Coconut Citrus Layer Cake Recipes

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk, beating well after each addition. , Transfer to three greased and floured 9-in. round baking pans. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely., For filling, in a small saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch and water until smooth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir 2 minutes longer or until thickened and bubbly. Remove from the heat., Stir a small amount of hot mixture into egg yolks; return all to the pan, stirring constantly. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Remove from the heat; gently stir in lemon juice and butter. Cool to room temperature without stirring., Place one cake on serving plate; spread with half of the filling. Repeat layers. Top with remaining cake. , For frosting, in a large heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, egg whites, water and cream of tartar. With a portable mixer, beat on low speed for 1 minute. Continue beating on low over low heat until frosting reaches 160°, about 10 minutes. , Transfer to a large bowl; add vanilla. Beat on high until stiff peaks form, about 7 minutes. Frost top and sides of cake. Sprinkle with coconut. Store in the refrigerator.

Steps:

• For the cake: Position racks in the middle and lower third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Butter three 9-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper; butter the parchment, dust with flour and tap out the excess. Set aside.
• Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk the buttermilk and cream of coconut in a small bowl. Beat the butter and 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in the vanilla and coconut extracts. Reduce the mixer speed to low; beat in the flour mixture in three batches, alternating with the buttermilk mixture, until combined.
• Beat the egg whites and the remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar in a large bowl with clean beaters on medium-high speed until stiff glossy peaks form, 4 to 5 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, fold the egg whites into the batter in three batches until just combined (do not overmix). Divide the batter among the prepared pans and bake, switching the pans halfway through, until the cakes are lightly browned and the centers spring back when lightly pressed, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer to racks and let cool 20 minutes in the pans, then run a small knife around the edges of each cake and carefully invert onto the racks; remove the parchment and let cool completely.
• For the frosting: Beat the butter and cream cheese in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in about half of the confectioners' sugar until combined. Add the remaining confectioners' sugar, salt and vanilla and coconut extracts and beat until combined. Increase the mixer speed to medium high and continue beating, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
• Place one cake layer on a cake stand or platter and top with a heaping 2/3 cup frosting. Add another cake layer, more frosting and the last cake layer. Cover the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting. Sprinkle the coconut all over the top and sides of the cake, gently pressing to adhere.

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Arrange two racks in the center of the oven. Line the bottom of three 6-by-2-inch buttered round cake pans with parchment paper. Dust the bottom and the sides of the cake pans with flour, and tap out any excess. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and set the bowl aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter on medium-low speed until fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Gradually add sugar, and keep beating until the mixture is fluffy and light in color, about 3 minutes. Gradually drizzle in egg yolks, beating on medium-low speed between each addition until the batter is no longer slick. Beat until the mixture is fluffy again, about another 3 minutes.
• Alternate adding flour mixture and sour cream to the batter, a little of each at a time, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Beat in vanilla. Divide the batter between the prepared cake pans. Bake until a cake tester inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes, rotating the pans in the oven, if needed, for even browning. Transfer cake pans to wire racks to cool, about 15 minutes. Remove cakes from pans, and let cool completely on racks, tops up.
• To assemble, remove parchment paper from the bottoms of cakes. Split each layer in half horizontally with a serrated knife. Set aside the prettiest dome; it will be used for the final layer. Place another domed layer, dome side down, on the serving platter. Sprinkle 2 to 3 tablespoons of flaked coconut over the cake. Spread a generous 1/2 cup coconut-cream filling over coconut flakes. Repeat sprinkling and spreading process on the remaining layers until all but the reserved domed layer are used. Top cake with the reserved domed layer. Transfer cake to the refrigerator to firm for 1 hour. Remove from the refrigerator, and frost the outside of cake with seven-minute frosting. Sprinkle remaining coconut flakes all over cake while frosting is soft; do not refrigerate. Cake can be left out at room temperature for several days.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 7-by-2-inch round cake pans. Line bottoms with parchment; butter parchment. Dust with flour, tapping out excess. Bake coconut on a baking sheet until dry but not golden, about 10 minutes; let cool completely.
• Whisk milk into eggs, then whisk in vanilla. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; beat on medium-low speed 30 seconds. Continue beating while gradually adding butter and coconut oil until mixture is crumbly, about 3 minutes. Slowly add half of milk mixture; increase speed to medium and beat until fluffy, about 1 minute. Slowly add remaining milk mixture, scraping down bowl as needed. Beat until incorporated, 30 seconds.
• Divide batter between prepared pans; tap pans on counter to release any air bubbles. Bake until golden brown and tops spring back when lightly touched, 50 to 55 minutes. Let cool in pans on wire racks 5 minutes, then turn out of pans, remove parchment, and let cool completely, top-sides up, on racks. For easy splitting, refrigerate 1 hour.
• Trim tops of cakes flat. Split each cake horizontally into two equal layers. Place a cake layer on a cake plate. Spread 2/3 cup curd evenly over it; top with a second cake layer. Repeat, spreading 2/3 cup curd between each layer. Finish with a cake layer, bottom-side up. Refrigerate cake, wrapped in plastic, at least 1 hour and up to 1 day.
• Spread 1 cup buttercream over top and sides of cake evenly to create a crumb coat. Refrigerate 15 minutes. Spread remaining 3 cups buttercream over top and sides. Coat sides with coconut. Garnish with candied lemon and mint. Cake can be refrigerated, wrapped in plastic, up to 5 days; return to room temperature before serving.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 2 (9-inch) round cake pans, then line them parchment paper. Grease them again and dust lightly with flour.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium-high speed for 3 to 5 minutes, until light yellow and fluffy. Crack the eggs into a small bowl. With the mixer on medium speed, add the eggs 1 at a time, scraping down the bowl once during mixing. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and mix well. The mixture might look curdled; don't be concerned.
• In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the dry ingredients and the milk to the batter in 3 parts, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Mix until just combined. Fold in the 4 ounces of coconut with a rubber spatula.
• Pour the batter evenly into the 2 pans and smooth the top with a knife. Bake in the center of the oven for 45 to 55 minutes, until the tops are browned and a cake tester comes out clean. Cool on a baking rack for 30 minutes, then turn the cakes out onto a baking rack to finish cooling.
• For the frosting, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the cream cheese, butter, vanilla and almond extract on low speed. Add the confectioners' sugar and mix until just smooth (don't whip!).
• To assemble, place 1 layer on a flat serving plate, top side down, and spread with frosting. Place the second layer on top, top side up, and frost the top and sides. To decorate the cake, sprinkle the top with coconut and lightly press more coconut onto the sides. Serve at room temperature.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F Butter and flour two 9-inch round cake pans.
• With an electric mixer, cream the butter and 2 cups of sugar until light and fluffy.
• In a separate bowl, mix together the coconut milk and vanilla. Add half of the milk mixture to the butter and sugar mixture and beat until well blended.
• Into another bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
• Add the sifted mixture to the butter mixture and stir well. Thoroughly mix in the remaining milk mixture. The batter will be very heavy.
• Using an electric mixer with clean, dry beaters and a clean bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold the beaten whites into the batter until no trace of white remains.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake until the tip of a knife inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, about 40 minutes.
• While the cake is baking, make the lemon curd. In the saucepan, whisk together the lemon peel, juice, sugar, and eggs.
• On medium heat, cook the mixture, whisking constantly until the curd thickens, about 5-7 minutes. Remove from the heat.
• For a perfectly smooth curd, pour the curd through a fine-mesh strainer to remove the lemon peel and any bits of egg (I always do this, because there are always little egg bits in the curd).
• Whisk in the butter a little at a time.
• Refrigerate the curd until well-chilled, about an hour.
• When the cake is cooled, spread half of the lemon curd between the two layers.
• Whip the cream until stiff and stir in the remaining lemon curd. Spread the whipped lemon cream over the cake and chill well.
• Serve sprinkled with toasted coconut flakes.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, whisk milk, pudding mix and zest 2 minutes. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour., Place egg whites in a large bowl; let stand at room temperature 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350°. Line bottoms of three greased 9-in. round baking pans with parchment; grease paper., In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. In another bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk, beating well after each addition. With clean beaters, beat egg whites on high speed until stiff peaks form; gently fold into batter., Transfer to prepared pans. Bake 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes before removing to wire racks; remove paper. Cool completely., For frosting, in a large heavy saucepan, combine sugar, egg whites, water, salt and cream of tartar over low heat or in a double boiler over simmering water. With a portable mixer, beat on low speed 1 minute. Continue beating on low over low heat until frosting reaches 160°, about 12 minutes., Pour into the bowl of a heavy-duty stand mixer; add vanilla. Beat on high until frosting forms stiff peaks, about 7 minutes., Using a long serrated knife, cut each cake horizontally in half. Place one cake layer on a serving plate; spread with 3/4 cup filling to within 1-inch of edge. Repeat four more times. Top with remaining cake layer. Frost top and sides of cake. Sprinkle top with coconut; gently press coconut into frosting on sides of cake. Store in the refrigerator.