Coconut Layer Cake

Recipe from Larissa Raphael

Adapted by Melissa Clark

Coconut Layer Cake
Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Total Time
2 hours, plus cooling
Rating
5(1,691)
Comments
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This impressive and wonderfully moist layer cake is less sweet than the usual coconut affair, thanks to a tangy cream cheese frosting on top and dose of orange juice in the batter. This is a great dessert to make in advance. You can bake the cake layers up to 3 days ahead and store them, well-wrapped in plastic, in the refrigerator. The frosted cake will keep for 2 days in the fridge as well, either under a cake dome or overturned bowl, or loosely tented with foil. Just make sure to bring the cake to room temperature before serving.

Here are more layer cake recipes. —Melissa Clark

Featured in: A Sugar Rush, Not Crush

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Ingredients

Yield:8 to 12 servings

    For the Cake

    • 2sticks/226 grams unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pans
    • 2cups/265 grams all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
    • ½teaspoon/3 grams fine sea salt
    • 2teaspoons/10 grams baking powder
    • ¾cup/140 grams granulated sugar
    • 3eggs, separated, plus 3 whites
    • 1½cups/355 milliliters sweetened cream of coconut, such as Coco Lopez
    • 1¼cups/295 milliliters unsweetened coconut milk
    • 2tablespoons/30 milliliters coconut or dark rum
    • 7tablespoons/104 milliliters freshly squeezed orange juice
    • 3cups/370 grams unsweetened shredded coconut

    For the Frosting

    • 2sticks/226 grams unsalted butter, softened
    • 2cups/454 grams cream cheese, at room temperature
    • 2teaspoons/10 milliliters vanilla extract
    • 7¼cups/2 pounds/907 grams confectioners’ sugar
    • 2¾cups/340 grams unsweetened shredded or flaked coconut, toasted
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (10 servings)

1598 calories; 102 grams fat; 76 grams saturated fat; 1 gram trans fat; 17 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 167 grams carbohydrates; 10 grams dietary fiber; 133 grams sugars; 12 grams protein; 404 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Make the Cake

    1. Step 1

      Grease 3 8-inch cake pans and dust with flour. Heat oven to 350 degrees.

    2. Step 2

      Whisk together flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl and reserve. Place butter and sugar in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment and beat until fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add 3 egg yolks, 1 at a time, beating after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl with spatula. Lower speed and gradually add flour mixture. Batter will be thick and pasty.

    3. Step 3

      Whisk together cream of coconut, coconut milk, rum and orange juice. Alternately add shredded coconut and the orange juice mixture to the batter.

    4. Step 4

      In the clean bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip 6 egg whites until soft peaks form. Gently fold into batter.

    5. Step 5

      Divide batter evenly among prepared pans. Bake for 45 to 60 minutes. Cool in pans on wire rack. Unmold cakes once cool.

  2. Make the Frosting

    1. Step 6

      In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and cream cheese. Add vanilla extract. Gradually add confectioners’ sugar, scraping down sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Mix until combined and fluffy.

    2. Step 7

      Spread ¼-inch-thick layer of frosting on top of the first layer of cake. Sprinkle with toasted coconut. Place next cake layer on top and repeat with frosting and coconut. Repeat with the third layer, spreading frosting on top and around sides of cake. Hold cake steadily in one hand and use other hand to pat remaining coconut onto edges of cake.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
1,691 user ratings
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Comments

BeS

Despite trawling through and cooking from a couple of dozen food-related sites and blogs weekly, I've never taken the time to write a single comment. Until now. I made this cake for a dear friend's birthday whose mother used to make him a coconut cake every year until she passed away 25 years ago. He tasted this and nearly cried with joy. "I didn't think I'd ever taste a cake again that I liked as much as mom's. This one surpasses it." Home run.

Rich

Can this just be simply adjusted to two 9 inch layers, rather than 3 8 inch pans, for those of us who just have sets of 2 pans rather than 3?

A. Miller

If you are having 20+ people for Easter, and have out of town houseguests, and your husband is in the clergy, and you sing in the choir, and it is 1 am on Easter and you are finishing the icing and questioning your life choices and wondering whether this cake is worth it, it TOTALLY is. And I'm not just saying that because I gave up sweets for Lent; this is without a doubt one of the best cakes I have ever made. Thank you for yet another wonderful recipe!

LarissaC

This cake had a great flavor and the frosting was super easy to work with and also had good flavor. My family’s feedback was that it is very, very dense and they were divided 3 to 3 on the mouthfeel of the coconut in the cake. I added sliced strawberries between the layers and the bite and tartness added some good texture and flavor contrast. I’ll make it again and see if I can get it to be a bit lighter by pulsing the coconut a few times on the blender to make it smaller. I’d also like to try it with mango between the layers.

Cj

Takes quite a while to do the whole process, I’ve made it twice and each time was about 4 hours but it’s a winner. Everyone in my family asks for this cake for every occasion and is in love with how light the frosting is as well. It is worth the time and effort! Best cake recipe I’ve found so far.

Sooo Dense

This may be user error, but I feel that the amount of coconut in the cake creates an overly dense crumb. I loved the frosting with the toasted coconut. I also cut the amount of sugar in the frosting by half.

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Credits

Adapted from Larissa Raphael, Telepan, New York

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