Classic Coconut Cake

By LaLaCooks

Recipes + Menus | recipes

Classic Coconut Cake
Room-temperature ingredients make all the difference in this cake. You can get more loft from non-chilled egg whites, and room-temperature butter is easier to cream (beat together) with sugar than the straight- from-the-fridge stuff. The fluffy egg whites and properly creamed butter and sugar mean tender, light cake. And room-temp butter and cream cheese will translate to creamy, smooth frosting instead of a sticky mess filled with lumps.

10 servings

PREP TIME:

30 minutes

TOTAL TIME:

4 hours (includes baking and cooling time)

Recipe by Hominy Grill, Charleston, South Carolina

March 2011

Ingredients

• Nonstick vegetable oil spray
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/3 cups (loosely packed) sweetened flaked coconut
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 5 large egg yolks
• 4 large egg whites, room temperature

Details

Servings 10
Cooking time 270mins
Adapted from bonappetit.com

Preparation

Step 1

Preparation

cake

Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat two 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 11/2-inch- high sides with nonstick spray; line bottom of pans with parchment paper rounds. Mix flour and coconut in medium bowl. Whisk buttermilk and baking soda in small bowl. Using electric mixer, beat sugar and butter in large bowl until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg yolks and beat to blend. Add flour mixture in 3 additions alternately with buttermilk mixture in 2 additions, beating just to blend after each addition. Using clean dry beaters, beat egg whites and 1/4 teaspoon salt in another large bowl until peaks form. Add 1/3 of egg white mixture to batter; fold into batter just to blend. Fold in remaining egg white mixture in 2 additions. Divide batter between pans.

Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on racks 10 minutes. Run small sharp knife around sides of cake pans. Invert cakes onto racks. Carefully peel off parchment. Cool cakes completely.

frosting

Using electric mixer, beat sugar, cream cheese, butter, and vanilla in large bowl until blended. Place 1 cake layer, flat side up, on plate. Spread with 1 cup frosting. Place second layer, flat side up, atop frosting. Spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake. Sprinkle some of coconut over top of cake; pat more coconut on sides of cake. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover with cake dome and refrigerate. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour before serving.

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