Coconut Cream Cake

5 from 5 votes

You won't want to miss this tender, flavorful Coconut Cream Cake with its white chiffon layers that are, by far, the lightest, most tender, most moist white cake I've ever found. It is filled to the brim with a coconut laden pastry cream and finished with whipped cream and coconut.

Prep Time1

Cook Time20

Chill Time1

Total Time1 1 20

Course: Cake, Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Coconut Cake

Servings: servings

Calories: 582kcal

Author: Helen S Fletcher

Equipment

3 9x2 inch round pans
Parchment Paper
Stand Mixer
Large offset spatula
Medium size metal spatula

Ingredients

White Chiffon Cake Layers

2 ¼ cup sifted cake flour (225 grams or 8 ounces)
1 cup sugar, + 1 tablespoon (215 grams or 7 ½ ounces)
2 teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
⅓ cup non-fat dry milk (30 grams or 1 ounce)*
½ cup vegetable oil
⅓ cup water
3 eggs, separated
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons almond extract
⅔ cup water
½ teaspoon cream of tarter
½ cup granulated sugar (100 grams or 3 ½ ounces)
* If you don't have access to dry milk powder, substitute 1 cup of milk or half and half for the 1 cup of water. All the rest is the same.

Pastry Cream

1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
1 tablespoon cold water
1 ⅓ cup milk
4 large egg yolks
½ cup granulated sugar (100 grams or 3 ½ ounces)
3 tablespoon flour (40 grams or 1 ½ ounces)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Assembly

1 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons powdered sugar (22 grams or ¾ ounce)
Pastry Cream, chilled
2 cups Coconut Sweetened and shredded (170 grams or 6 ounces)
3 White Chiffon Cake Layers, thawed if frozen

Frosting

1 ½ cup heavy cream
⅓ cup powdered sugar (40 grams or 1 ⅓ ounces)
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups Coconut Sweetened and shredded (255 grams or 9 ounces)

Instructions

White Chiffon Cake Layers

Spray the center only of 3 - 9x2 inch round pans and line with parchment rounds. Spray the center only of the parchment. See Baking Pan Prep post for more information.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Place the flour, 1 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar, baking powder, salt, dry milk, vegetable oil, ⅓ cup water, egg yolks, vanilla and almond extracts in a mixing bowl. Mix on medium for 2 minutes, scraping well.
Lower the speed of the mixer and add the ⅔ cup water one half at a time, mixing well after each addition. The mixture will be very liquid.
In a clean mixing bowl fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites and cream of tarter until soft peaks form. Gradually add the remaining sugar, about a tablespoon at a time, and beat until medium stiff peaks form.
Taste the meringue to make sure the texture is smooth and doesn’t seem sandy. If it is, continue mixing until it is smooth to the tongue.
Whisk ¼ of the beaten whites into the batter; fold in the remaining whites.
Divide the batter evenly between the pans (about 320 grams or 11 ¼ ounces each pan).
Bake for 14 to 18 minutes. The cakes will be very slightly colored if at all, the tester will come out clean and the center will spring back when lightly touched.
After cooling, the layers will fall slightly and pull away from the sides of the pans – that is how it should be.

Pastry Cream

Soften the gelatin in the water and set aside.
In a small saucepan, heat the milk until very hot but not boiling. Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together in a non-reactive bowl. Whisk in the flour. Add the hot milk slowly, whisking well between additions.
Pour the mixture through a strainer into a medium size saucepan. Place over medium heat, whisking constantly, until it comes to a boil. Cook for 1 minute.
Remove from over the heat and tear the gelatin into pieces (there is no need to liquefy the gelatin, the heat of the mixture will do this for you). Add them to the hot mixture. Add the vanilla and whisk until smooth.
Transfer to a bowl. Place plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pastry cream, poke a few holes in it, and bring to room temperature. Chill at least 6 hours, up to 4 or 5 days in the refrigerator or freeze it for up to two months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight to use.
Yield: 2 cups

Filling and Assembly

Combine the cream and powdered sugar in mixing bowl; beat until stiff. Remove to another bowl.
Microwave the cold pastry cream for about 30 to 40 seconds to soften it. Whisk until smooth. Cool to room temperature.
Fold the whipped cream into the pastry cream. Stir the coconut into the filling.
Place one layer of cake on a cake board or serving tray.
Spread half of the filling, 390 grams or about 13 ⅔ ounces, to within ½ inch of the edge of one layer of cake. Place another layer of cake over the filling and spread the remainder of the filling over it. Place the third cake layer on top.
Finishing
Whip the heavy cream and powdered sugar until firm.
Spread the whipped cream over top and sides of cake. Press the coconut onto the sides and top of the cake. Place it in refrigerator overnight to set up.

Notes

Milk is a tenderizer and this cake uses dried milk to keep it moist for days.
Any cake that uses oil will maintain its moistness and keep better than a cake made with butter.
It is almost impossible to mess up the finish. There is no need to get the whipped cream used to finish the cake perfectly smooth because the whole thing is covered with coconut.
Because my pastry cream, unlike most, can be frozen and thawed perfectly, the cake can be made in its entirety and frozen.
The cake layers and pastry cream can be made ahead, frozen, thawed and the cake assembled when convenient.
To ensure cake layers come out flat and not humpy in the middle, please see my post on Cake Pan Prep.
Cake flour makes the lightest most tender cake and is important in this recipe due to its low protein count. The gluten doesn't toughen when mixed as it can in all-purpose and even pastry flour due to their higher protein count.
Always incorporate flour into a cake on low to prevent activating the gluten.
Freezing the cake after assembly will make it infinitely easier to frost and finish. Otherwise, the pastry cream filling can make for a wiggly cake when applying the whipped cream and coconut.
Most any oil will due. I use canola oil but even a light olive oil is fine. I don't favor a stronger olive oil because they will interfere with the taste.
When cooled, the cake pulls away slightly from the side and falls ever so slightly. This is how it should be.
Baker's sugar, which is finely ground sugar but not powdered sugar, is the best for whipping with egg whites as it incorporates and dissolves in the egg white faster and easier than granulated sugar. It can be easily made at home. It can be found on my post Three Easy Sugar Fixes.
When you think the whipped egg whites are done, taste a little of them. If there is a sandy texture, the sugar has not been completely incorporated. If they are stiff enough, lower the speed of the mixer slightly and continue mixing.

Nutrition