Coconut Layer Cake with 7-Minute Frosting

   As soon as I knew we were doing coconut, I knew I would make a coconut cake. While I am personally not a fan of coconut cake, my mother and sister absolutely love it, so I made this for them. I used two different recipes here. The cake recipe comes from Sarah Foster’s newest cookbook and the frosting is a Paula Deen recipe. I delivered this cake to my mom at work today, and the verdict? Everyone raved about it! If you’re a fan of coconut cake, then make it this weekend.
---Karly

COCONUT LAYER CAKE WITH SEVEN MINUTE FROSTING

For the cake:
1 ½ cups canola oil
3 cups sugar
6 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 ½ cups milk, at room temperature
3-4 cups sweetened, flaked coconut

For the frosting:
1 ½ cups sugar
¼ teaspoon cream of tarter OR 1 Tablespoon light corn syrup (I used the corn syrup)
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup water
2 egg whites
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease and flour three 8- or 9-inch cake pans. (I used 8-inch pans.)
In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside. Put the canola oil in a large bowl and beat with electric mixer on high speed; add sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl each time. Add the
vanilla and stir to combine. Now, add the flour mixture and the milk mixture alternately, starting and ending with the flour, after each addition, stir until just incorporated. Divide the batter evenly between the three pans (fill them about halfway up) and bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. (Mine took 35 minutes.) Cool the cakes completely before frosting.

Start the frosting after the cakes have cooled. In the top pot of a double boiler, or a bowl set over a pot of boiling water, put the sugar, corn syrup, salt, water, and egg whites. With a handheld mixer, beat on high speed for one minute, then set over the boiling water and beat on high speed for seven minutes (thus the name). Take off of the heat, and beat in the vanilla. Make sure you don’t let the bottom of the pot actually touch the water, because it could cause the frosting to curdle.

To assemble the cake, cut any rounded tops off of each layer to level. Put one layer of cake on serving platter, then spread some frosting on the top and then press coconut onto the frosting. Add the second layer and frost the top, then add coconut. Finally, add the third layer, frost the top and sides of the cake, and press coconut all over top and sides.

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