Coconut Cake with Coconut Cream Filling
This light, airy, and moist coconut cake is loaded with the goodness of coconut. It uses desiccated coconut and coconut cream in the cake as well as in the filling. And, it's frosted with a delicious Swiss meringue buttercream.
Servings 9 servings
Calories 464kcal
Cost $30
Equipment
- Stand Mixer
- Kitchen Scale
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 cups All-purpose flour
- 1 cup Coconut desiccated or shredded
- 11/2 tsp Baking powder
- ½ tsp Baking soda
- ¼ tsp Salt
- 2 Eggs large
- 1 cup Sugar
- ⅓ cup Oil flavorless cooking
- ½ cup Coconut cream
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp Coconut extract
Coconut cream filling
- 1 cup Coconut cream canned
- ½ cup Powdered sugar
- 1 cup Desiccated coconut
- 2 tbsp Cornstarch
- ¼ tsp Salt
Swiss meringue buttercream
- 3 Egg whites
- ¾ cup Sugar
- 8 oz Butter (2 sticks)unsalted, room temperature
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp Coconut extract
- ¼ tsp Salt
- ⅛ tsp Cream of tartar (optional)
Plus
- ½ cup Simple syrup
- 2 cups Coconut shredded / desiccated for the sides (optional)
- 1 Cherry or coconut flakes for garnish
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven at 170 C / 340 F.
- Grease and dust or line 3 x 6-inch round cake pan or 2 x 7-inch round cake pan with parchment paper.
- Combine well flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt - set aside.
- In a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, whip the whole eggs.
- After a minute, gradually add the sugar a tablespoon at a time.
- After all the sugar is in, continue to whip the eggs for 2 to 3 minutes until a ribbon stage.
- Then, gradually add the oil, a little at a time. We need the oil to emulsify with the whipped eggs (read notes).
- Next, add the vanilla extract and coconut extract - combine well.
- Followed by the shredded or desiccated coconut - combine well.
- Finally, add the flour mixture and coconut cream in three batches.
- Once all the flour is in, do not over mix - use a spatula to scrape the bowl well.
- Divide the batter between the prepared cake pans.
- Tip - I used cake strips dipped in water to prevent a dome on my cakes.
- Bake on the middle rack for 25 to 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Cool in the pan for 5 minutes then invert on a cooling rack for another 10 minutes
- Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the fridge to cool completely before decorating
Coconut cream filling
- In a saucepan, add coconut cream, desiccated coconut, powdered sugar, salt, and cornstarch.
- Cook on low heat for 3 to 4 minutes until everything is heated through and thicken (see consistency in the video).
- Set aside to cool completely.
- Prepare the simple syrup and let cool completely.
Swiss meringue buttercream
- I shared how to make Swiss meringue buttercream in this video.
- Place egg whites and sugar in the bowl of the stand mixer.
- Using a whisk, place the bowl over a double boiler and constantly whip until all the sugar has dissolved and the egg whites are fairly warm (about 160 F).
- Take the bowl off the heat and whip the egg whites until you have a thick meringue with stiff peaks.
- Let the mixer continue to whip on medium-low until the mixer bowl feels cool to touch.
- Then, gradually add butter, one cube at a time, with the mixer on medium speed.
- Once all the butter is in, whip on medium-high for 2 minutes.
- Lastly, add the vanilla extract and rum.
Assemble
- Once cooled, cut the domes off the cake layers with a serrated bread knife or cake leveler.
- Brush each layer with simple syrup on both sides.Tip - Simple syrup is just water and sugar boiled then cooled. This keeps the cake moist
- Place a cake layer on the cake board or cake stand.
- Fill the cake - Pipe a buttercream dam on the cake layer (see video).
- Top with a big dollop of the coconut cream filling – spread evenly with an offset spatula or spoon but within the piped buttercream dam/edge (see video).
- Then, top the second cake layer on top followed by buttercream dam and filling.
- Then, place the last cake layer on top.
- Place the cake in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, so the layers hold together and the filling will not leak out.
- Crumb coat - Spread more buttercream around and top of the cake with a spatula (see video).
- Chill the cake for another 15 to 30 minutes.
- Second coat - then, spread more buttercream around and top fo the cake.
- Use a bench scraper to smooth the sides of the cake and an offset spatula to smooth the top. Chill cake for 30 minutes.
- Final smoothing - dip an off-set spatula and bench scraper in warm water and smooth the sides and top of the cake.
- Chill the cake for 15 minutes.
- Place the desiccated coconut on a parchment paper and spread it on the sides of the cake as shown in the video.
- Tip - if you chill the cake for too long and the cake dries out just moisten the cake with some water before you add the coconut.
- Add the remaining frosting in a large piping bag with the star tip.
- Pipe a border on top of the cake (see video).
- Garnish - I had cherries in the season so I used a lone cherry today (see video).
Video
Notes
- Add the sugar gradually to the egg or they won't whip to light and foamy
- Similarly add oil gradually so they emulsify in the egg similar to mayonnaise. If you add the oil to quickly the eggs will separate during baking causing it to deflate and give you a greasy cake.
- Combine the flour and coconut cream in three batches and combine well but do not over mix to prevent deflating the whipped eggs
- Keep an eye on the cake close to the baking time. Coconut cakes tend to dry out quickly. You want to check at about 20 minutes
- Let cool on the
- Read my post - 10 tips to baking a cake from scratch
Nutrition
Calories: 464kcal | Carbohydrates: 55g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Cholesterol: 53mg | Sodium: 277mg | Potassium: 237mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 41g | Vitamin A: 426IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 77mg | Iron: 1mg