COCONUT CAKE
The most delicious coconut cake ever. Made it to honor our snowy and sunshiny Christmas. I combined a couple recipes and tweaked them a bit. Fluffy White Frosting, coconut cream.
FOR CAKE
1 1/4 cups sifted cake flour (not self-rising; sift before measuring)
⅓ cup plus 7 tablespoons sugar.
1¼ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup water
1 large egg
4 large egg whites
Pinch of cream of tartar
FOR PASTRY CREAM
1½ cups whole milk
¼ teaspoon salt
1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise ⅓ cup plus 5 tablespoons sugar ¼ cup all-purpose flour 4 large egg yolks
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1 cups very cold heavy cream
preheat oven to 350°F.
Stir together cake flour, ⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Whisk together oil, water, and egg in another bowl, then add to flour mixture and whisk until smooth.
Beat egg whites with cream of tartar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until they barely hold soft peaks. Beat in remaining 6 tablespoons sugar 1 tablespoon at a time and continue beating until meringue holds stiff peaks.
Fold one third of meringue into batter to lighten it, then gently but thoroughly fold in remaining meringue.
Pour batter into ungreased springform pan. Bake until a wooden pick or skewer inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Run a thin knife around edge of pan, then cool cake for 5 minutes.
Remove side of pan and invert cake onto a rack. Gently remove bottom of pan and cool cake completely.
MEANWHILE, MAKE THE PASTRY CREAM:
Bring milk and salt just to a simmer in a 2-quart saucepan over moderately high heat. Remove from heat and scrape seeds from vanilla bean into milk; discard pod.
Whisk together 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, flour, and yolks in a medium bowl (mixture will be very stiff'). Whisk in one third of hot milk and whisk until smooth. Whisk yolk mixture into hot milk in saucepan, bring to a boil over moderate heat, and boil, whisking, for 1 minute. Transfer to a bowl and stir in coconut. Cover surface with wax paper and cool com-pletely, then refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
Beat heavy cream with remaining 3 tablespoons sugar with cleaned beaters until it holds stiff peaks.
Fold 1½ cups whipped cream into pastry cream; cover and refrigerate. Cover remaining whipped cream and refrigerate.
FROSTING, White Fluffy
2 large egg whites
1½ cups sugar
½ cup water
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1 teaspoon lemon juice
FOR TOPPING
2 cups sweetened flaked coconut
TO MAKE THE FROSTING:
Combine all ingredients in a large metal bowl and beat with a handheld electric mixer until combined. Set bowl over a saucepan of boiling water and beat at high speed until frosting holds stiff, glossy peaks, about 8 minutes.
Remove bowl from heat and beat frosting until cool and spreadable, about 8 minutes.
Frost cake.
Gently press coconut onto top and sides of cake.
ASSEMBLE THE CAKE:
Cut cake horizontally into 3 layers with a serrated knife. Place bottom layer cut side up on a cake stand or platter.
Spread with half of pastry cream and top with middle cake layer. Spread with remaining pastry cream and top with third cake layer, cut side down. Spread Fluffy White Frosting on top and sides of cake. Gently press coconut onto top and sides.