Serve up a showstopper this holiday season with this stunning coconut creation.
Coconut Cake
Ingredients
- 1½ cups unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups sugar
- ½ cup unrefined coconut oil, melted
- 4 egg whites, room temperature
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3½ cups cake flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1¼ cups whole buttermilk, room temperature
- Coconut Italian Meringue Buttercream (recipe follows)
- Coconut Filling (recipe follows)
- Sweetened flaked coconut
- Garnish: sugared cranberries, fresh rosemary
Coconut Italian Meringue Buttercream
- 7 egg whites
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1½ cups sugar
- ½ cup water
- 1½ cups unsalted butter, cubed and softened
- 3 tablespoons unrefined coconut oil, melted
- ½ teaspoon coconut extract
Coconut Filling
- 1 cup chopped toasted pecans
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ¾ cup sugar
- 5 egg yolks, room temperature
- ¾ cup sweetened flaked coconut
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- 2 tablespoons bourbon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Spray 3 (8-inch) round cake pans with baking spray with flour. Line bottom of pans with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter, sugar, and coconut oil at medium speed until pale and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes, stopping to scrape sides of bowl. Add egg whites, one at a time, beating well after each addition and stopping to scrape sides of bowl. Beat in vanilla.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With mixer on medium-low speed, add flour mixture to butter mixture in three additions alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture, beating until combined after each addition. Divide batter among prepared pans (about 2⅓ cups each), smoothing with an offset spatula as needed.
- Bake until golden and a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pans, and let cool completely on wire racks.
- Level cooled cake layers, if desired. Place 1 cake layer on a serving platter.
- Spoon 1½ cups Coconut Italian Meringue Buttercream into a pastry bag, and cut a 1-inch opening in tip. Pipe a border of buttercream around edges of cake layer. Spoon half of Coconut Filling onto cake layer, and spread into an even layer within buttercream border. Top with second cake layer; pipe a border of buttercream around edges, and spoon remaining Coconut Filling into an even layer within border. Top with remaining cake layer. Spread remaining buttercream on top and sides of cake. Carefully press coconut onto top and sides of cake, if desired. Refrigerate for 20 to 30 minutes before serving. Garnish with cranberries and rosemary, if desired. Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Coconut Italian Meringue Buttercream
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites, salt, and cream of tartar at medium speed until foamy and tripled in volume, about 2 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, stir together sugar and ½ cup water, and cook over medium-high heat, without stirring, until a candy thermometer registers 240°, about 10 minutes.
- With mixer on medium-high speed, add hot sugar syrup to egg white mixture in a slow, steady stream. Increase mixer speed to high, and beat until thick, fluffy, and glossy, 3 to 5 minutes. With mixer on medium-high speed, add butter, a few tablespoons at a time, beating until combined after each addition. With mixer on medium speed, add coconut oil in a slow, steady stream, beating until combined. Beat in coconut extract. Increase mixer speed to high, and beat until thickened and frosting comes together. (Mixture may look curdled at first, but keep mixing and it should come together). Beat until smooth. Use immediately.
Coconut Filling
- In a medium saucepan, cook pecans and butter over medium heat until butter is melted. Stir in sugar until combined. Stir in egg yolks until combined; cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture is very thick, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in coconut, cranberries, and bourbon. Pour into a heatproof bowl, and cover with a piece of plastic wrap, pressing wrap directly onto surface of filling to prevent a skin from forming. Let cool completely.
