This cake was made to celebrate mom’s 70th birthday. Although, the cake came about 3 weeks late. There were so many celebrations going on that I decided to wait a bit and make the cake during her next visit after our trip to Mammoth.
Adapted from http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/six-layer-coconut-cake-passion-fruit-filling. I cut down the sugar a bit.
Ingredients-Cake
- 2 cups flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 6 TBSP water
- 8 TBSP butter, softened to room temperature
- 10 TBSP coconut milk (unsweetened)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 tsp coconut extract
- 3 egg whites
- 1 fresh mango, for garnish
- Coconut chips for garnish
With a whisk attachment, beat egg whites until soft peaks (about 2 minutes). Pour into a bowl and set aside.
Change to a paddle and combine butter, water, coconut milk, vanilla, coconut extract until well combine.
Whisk dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, salt) in a bowl, then add to the butter mixture. Mix on high for about 2 minutes until the batter is smooth.
Fold in egg whites until not white streaks remain.
Pour evenly into 2 heavily buttered 6-inch cake pans (2 inches high).
Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes until golden brown. *NOTE: I tried spreading this batter over two 8-inch pans with then intention of making a 4 layer cake, but they turned out flat, thin and too crisp. They also didn’t spread well. I don’t recall this the first time I made this cake. I noticed that the batter was pretty dry before adding the egg white. Perhaps needed more coconut milk or there just wasn’t enough batter.
Let cool on rack for about 10-15 minutes, then invert cake and allow to cool completely.
Split the cakes in half (we will only use 3 layers for the cake)
Add about 1/4 cup filling (recipe below) between each layer. Pipe a ring of whipped cream around the perimeter of the top layer about 1 inch wide.
Frost remainder of the cake with whipped cream (recipe below). Decorate the top with fresh mango. Cover sides with coconut.
Ingredients-Mango Filling
- 3 TBSP sugar
- 3/4 cup mango nectar (I used Naked Juice’s Mango Madness)
- 2 TBSP cornstarch
- 2 egg yolks
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 2q TBSP butter
- Squeeze fresh lemon juice
In a small saucepan, add about 1/2c mango nectar and sugar. Heat over medium heat till warmed.
In a bowl, add cornstarch and egg yolks. Add heated mango puree to the eggs to temper, then add eggs to the saucepan and cook until bubbling. Mango should be thickened and cornstarch cooked through.
Stir in vanilla and butter. Stir in lemon juice to taste. Chill.
When ready to use, stir in remaining mango puree for desired consistency and fresh fruit taste.
Ingredients-Whipped Cream (enough to frost one cake)
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 TBSP sugar
- few drops of coconut extract
Beat till soft peaks
NOTE: I tried using a coconut cream filling (like what I use for coconut cream pie, with just a tad less cornstarch). I found that it was too rich, and prefer the contrast of the tangy and bright mango instead.
Nesting On A Hill 