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Burnzie's Coconut Layer Cake

Source of Recipe

From "In the Kitchen with David" by David Venable


Recipe Introduction

"As a proper Southern lady, my grandmother wanted to be called Mother Burns, not Grandma, by her grandchildren. That was quite a mouthful for some of us, so over time she became Burnzie. She was also a fine Southern cook and baked this coconut layer cake for just about every family gathering. I remember how she clamped a hand-cranked grinder to the edge of the counter to shave the fresh coconut. When she sprinkled the shaved coconut on top of the frosted cake, she called it snow. She decorated this cake for every holiday. I can remember that for Easter dinner she topped the cake with colorful jelly beans. Burnzie had an all-white kitchen with bright red Formica countertops. When we arrived for dinner and went into the kitchen through a swinging door, the first thing we saw was this all-white dessert on a white cake pedestal against the red Formica. Everyone oohed and ahed and said that the cake was just too beautiful to eat. But, of course, we did!"

List of Ingredients

Cake:
â—¦ 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
â—¦ 1 teaspoon baking powder
â—¦ ½ teaspoon baking soda
â—¦ ½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus a pinch
â—¦ 1 ¾ cups sugar
â—¦ ½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
â—¦ 1 15-ounce can cream of coconut, such as Coco Lopez
â—¦ 4 large eggs, separated
â—¦ 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
â—¦ 1 cup buttermilk

Seven-Minute Frosting:
â—¦ 1 ½ cups sugar
â—¦ 4 large egg whites
â—¦ ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
â—¦ â…› teaspoon kosher salt
â—¦ 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
â—¦ 4 cups shredded sweetened coconut
â—¦ ½ cup jelly beans (optional)


Recipe

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Butter and flour two 9 by 2-inch round cake pans.

To make the cake, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Combine the sugar, butter, and cream of coconut in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolks and vanilla. With the mixer on low, beat in the flour mixture and then the buttermilk, just until blended.

Wash and dry the beaters. In a separate large bowl, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff but not dry. Carefully fold the beaten egg whites into the batter. Divide the batter between the prepared pans. Bake the layers until a tester inserted into the centers of the layers comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Cool the layers in the pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Run a small sharp knife around the edges of the pans to loosen the layers. Turn the layers out onto the rack and allow them to cool completely.

To make the frosting, clip a candy thermometer to the side of a saucepan. Put the sugar and ½ cup water in the saucepan and heat until the candy thermometer reads 240° F. Put the egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on low speed just until the egg whites are frothy. Slowly pour in the hot sugar mixture. Gradually increase the speed to high, beating until the mixture holds stiff peaks, for 7 minutes. Add the vanilla. Cover and chill the frosting in the refrigerator until ready to use, up to 4 hours in advance.

To assemble the cake, place one cake layer on a plate. Spread with 1 cup of the frosting and sprinkle with 1 cup of the shredded coconut. Top with the second cake layer and spread the remaining 3 cups coconut over the top and sides of the cake. Sprinkle the remaining 3 cups coconut over the cake, gently pressing it into the sides to adhere. Garnish with the jelly beans, if using. (The cake can be assembled up to 1 day ahead. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Let the cake stand at room temperature for 2 hours before serving.)

Makes 10 to 12 servings