Coconut Layer Cake

This weekend I pulled out Cake Days and flipped through till I found something I wanted to bake. Lately I feel like I haven’t had much time to bake anything, so on Friday I decided to change that. I’m hoping that next week I will be able to bake something new every day, set myself a bit of a baking challenge. It should be fun, I better make sure my stretchy pants are washed and ready.

Anyway this time around, I baked a coconut layer cake. The actual cake is easy to make, but the icing process takes some time because you have to wait for it to cool and thenit has to set in the fridge, but it’s worth it in the end when your cake is pretty much smiling in real homemade coconut custard. This is the first time I have ever made real custard too, It came out really nicely.

I really enjoyed the taste of this cake and the sponge itself is really light and airy, but next time around i’m definitely making a slight tweak. I think I may add some lemon to the actual cake part of it to give it a bit of tartness to counterbalance the coconut flavour. I’ll let you know how that turns out, but for now here is the recipe, if you’re wanting to have a go…

For the sponge:

Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 170° and then line 3 tins with baking parchment.

2. Using an hand held mixer or electric mixer with the paddle attachment, mix the butter, sugar, flour, baking powder, desiccated coconut and salt together on a low speed until sandy in consistency.

3. Place the eggs in a jug with the coconut milk and whole milk and mix together by hand. With the electric mixer on low, pour the liquid ingredients into the dry mixture and beat until they are all combined.

4. Divide the batter equally between the 3 baking tins, then place in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the sponges are golden brown and springy to the touch. I baked mine for 20 minutes. Allow to cool in the tin for a bit, before turning them out.

For the filling:

1. While the cakes cool, you can start making the custard cream for the filling and icing. Pour coconut milk. whole milk and vanilla essence into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Meanwhile, put the egg yolks in a bowl, along with the sugar, flour and cornflour and mix together to form a thick paste. If it’s too dry to come together, you can add 1 tablespoon of milk to loosen it up.

2. Once the milk mixture has come to a boil, add 4-5 tablespoons to the past and stir until the paste has become a thick liquid. Pour this into the pan with the remaining milk mixture. Stirring constantly, bring the custard back to the boil and allow to thicken. It should boil for a least 1 minute to allow the flour and cornflour to cook.

3. Pour the custard onto a baking tray and cover with cling wrap to stop a skin from forming. Leave to cool completely for about 30  minutes. Meanwhile, whip the 200mls cream until it forms soft peaks.

4. Place the cooled custard in a separate bowl, mixing it to break it up, as it will have set while in the tray. Keep stirring until the custard is smooth, then fold the whipped cream into the custard and leave in the fridge for 20-30 minutes to chill and set slightly.

5. Once the sponges have cooled, you can assemble the cake. Place the first layer on a plate and top with 3-4 tablespoons of custard cream. Smooth it out using a pallet knife, add a bit more if needed.

6. Continue this process, adding the second layer of sponge and topping it with custard, followed by the third. Using the remainder of the custard cream to frost the rest of the cake.

7. To finish, generously sprinkle coconut shavings all over the top and side of the cake.