Cake Recipes
Gooey Coconut Cake
Ingredients
Coconut Custard Filling
- 1 1/4 cups milk
- 1 1/4 cups coconut milk, shaken well
- 5 egg yolks
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/3 cups shredded coconut
Cake
- 2 2/3 cups cake flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup butter, in pieces
- 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
- 4 egg yolks
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1/2 cup shredded coconut
- 4 egg whites
Coconut Drizzle
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
Swirl Frosting
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 cup light corn syrup
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 3 egg whites
Instructions
- Coconut Custard Filling: In a heavy medium-size saucepan, warm milk and coconut milk. Place a strainer over a large bowl set in a larger bowl of ice.
- In a bowl with a pouring spout, beat the yolks, cornstarch and sugar together until smooth and ribbon-like, about 1 minute.
- Whisk half the hot milk into the yolks, then pour back into the remaining milk and slowly bring to a boil. Boil, whisking constantly, for 1 minute. Custard will thicken quickly. Immediately strain. Stir in vanilla extract, and keep stirring to cool.
- Spread shredded coconut on a cookie sheet. Toast at 350 degrees F about 15 minutes, or until lightly browned. Reserve 1/3 cup for top of cake.
- Add remaining coconut to custard. Press plastic wrap directly over the surface of the custard
to prevent skin from forming, and chill for about 2 hours.
- Cake: Grease 2 (9-inch) cake pans. Line with wax paper traced to fit the
bottoms of the pans. Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Sift dry ingredients together 3 times.
- In another bowl, cream butter with sugar until fluffy.
- Add yolks, one at a time, beating until each one is incorporated.
- Add vanilla extract.
- Alternately add coconut milk and dry ingredients to butter-egg mixture.
- Fold in the 1/2 cup shredded coconut.
- Beat egg whites to stiff, glossy peaks, then gently fold into batter.
- Pour batter into the prepared pans.
- Bake for 25 minutes.
- Cool in pans set on racks for 10 minutes.
- Run a knife around pans and turn cakes out on racks to cool completely.
- Coconut Drizzle: Mix together coconut milk and sugar and pour liquid over
cake layers before frosting.
- Swirl Frosting: Bring water, corn syrup and sugar to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook until mixture is clear and can spin a thread (230 degrees F to 234 degrees F). If sugar browns, it will become too caramelized and frosting will be stiff.
- Meanwhile, beat egg whites to stiff peaks. Adding the hot sugar mixture in a slow stream, beat it into the whites, and keep beating about 5 minutes, until glossy, stiff peaks form and frosting is cool.
- To assemble, trim any hardened surfaces from cake recipes, then halve them horizontally.
- Brush Coconut Drizzle on the layers with a pastry brush. Fill and frost cake with Swirl Frosting.
- Sprinkle reserved toasted coconut on top of cake.