Lemon Coconut Cake
Perfectly sweet coconut cake layers, with a smooth lemon curd, all held together with a light lemon buttercream and decorated with white chocolate coconut ganache and shredded coconut!
Ingredients
For the Cake Layers
- 3 ¼ cups flour
- 3 cups sugar
- 2 ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup butter 2 sticks
- 1 cup egg whites about 7 eggs worth
- 1 ½ cup buttermilk
- ⅛ cup vegetable oil
- ⅓ cup cream of coconut
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1½ tsp coconut extract
For the Lemon Curd (from Paula Deen)
- 1 cup sugar
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 1 cup fresh lemon juice
- 4 large egg yolks
- ½ cup butter 1 stick, cubed and softened
For the Lemon Buttercream
- 4 sticks butter softened
- 7-8 cups powdered sugar
- 3-5 tbsp heavy whipping cream
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2-3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1-2 tsp fresh lemon zest
For the White Chocolate Coconut Ganache
- 1½ cup white chocolate chips
- ¼-½ cup heavy whipping cream (or more, depending on thickness)
- 2 tbsp cream of coconut
- 1 tsp coconut extract
Toppings
- fresh coconut
- toasted coconut
- fresh lemon slices, or lemon sour candies for decoration
Instructions
For the Coconut Cake Layers
- Pre heat oven to 350°. Spray and line 3, 8" cake pans. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Mix in softened butter until no large pieces are left and mixture is like a crumbly sand.
- Mix in egg whites until just combined. Slowly, add in half of the buttermilk, mix, then add in the rest, along with the oil, vanilla, coconut extract, and cream of coconut.
- Mix until JUST combine. Then turn mixer speed up to high and let whip for abpout 15 seconds. Mixture should be light and fluffy.
- Evenly distribute batter into each pan. Bake for about 15 minutes, check, and add more time if needed. Cake should not be wobbly, and a toothpick should come out clean.
- Let cakes cool in their pan for about 10 minutes, then turn onto a cooling wire rack. Let cool completely before frosting. I even like to make mine a day or two before, wrap them in cling wrap, and freeze them!
For the Lemon Curd
- in a large sauce pan, whisk together the sugar and cornstarch. Whisk in lemon juice until cornstarch is dissolved and mixture is smooth. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until mixture is hot.
- In a medium bowl, whisk egg yolks together. Whisking constantly, slowly add one-fourth of the hot lemon mixture to yolks, to temper. Whisk egg mixture into lemon mixture, and cook, whisking constantly, until thickened, 10-12 minutes. Remove from heat, and whisk in butter, a few pieces at a time, until melted and smooth. Pour mixture into a large bowl, and cover with plastic wrap, pressing wrap directly onto surface to prevent skin forming. Refrigerate until thickened and cold, about 4 hours or up to 3 days.
For the Lemon Buttercream
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, whip butter until fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Slowly add the powdered sugar one cup at a time, adding small splashes of heavy cream in between. Once all powdered sugar is added, and mixture is smooth, add lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, and vanilla. Whip it up to combine. Frosting might need some more powdered sugar, so keep some on hand.
For the White Chocolate Coconut Ganache
- In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients, starting slightly lower on the heavy cream. Microwave in incriments of 30 seconds, stirring well in between. If it seems too thick, add more heavy cream. Mixture should be creamy.