Southern Coconut Cake

The ingredient list here isn’t small, but keep in mind this is a very large cake! A few personal notes: we used coconut milk for the cake (although Heather says you could use coconut cream as well, which you’ll notice is included in the ingredient list). And while she calls for almond extract in the cake (and I’ve kept the recipe below true to the original ), I think the extract can often can taste artificial, so I choose to leave it out – totally personal preference and up to you. Because the cake is so moist, it’s good covered and refrigerated for up to 5 days. That being said, I think it’s absolutely best served room temperature, so let it sit out for a few hours before serving.

Excerpted from Big Food Big Love with permission from Sasquatch Books.

Ingredients

For the Cake:

2 1/4 cups (4 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing

5 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder 

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 cups canned coconut cream or coconut milk from 1 (19-ounce) can, such as Mae Ploy

1 tablespoon extract vanilla

1 tablespoon extract almond

1 tablespoon extract coconut

3 cups sugar

7 large eggs, at room temperature

2 1/4 cups (7 ounces) sweetened coconut flakes

For the frosting:

20 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

7 cups confectioners’ sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon coconut extract

1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract

To Top:

2 1/4 cups (7 ounces) sweetened coconut flakes, toasted, for decorating (see note)

Instructions

Thoroughly butter three 9-inch cake pans, making sure to coat the sides, and line the bot- toms with parchment paper. Butter the parchment and set the pans aside. Line three baking sheets with parchment paper and set them aside. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

In a large bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda together. In a small bowl, combine the coconut cream and extracts.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl after every two eggs. Reduce the speed to low. Add the flour mixture and the coconut cream mixture in alternating batches, beginning and ending with the flour. Mix in the coconut flakes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl again and pour the batter evenly into the prepared pans.

Bake until the cake springs back when you touch the center with your finger, and it is pulling away from the sides of the pan just a bit, 30 to 40 minutes, rotating the pans front to back and top to bottom halfway through baking. Let the cakes cool in the pans until you can touch the pans comfortably, about 15 minutes, then flip the cakes out onto the lined baking sheets to cool completely before frosting.

While the cakes cool, make the frosting. In the clean bowl of the stand mixer, mix the cream cheese and butter until no lumps remain. Add the confectioners’ sugar and extracts and blend until smooth. Frost between the layers, around the sides, and on top of the cake with the frosting. Decorate the top and sides of the cake with the toasted coconut.

Note: Toast the coconut flakes on a baking sheet at 300 degrees F until golden brown, about 10 minutes, stirring every 3 to 4 minutes. Be sure the coconut is completely cool before decorating the cake.