Coconut Cake

Sweet, light, and fluffy. Even better two days later. Adapted from Tastes Better from Scratch.

Ingredients

Coconut Cake:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

• 2 cups granulated sugar

• 13.5 ounces canned coconut milk

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 Tablespoon baking powder

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 5 large egg whites

Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 1/4 cup butter, room temperature

• 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

• 4 cups powdered sugar

• 1 – 2 Tablespoons leftover coconut milk , regular milk

• 1 cup shredded sweetened coconut (Optional additional ¼ cup for decoration)

Instructions

Cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two 8 inch cake pans with parchment paper and grease the pans.

2. Cream butter and sugar in an electric mixer.

3. Add 1¼ cups canned coconut milk. Mix.

4. Add flour, baking powder and salt. Mix. 

5. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. (Best done with an electric hand mixer)

6. Fold the egg whites into the batter. 

7. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans. 

8. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean or nearly clean. My oven took 28 minutes. 

Frosting and assembly:

1. Beat butter and cream cheese together until smooth. Add powdered sugar and about ¼ cup of the remaining coconut milk and mix until smooth. If necessary to reach desired consistency, add a little more milk to thin or powdered sugar to stiffen. Stir in shredded coconut. 

2. Frost top of one cake layer before placing the second cake layer on top. Generously frost sides and top of the assembled cake. If desired, sprinkled the top and sides of the cake with additional shredded coconut, about ¼ cup. 

Note: Especially if stored in an airtight container (like a domed cake stand) at room temperature, this tastes even better the next day/two days later.