My mother found this recipe in an issue of Southern Living and it has become her go-to coconut layer cake because, she says, it’s very moist and stays fresh for several days. The icing also never gets hard or sugary, like some confectioners’ sugar-based frostings do.
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
5 eggs, separated
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda dissolved in 1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon coconut extract
2/3 cup flaked coconut
Pinch of cream of tartar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom of 2 9-inch round pans. Line with wax or parchment paper and grease paper. Cream butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar; then add egg yolks. Beat until well mixed. Mix dry ingredients together and add alternately with buttermilk to butter mixture. Stir in flavorings. In a clean dry bowl with clean beaters, beat egg whites until frothy. Add cream of tartar and continue beating egg whites until stiff, but not dry. Gently fold egg whites into batter. Turn batter into prepared pans. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 30 minutes. Let cakes rest in pans for approximately 10 minutes before turning out on to racks to cool. Spread approximately ½ cup of frosting (below) on 1 cake layer (you may also sprinkle frosted cake layer with additional coconut). Top with second cake layer and frost top and sides of cake, sprinkling top of cake with additional coconut if you like.
No-Cook Fluffy Frosting
1/3 cup soft butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 unbeaten egg whites
1 1-pound box confectioners’ sugar
Beat butter, vanilla and salt until fluffy. Add egg whites and sugar alternately. Beat until well mixed and fluffy.
