Mardi's Coconut Cake

A community recipe by mardibug

Not tested or verified by Nigella.com

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Introduction

This is the version I make for my daughter. It is very moist and coconut-y! It can be made days ahead of time and frosted at the last minute: a real perk for busy folks!

Ingredients

Serves: 6

1 cup unsalted butter
1½ cups sugar
3 eggs
1 egg yolk
2½ cups sifted cake flour
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
¾ cup coconut milk (sweetened)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 ounces coconut (frozen coconut, defrosted and grated)
½ cup milk
1 cup sugar

Method

Mardi's Coconut Cake is a community recipe submitted by mardibug and has not been tested by Nigella.com so we are not able to answer questions regarding this recipe.

Cream butter with sugar. Beat in egg yolks one at a time until just blended. Sift in 1 cup of flour, salt, and baking powder. Stir until just blended. Gently mix in half of the coconut milk. Sift in another cup of flour and stir until just blended. Fold in remaining coconut milk. Stir in remaining flour.

In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form; add vanilla & beat until firm peaks form. Gently fold into cake batter. Gently fold in half of the defrosted coconut. Pour into prepared cake pans (I butter & line pans with parchment, then butter & flour). Bake in a preheated oven at 325 degrees. Two 8-inch round pans should be checked at 38 minutes; a 13x9-inch pan at 30 minutes.

While cake bakes, bring milk and sugar to a boil over medium high heat in a saucepan. Boil until it thickens slightly. Remove from heat & stir in remaining coconut. While cakes are still warm from the oven, prick them all over with a fork. Cover cake(s) with syrup and let come to room temperature. Chill in fridge for up to 3 days without removing from pans.

Simply frost with lightly sweetened heavy cream, a decadent orange cream cheese frosting, or cover with a rich chocolate ganache. This cake is just so good on its own, you may just want to adorn it with a daisy & serve it chilled!