My daughter loves coconut. In all its forms. She has nagged me for weeks to make this cake for her, so here it is.
Toasting the coconut brings out the flavour and gives a lovely nuttiness to this delicate sponge. Use a dry pan to toast the coconut and watch it carefully because it toasts quickly and needs to be taken out of the pan as soon as it starts turning brown, the heat of the pan, even when it’s off the heat, can burn the coconut. I’ve toasted some larger flakes of coconut too to add a bit of texture to the top.
I love to fill this cake with lemon buttercream every now and again to mix things up, the flavours really compliment each other well. Add the zest of a lemon to this below buttercream for a lemon alternative.
6 eggs
500ml sugar
125ml toasted coconut ( and 375ml for decorating)
750ml flour
20ml baking powder
500ml coconut milk
250g butter
Preheat oven to 180ºC. Line and grease three 20cm round cake tins
Cream eggs and sugar until thick and pale.
Heat coconut milk and butter until butter is melted. Do not boil.
Sift flour and baking powder. Add the toasted coconut.
Turn the mixer to the lowest setting and add flour and milk to egg mixture.
Divide batter between the cake tins.
Bake for 25 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
Remove the cakes from the tins immediately and cool on wire cooling racks completely.
Cream 200g butter and 400g icing sugar. Add enough coconut milk to make a spreadable buttercream.
Stack the layers of cake on top of each other, filling each layer with buttercream as you stack them.
Cover the edge of the cake with buttercream.
Place the remaining toasted coconut onto a baking tray and spread it out evenly.
holding the cake, one hand on the base and one hand on the top, roll the edges of the cake in the coconut to cover the sides of the cake.
Move the cake to a cake stand or plate and cover the top of the cake in the remaining buttercream and coconut.
Toasted Coconut Cake
- 6 eggs
- 500ml sugar
- 125ml toasted coconut ( and 375ml for decorating)
- 750ml flour
- 20ml baking powder
- 500ml coconut milk
- 250g butter
- Preheat oven to 180ºC. Line and grease three 20cm round cake tins
- Cream eggs and sugar until thick and pale.
- Heat coconut milk and butter until butter is melted. Do not boil.
- Sift flour and baking powder. Add the toasted coconut.
- Turn the mixer to the lowest setting and add flour and milk to egg mixture.
- Divide batter between the cake tins.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
- Remove the cakes from the tins immediately and cool on wire cooling racks completely.
- Cream 200g butter and 400g icing sugar. Add enough coconut milk to make a spreadable buttercream.
- Stack the layers of cake on top of each other, filling each layer with buttercream as you stack them.
- Cover the edge of the cake with buttercream.
- Place the remaining toasted coconut onto a baking tray and spread it out evenly.
- holding the cake, one hand on the base and one hand on the top, roll the edges of the cake in the coconut to cover the sides of the cake.
- Move the cake to a cake stand or plate and cover the top of the cake in the remaining buttercream and coconut.
