of our favorites too. But flip through back issues of Southern Livi ng and you’ll find more than 40 top-rated twists too good to pass up. Often requested: Nanny’s Famous Coconut-Pineapple Cake leavened with 7-Up, sent in by a reader in 1997. Fifty-one years earlier Eudora Welty chose a coconut cake as the culinary centerpiece of Delta Wedding. Faulkner even gives it a shout-out in The Unvanquished. One of the earliest published recipes appears in Mrs. Hill’s New Cook Book. Writing from her rural Georgia kitchen in 1867, Mrs. Hill advises to make the filling “as thick and rich as desired,” which is exactly what we did with our latest creation.

Ingredients

• CAKE LAYERS:
• 2 1/2 cups sifted cake flour
• 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 5 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
• Shortening
• COCONUT-MASCARPONE FILLING:
• 1 (8-oz.) container mascarpone cheese
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup whipping cream
• 1 (6-oz.) package frozen grated coconut, thawed
• WHITE CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING:
• 1 1/2 (4-oz.) white chocolate baking bars, chopped
• 2 tablespoons whipping cream
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 3 cups sifted powdered sugar, divided
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 cups sweetened flaked coconut

Details

Servings 10
Adapted from myrecipes.com

Preparation

Step 1

Preparation

1. Prepare Cake Layers: Preheat oven to 350°. Stir together sifted cake flour and next 3 ingredients in bowl of an electric stand mixer. Make a well in center of flour mixture; add oil, egg yolks, vanilla extract, and 3/4 cup water. Beat at medium speed 1 to 2 minutes or until smooth.

2. Beat egg whites and cream of tartar at medium-high speed until stiff peaks form. Fold one-third of egg whites into batter; fold remaining whites into batter. Spoon batter into 4 greased (with shortening) and floured 8-inch round shiny cake pans (about 2 cups batter in each pan).

3. Bake at 350° for 12 to 14 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. (Do not overbake--cakes will be a very pale golden color.) Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks, and cool completely (about 30 minutes).

4. Prepare Filling: Stir together mascarpone cheese, 1/2 cup powdered sugar, and 1 Tbsp. vanilla in a large bowl just until blended.

5. Beat 3/4 cup cream at low speed with an electric mixer until foamy; increase speed to medium-high, and beat until soft peaks form. Fold whipped cream into mascarpone mixture until well blended. Add thawed grated coconut, and stir just until blended. Spread mixture between cake layers (about 1 1/3 cups per layer). Cover with plastic wrap, and chill 12 hours.

6. Prepare White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting: Microwave chopped white chocolate and 2 Tbsp. whipping cream in a microwave-safe bowl at MEDIUM (50% power) 1 to 1 1/2 minutes or until melted and smooth, stirring at 30-second intervals. Cool completely (about 20 minutes).

7. Beat 1 cup softened butter and 2 cups powdered sugar at low speed with an electric mixer until blended. Add white chocolate mixture, 2 tsp. vanilla, and remaining 1 cup powdered sugar, and beat at high speed 2 to 3 minutes or until fluffy. Spread frosting on top and sides of cake. Cover top and sides of cake with 3 cups flaked coconut, gently pressing coconut into frosting.

Test Kitchen Tip: Be sure to measure flour after sifting. (If you measure before sifting, you'll end up with too much flour and a dry cake.) Check for doneness at the minimum bake time--even 1 or 2 minutes of extra baking can also create a dry cake.