This Classic Coconut Lemon Cake is sweet and tart and guaranteed to make a birthday believer out of even the crankiest celebrants.
Some people are real curmudgeons about their birthdays. Now, I’m not saying that I live with someone like that, I’m just saying that those people exist. In my house. And it’s not me.
The anti-Birthday crowd is not interested in a jovial party or a fancy dinner at a restaurant, where a waiter might humiliate you at the end of a meal by bringing all the busboys over for a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday. No, thank you! A quiet dinner at home is quite sufficient!
But if you’re like me, you simply cannot allow the birthday of a loved one to pass by without a just a bit of excitement. This Classic Coconut Lemon Cake is sweet and tart and guaranteed to make a birthday believer out of even the crankiest celebrants. This recipe calls for cake flour, which is widely available at supermarkets and yields a more tender cake with a finer crumb.
Pull out all the stops for the next birthday party at your house with this homemade treat.
Classic Coconut Lemon Cake
For the cake:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
additional butter or nonstick cooking spray for greasing the pans
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
4 large eggs, at room temperature
3 cups cake flour
1 cup milk, room temperature
1 cup sweetened, shredded coconut
For the filling and frosting:
1 1/3 cups prepared lemon curd
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
2 cups confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups sweetened, shredded coconut
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
First the cake: place the softened butter, sugar, baking powder, salt, vanilla extract, and almond extract in a large mixing bowl. Use a hand mixer to combine the ingredients until they are soft and fluffy, about three to five minutes on high.
Mix the eggs in, one at a time, and scrape down the sides of the bowl after each addition.
Mix in half the flour, then the milk, then the remainder of the flour.
Finally, stir in the coconut.
Prepare two nine-inch cake pans by cutting rounds of parchment paper to fit exactly in the bottom of the pan. Grease the pans well on the bottom and sides, and then insert the parchment paper. Also grease the top of the parchment paper.
Divide the batter evenly into both pans. Smooth the top and place the pans into the oven. Bake for 35-40 minutes, rotating the pans from top to bottom halfway through cooking. The cakes are cooked when a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
Remove the cake pans from the oven. Let cool in the pans for thirty minutes. Then carefully invert each cake onto a plate and allow it to fully cool.
Meanwhile, make the frosting. Place the butter, cream cheese, almond extract, and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl. Use. Hand mixer to combine, on high, until the mixture is light and fluffy, about three minutes. Add the confectioners sugar, and mix it in, on low at first, and then gradually on a higher setting.
If the tops of the cake rounds have a very high dome, use a serrated knife to carefully slice off the top and even it out.
Place the first cake round on a plate. Top it with the lemon curd, spreading it evenly over the top. Flip the other cake round over and place it face down directly on top of the lemon curd.
Frost the cake on all sides, and then sprinkle with the remaining coconut.
This cake will yield ten servings.