Coconut Cake

It's been a week or so since I brought anything in to my office and I could tell my co-workers were getting hungry for sweets, so I went searching for something to make them. While searching I found this group of bloggers who had made recipes from the Sky High cake book and a lot of the recipes looked really good. I was finally able to narrow it down to three although it was a pretty tough decision. It was between the Banana Pecan Praline Cake, the Chai Tea Spice Cake, and the Southern Coconut Cake.

When I went home i realized that someone had thrown away the ripe bananas I planned to use for the praline cake so that was out. I didn't have and chai tea in the house and didn't feel like running to the grocery store for such a random ingredient (my laziness strikes again!!) so that cake was scratched off the list. So it was settled, I would be making the Southern Coconut Cake, which was good because a can of coconut milk had been sitting on the pantry shelf for about a month and I wasn't about to make curry with it.




So I made the cake, which was a pretty simple white cake with the addition of coconut milk, and baked them. I used a cream cheese frosting and covered the sides with sweetened shredded coconut. Next time I think I might try to incorporate some of the shredded coconut into the batter because the cake itself didn't have much of a coconut flavor, but boy was it DELICIOUS. It was unbelievably moist, especially for a white cake, and had an awesome texture. I can't wait to try more recipes from the book!

Southern Coconut Cake (adapted from Sky High: Irresistible Triple Layer Cakes)

5 egg whites
1/2 cup milk
3 cups cake flour
2 1/3 cups granulated sugar
4 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup butter, room temp
1 cup light coconut milk
2 tsp vanilla bean paste

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Spray 3 8" cake pans and line the bottom with parchment.

2. Combine the egg whites and milk in small bowl. Beat shortly to help separate the egg whites. In a large bowl combine the dry ingredients. Beat the butter into the mix (I cut it up before putting it in to help it incorproate) until it resembles wet sand. Add the coconut milk and beat. Add the egg white mixture in 3 additions, beating after each. Beat until fully combined.

3. Divide into the 3 pans and bake for 25-30 or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Let cool in the pan.

Cream Cheese Frosting

2 8oz pkgs cream cheese, softened
1 cup butter softened
2-3 cups confectioners sugar
1 tsp vanilla bean paste

1. Beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the butter and beat until fully combined. Slowly add in the sugar until you reach your desired consistency. Add the vanilla and beat until incorporated. Refrigerate the crosting until you're ready to asseble your cake. ENJOY!