Ina Garten's Coconut Cake
Ingredients
- Unsalted butter - ¾ pound 3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing the pans
- Sugar - 2 cups sugar
- Eggs - 5 extra-large eggs at room temperature
- Vanilla extract - 1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- Almond extract - 1½ teaspoons pure almond extract
- All-purpose flour - 3 cups plus more for dusting the pans
- Baking powder - 1 teaspoon baking powder
- Baking soda - ½ teaspoon baking soda
- Kosher salt - ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- Milk - 1 cup milk
- Shredded coconut - 4 ounces of sweetened shredded coconut
For the frosting
- Cream cheese - 1 pound of cream cheese at room temperature
- Unsalted butter - ½ pound 2 sticks of unsalted butter, at room temperature
- Vanilla extract - ¾ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Almond extract - ¼ teaspoon pure almond extract
- Confectioners’ sugar - 1 pound of confectioners’ sugar sifted
- Shredded coconut - 6 ounces of sweetened shredded coconut
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Prepare two 9-inch round cake pans lining them with parchment paper, greasing them, and lightly dusting them with flour.
- Cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer using a paddle attachment on medium-high speed.
- Mix for 3 to 5 minutes until they turn light yellow and fluffy.
- Add the eggs one at a time with the mixer still on medium speed, scraping down the bowl once during mixing.
- Add the vanilla and almond extracts and mix well. Don't worry if the mixture appears curdled.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl.
- Add the dry ingredients (mixed together in step 7) and the milk to the batter with the mixer on low speed in the following way: i) 1/3 milk ii) 1/3 dry ingredients iii) 1/3 milk iv) 1/3 dry ingredients v) 1/3 milk vi) 1/3 dry ingredients.
- Mix until combined.
- Fold in the coconut using a rubber spatula.
- Pour the batter into the pans and smooth the tops with a knife.
- Bake in the oven for 45 to 55 minutes until the tops turn brown and a knife comes out clean.
- Set aside the cakes for 30 minutes.
- Turn them out onto a wiring rack to finish cooling.
For the frosting:
- Combine the cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and almond extract with a mixer on low speed.
- Add the confectioner's sugar and mix until just smooth, avoiding overmixing.
To assemble the cake
- Place one layer on a flat serving plate with the top side down and spread frosting over it.
- Place the second layer on top, top side up, and frost the top and sides of the cake.
- Decorate by sprinkling coconut on top and lightly pressing more coconut onto the sides. Serve the cake at room temperature.
Notes
- Make sure the butter, eggs, and cream cheese are at room temperature for optimal results.
- Toasting the shredded coconut before using it as a topping adds a lovely nutty flavor.
- For an extra coconut kick, you can brush the cake layers with coconut syrup before frosting.