Coconut Cake

Coconut Cake - made May 5, 2013, recipe adapted from Cookin' Food

I had actually planned to make my standby coconut cake recipe as part of my "Top Favorites" series but I got sidetracked with this recipe I'd pinned on pinterest so I thought I'd give it a shot instead.  Whenever I think of coconut cake, I always picture a multi-layer cake frosted with cream cheese frosting and covered with coconut.  It always looks impressive and enticing.  But, since I was making this to distribute at work, it was better to make in a 9 x 13 pan instead for easier cutting and serving.

This has ingredients similar to my favorite coconut cake recipe but the main difference was in my standby recipe, you separate the eggs and beat the whites separately to fold into the batter.  That makes for a lighter texture and I could really tell the difference between the two.  My recipe also doesn't include coconut extract and I don't like to use the extract because it gives an artificial taste so instead I substituted coconut oil.  The taste wasn't really apparent like it was in the Coconut Chocolate Chip cookies though so I don't know if it really added anything. This was a nice butter cake with coconut but I think I prefer the Mrs. Fields' recipe for taste and texture. Looks like I may need to make that recipe again after all to satisfy my sweet tooth for coconut cake.

1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
1 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons coconut extract (I used 2 teaspoons coconut oil)
5 eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.  Spray two 8” round pans with cooking spray and line bottoms with parchment paper (or you can line a 9 x 13 pan with foil and spray with cooking spray).
2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt.  Mix together and set aside.
3. In a small bowl, combine buttermilk, vanilla, and coconut extract.  Mix together with whisk or fork.  Set aside.
4. In a separate, large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time.  Beat well after adding each one.
5. Alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk combination to butter mixture until all is combined and mixed until smooth. Add 1/2 cup of the coconut and reserve the other half to sprinkle over the frosted cake.
6. Pour batter evenly between the two prepared 8” pans.  Bang pans lightly on hard surface a few times, like a counter or table, to force air bubbles in batter to come to the surface.
7. Bake for approximately 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted near the center of the cake.
8. Allow cakes to cool in pans for at least one hour.  Transfer to wire racks to finish cooling.  When completely cool, frost with your favorite frosting and sprinkle reserved coconut on top.. (I typically use the cream cheese frosting recipe from my standby coconut cake recipe - link above.)