All Coconut Cake

The All Coconut Cake was another opportunity to attempt my skills at splitting cakes in half to get extra layers. After everything I’ve learned between now and the Preserved Lemon Meringue Cake, I felt much more confident with new knowledge to help me succeed this time around.

This recipe pretty much involves everything coconut; virgin coconut oil, unsweetened coconut milk, coconut flakes, and fresh coconut meat. I learned that these ingredients are great if you ever need gluten-free ingredient options. I managed to successfully find all of these ingredients, however by the time I got around to making this recipe a few days later, the fresh coconut was not cute anymore, so I tossed it and went without. I also made pastry cream ahead of time, replacing a cup of the milk with coconut milk and most of the butter with coconut oil.

The steps of making the cake were pretty standard. I prepared the pans with parchment paper and coconut oil rather than butter, then mixed the dry ingredients in a bowl. I mixed together the butter, coconut oil and sugar in the stand mixer. I added the eggs and vanilla, then added dry ingredients back and forth with the coconut milk. I needed the other half of the coconut milk for the pastry cream, so I didn’t have any left at the point for soaking the cakes later on (which is a step I honestly didn’t notice until it was time for assembly).

The cakes took about 32 minutes to bake, and I made the cream cheese frosting during that time. I made a full batch rather than half, as I have learned that I typically need more frosting than what Claire says will work. I let the cakes cool completely, then covered them in plastic wrap, placed them on paper plates and put them in the fridge overnight. This isn’t something Claire directs in Dessert Person, but I have found this method to be very helpful in firming up the cakes. It’s definitely not necessary to keep them in the fridge that long; in fact, I wouldn’t keep them in the fridge any longer than that, otherwise the cake gets dense. This step is also helpful in keeping your kitchen clean and organized.

The next day I let the cakes, pastry cream and frosting sit out for about 30 minutes before I did anything so everything could loosen up from being cooled. Once I got to assembling the next day, all I had to do was unwrap each cake layer, slice it through the middle to get the six layers, and build the cake as needed. The cakes were extremely easy to cut through since they had been placed in the fridge. I spread the pastry cream in between all the layers, except for the very top piece. This is also where I would’ve added the fresh coconut meat, but I honestly didn’t feel I had had lost anything since there was already so much infusion of coconut oil and milk within the pastry cream. I spread the cream cheese frosting all over the cake; it’s nice with this cake that the frosting doesn’t have to be perfectly smooth since the coconut flakes will be on top. Speaking of—I didn’t realize I needed to toast the coconut flakes until this point, so I cooked those for about six minutes so some of it browned. Once it cooled, I sprinkled the flakes all over the cake. It was so pretty once it was all done!

While I’m not a huge fan of coconut (I like the flavor, but not the texture in desserts), I think the All Coconut Cake is an extremely rewarding dessert to make from scratch. The cake layers turned out absolutely beautiful. Had this been one of the first cakes I made out of Dessert Person, my experience could have been much different when it came to assembly. It always feels rewarding now when I find I’m really just glancing through steps because I know Claire’s lingo and what is coming next in the recipe. As expected, this cake had great coconut flavor, and if you’re into coconut flakes, it’s a nice touch. If this recipe is done right, it’s pretty hard for it to turn out as anything besides beautiful and delicious.

Claire did not make this cake on her YouTube channel, but she did make a cupcake version! See how it compares to the cake recipe:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvZxXZVH0sQ