Lemon Coconut Cake
A delicate lemon essence infused into the cake layers, tart lemon custard, creamy, buttery frosting and sweetened coconut shreds combine to make this cake a winner for any event. One of the nice things about this cake, is that it can be made in stages. The buttercream and lemon filling can be made a day or two ahead of time and kept in the refrigerator, and the layer cake can be made well ahead and frozen. You simply just assemble it when needed.
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar (298g)
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (114g)
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil (177ml)
- 3 whole eggs Grade A large
- 1/3 cup lemon juice (79ml)
- 2/3 cup heavy whipping cream (158ml)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (4.3g)
- 2 1/3 cup unbleached cake flour (280g)
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder (7g)
- 1 tsp salt (6g)
For the Lemon Filling
- 2/3 cup lemon juice (158ml)
- 1/3 cup water (79ml)
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar (99g)
- 2 tsp lemon zest (4g)
- 2 Grade A large egg yolks
- 2 tbsp corn starch (14g)
- 2 tbsp heavy cream (30ml)
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter (14.25g)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (2g)
For the Frosting
- 1 full recipe of Basic Buttercream simple buttercream frosting
- 1 cup shredded sweetened coconut (60g)
Instructions
For the Cake
- 1.Line two 8" cake pans with parchment paper.2. Preheat your oven to 325 for Convection Bake and 350 for Standard Bake.3. Set our your butter, eggs and cream ahead of time, so these ingredients can come to room temperature.
- Place the sugar and the room temperature butter in the bowl of your mixer, and using the paddle attachment, beat until it is light and fluffy. Now add the vegetable oil and continue to beat at medium speed. Add the room temperature eggs, one at a time, completely absorbing each before adding the next. Switch to high speed and beat for another 2 to 3 minutes until the mixture is light and airy.
- Add the cream, lemon juice and vanilla extract. Mix at medium speed until completely combined, then switch to high and beat another minute or two. You want this mixture to be very light and airy. It should have the consistency of whipped cream when beaten to the soft peak stage.
- Use a fine mesh strainer or sifter and sift together the cake flour, baking powder and salt. Scoop the flour into the cake batter and mix at low speed until completely combined. Avoid over mixing, as this can result in a dense and heavy cake.
- Divide the batter equally between your two 8" prepared cake pans, and bake on the center rack of your preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes. When baked the cake should be a golden brown on top and spring back when gently pressed in the center with your finger.
- Allow the layers to cool for 20 minutes. Next, run a knife along the outer rim to loosen the cake from the sides and invert the layers on to a cooling rack. Cool completely before frosting. At this point, you may also wrap each layer in plastic wrap, place each in a sip lock freezer bag and freeze for up to one month.
Direction for the Lemon Filling
- Pour the lemon juice, lemon zest, water and sugar into a small,heavy bottom sauce pan and place over medium heat.
- Place the egg yolks, cornstarch and cream in a small bowl and mix until all of the ingredients are combined and there are no lumps of cornstarch.
- As soon as the lemon juice/sugar mixture comes to a simmer, and all the sugar has melted, ladle a bit (about 3 tablespoons at a time) into the egg yolk/cornstarch mixture. As you are pouring the hot lemon juice into the egg mixture, keep stirring constantly so the eggs don't scramble. After you have added about half a cup, the egg mixture should be warm enough and diluted enough that you can pour it back into the sauce pan. Stir constantly as you are doing this.
- Bring the mixture up to a gentle boil, again, stirring all the time. The custard may look lumpy for a bit as it starts to thicken, not to worry, the lumps will disappear and the lemon custard will turn smooth and have a satin like sheen. After the lumps have disappeared, continue to cook and stir for one minute longer.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla extract. Pour the lemon custard into a bowl, cover with a piece of plastic wrap and allow to cool completely.
- Your cooled lemon custard will be quite thick, and you will need to beat it with a whisk to make it easier to spread between the layers of the cake.
To Assemble
- Once the cake layers have cooled completely, slice each layer in half (horizontally). Place the first cut layer on a work surface, (turn table or cake plate) spread a very thin layer of your Simple Buttercream (less than 1/4 of an inch) evenly over the surface, and top that with 1/4 of your lemon custard. Place the next layer on top of that and repeat the process until the cake has been reassembled.
- Take the remainder of your buttercream frosting, and frost the top and sides of the cake. Sprinkle the shredded sweetened coconut over the top and gently press some to the sides.