Coconut Cream and Cream Cheese Cake topcook.tomathouse.com
Ingredients:
Coconut cream sponge cake
- 220 g softened butter, plus extra for greasing the pans
- 3 cups of premium flour, plus extra for dusting the pans
- 1 and 1/3 teaspoons baking powder
- 0.5 tsp baking soda
- Fine sea salt
- 1 and 2/3 cups sugar
- 1 can (380g) sweetened coconut cream, mixed thoroughly
- 4 large eggs, separate the whites from the yolks
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp. sour milk
- A mixture of 1.5 cups sweet coconut flakes and 1.5 cups toasted sweet coconut flakes
Coconut-curd cream
- 2 packages (240 g each) of cream cheese, at room temperature
- 140 g softened butter
- 2.5 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup sweetened coconut cream, thoroughly mixed
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Fine sea salt
Preparation:
- Preheat oven to 175°C. Grease and flour two 22cm diameter cake pans with 5cm sides.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and 0.5 teaspoon of salt. Use a whisk to mix. This will break up any lumps and create a sifted flour effect.
- In a separate large bowl, beat the sugar, butter, and coconut cream until fluffy, about 2 minutes. The mixture should resemble whipped cream. Stir in the yolks and vanilla extract. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix. With the mixer on low speed, beat in half the dry ingredients, then the buttermilk and the remaining dry ingredients, scraping down the sides of the bowl before each addition.
- In another large bowl, using a mixer fitted with dry, clean beaters, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff but not dry.
Culinary adviceYou want to get as much volume as possible when whisking, so it's important that your beaters and bowl are clean. Just in case, you can wipe the bowl with a little vinegar, preferably white or apple cider vinegar. The vinegar will degrease the surface, leaving the bowl sparkling. And don't worry, there won't be a vinegar taste!
- Gently fold the beaten egg whites into the batter, being careful not to let them fall. Divide the batter evenly into the prepared cake pans. Smooth the batter with an offset spatula.
- Bake the cakes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Cool the cakes in the pans on a wire rack for about 10 minutes. Carefully run a small knife between the sides of the pan and the cake to loosen it.
NoteAs the cakes cool, they will shrink slightly and begin to pull away from the sides of the pans. Running a knife around the cake will speed up this process.
Place the cakes on a wire rack and cool completely.
- Using a pastry brush, gently brush crumbs off the cooled cake layers. If they're slightly raised in the center, you can trim the "dome" to even out the surface, or simply remember to place the cake layers dome-side down when assembling. Place one cake layer flat side up on a cake stand. Spread 1 heaping tablespoon of coconut-curd buttercream frosting around the entire circumference of the cake, leaving a 1-cm border around the edges. This will give the filling something to spread when you place the next cake layer on top. Don't let the frosting leak out the sides!
- Sprinkle 1 cup of coconut mixture over the frosting. Place the second cake layer on top, flat side up. Spread the remaining frosting over the entire surface and sides of the cake. For a retro look, swirl the frosting. It's best to spread it with the back of a spoon. It's so easy!
- Sprinkle the remaining coconut over the cake, gently pressing it into the sides to hold it in place. The coconut cake can be baked and assembled up to a day ahead. Refrigerate it for at least 1 hour.
Coconut-curd cream
In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese mixture until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the butter and beat until smooth. Add the sugar, coconut cream, vanilla extract, and a pinch of sea salt and beat for 3 minutes until well combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
NoteTo give the cake a tropical touch, you can add a little lime juice and a pinch of grated lime zest to the cream.
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