My Favourite Coconut Cake

By ctozzi

Bobby Flay's recipe, tweaked

Ingredients

• Cake:
• 2 tablespoons softened butter, for pans
• 2 1/4 cups cake flour, plus more for pans
• 1 cup whole milk, at room temperature
• 6 large egg whites, at room temperature
• 1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces, slightly cold
• Simple Syrup:
• 3/4 cup water
• 3/4 cup sugar
• malibou liqueur (?)
• Coconut Filling:
• Makes enough for 1 cake
• 5 cups heavy cream
• 3 cups sugar
• 1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 9 cups shredded sweetened coconut

Details

Servings 1
Adapted from keyingredient.com

Preparation

Step 1

For the cake:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour 2 (9 by 2-inch) round cake pans and line bottoms with parchment paper.

Whisk together the milk, egg whites, vanilla bean seeds and vanilla extract in a medium bowl.

In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. With mixer running at low speed, add the butter, one piece at a time and continue beating until mixture resembles moist crumbs.

Add all but 1/2 cup of milk mixture to crumbs and beat at medium speed until the mixture is pale and fluffy, about 1 1/2 minutes. With mixer on low speed, add remaining 1/2 cup of the milk mixture, increase speed to medium and beat 30 seconds more. Scrape sides of bowl and mix for 20 seconds longer. Divide the batter evenly between the cakes pan and smooth the tops using a rubber spatula.

Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few crumbs attached, 22 to 24 minutes.

Cool in the pan on baking rack for 10 minutes. Run a small knife around the side of the pan and invert cakes onto the baking rack, removing parchment paper, and let cool completely, about 45 minutes.

Simple Syrup:
1.Place water and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool.

Coconut Filling:
1.Place cream, sugar, and butter in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally until sugar is dissolved.

2.Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together cornstarch, vanilla, and 1 tablespoon water. Add to cream mixture, bring to a boil, and simmer until thickened, about 1 minute.

3.Place coconut in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until coconut is finely chopped. Remove cream mixture from heat and stir in coconut until well combined. Transfer to a large baking dish; let cool.

4.Cover filling with plastic wrap and chill overnight. Just before using, place mixture in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat until smooth and creamy, 4 to 5 minutes.