Perfect for a celebration, this coconut cake is made up of layers of soft coconut cake sandwiched between lemon curd then frosted with a light and airy coconut frosting. All made from scratch and a real show-stopper cake!

When you first set eyes on this beautiful Coconut Cake you can't help but want to reach for it and grab a slice! It is light, fluffy, and full of the flavors of coconut inside the cake itself as well as the frosting.

Add to that the lovely creamy layer of lemon curd running through the center layer and you have to agree, this is certainly one of those cakes best made to celebrate an important occasion.

It does involve a little more care & time when making the cake, but then again, if it's for someone special, it's worth it!

What is 7 minute frosting?

The frosting is a traditional '7-minute' frosting. Some may know it as a swiss meringue frosting, or a fluffy white frosting. This particular frosting is very fluffy and involved whipping up the egg whites, over a gentle heat (so the egg whites are cooked and not raw). If you've never made 7-minute frosting before, you must try it!

If you'd like to make a fresh whipped cream frosting instead, you can check out our recipe for it, it does have mandarin, but you can swap that for coconut no problem!

Carina tells me she makes this cake every year for her father's birthday. Her dad loves it so much, this is his top choice of cake!

So without further ado, let's see how Carina makes this fabulous cake!

Check out our handy Oven Temperature Conversion Guide!

Recipe from The book - Essentials of Baking from Williams - Sonoma & adapted by Carina Duclos

Prep Time

40 -60 minutes

Cook Time

25 - 30 minutes

Yield

8 - 10 Persons

Equipment you will need

Two 9 inch(23 cm) layer cake pans

Ingredients

For the cake

2 ¼ cups or 280 g Flour
2 Tsp baking Powder
½ Tsp Salt
¾ cup or 185 g unsalted butter (room temperature)
1 ½ cups or 375 g Sugar
3 large eggs, separated
1 Tsp vanilla Extract
1 cup or 250 ml canned coconut milk
1 cup / 125 g loosely packed sweetened coconut (desiccated coconut)

For the frosting & filling

2 large egg whites
¾ cup or 185 g sugar
1 Tablespoon corn syrup
⅛ Tsp Cream of Tartar
2 tablespoons water
Juice of ½ lemon strained
½ tsp vanilla extract
2 cups or 250g loosely packed sweetened coconut (desiccated)
¾ cup or 180 ml Lemon curd *See our Homemade Recipe for Lemon Curd if you'd like to make your own.

Instructions

1. Pre heat oven to 350F / 180C / Gas 4

2. Grease two 9 inch (23 cm) round cake pans and line the bottom with circles of parchment paper. Butter the paper and dust the entire inside of the cake pan with flour

3. Make the cake:

4. Sift together flour, baking powder & salt and set aside.

5. In a mixer, combine butter and sugar until mixture is light & fluffy, this will take about 5 minutes). Beat in the egg yolks and vanilla.

6. Using a spatula, gently fold in ⅓ of the dry ingredients until fully combined

7. Fold in ½ of the coconut milk, then fold in another ⅓ of the flour mix, followed by the other ½ of the coconut milk. Add the rest of the flour and gently fold in, incorporating as much air as possible. Do not stir or beat the flour in. Fold until all the mix is combined.

8. Using the whipping attachment, whisk the egg whites until medium peaks form. The whites should fall over gently when you lift the whisk.

9. Gently fold the egg whites into the cake batter and then fold in the coconut.

10. Pour the batter into the two pans, dividing the mixture evenly. Bake for 20 -25 minutes until cooked.

11. Place the pans on a cooling rack and leave for 3 minutes, then remove the pans and parchment and leave to cool. Cover the cakes with a damp tea towel so the cakes do not dry out as they cool.

12. Make the frosting:

13. Combine the sugar, egg whites, corn syrup, cream of tartar, water, lemon juice in a large mixing bowl. Gently whisk to mix. Set aside.

14. Choose a saucepan and sit a heatproof bowl on top. Fill the pan halfway up with water (be sure the water is not so high it is touching the bottom of the bowl) and bring to a simmer.

In the bowl, add the egg whites & sugar and stir gently with a whisk until the mixture is warm and the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and whisk at a high speed until stiff and glossy. (About 7 minutes). Once stiff, fold in the vanilla and ½ of the coconut.

Assemble the cake:

1. Put a cooled cake layer, cut side facing up on a plate. Using a spatula evenly spread the lemon curd on top of the cake and then a thin layer of frosting.

2. Place the second cake on top.

3. Using a spatula, frost the sides and top of the cake with the frosting and make indentations all over the frosting so you have peaks.

4. Sprinkle the remaining coconut all over the cake.

5. This cake can be served immediately or refrigerated for up to 2 hours before serving.

We'd love to hear from you and what you thought of our recipe. Did you make any changes or add some other ingredients? Let us know in the comments below. Thanks for reading and happy cooking!

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