Coconut Layer Cake

Cake

• 2 cups sifted flour

• 1¼ sticks butter

• 1¼ cups extra-fine sugar

• 2 egg yolks, lightly beaten

• ¼ teaspoon salt

• 3 teaspoons baking powder

• 2 teaspoons vanilla

• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

• 1 cup milk

• 3 egg whites

1. Preheat the oven to 375 °F.

2. Butter and lightly flour the bottoms of two 9” layer cake pans.

3. All the ingredients should be at room temperature before you begin to mix the cake batter.

4. Sift the flour twice, measuring carefully to make sure you have only 2 cups, then sift once again with the baking powder and salt.

5. Cream the butter either by hand or with an electric beater until it has a satiny appearance.

6. Add the sugar gradually, mixing well after each addition. Continue to beat (either by hand or with an electric mixer) until the butter-and-sugar mixture is light and fluffy.

7. Add the egg yolks and beat until smooth again.

8. Mix in the vanilla and lemon juice.

9. Add the flour in 4 parts alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour. Mix well after each addition, but only to the point where the ingredients are blended.

10. Beat the egg whites to the soft peak stage and gently fold into the cake batter. Spoon the batter into the cake pans, filling them half full. Set them in the middle rack of the oven.

11. After 30 to 35 minutes of baking, check to see if the cake has begun to shrink away from the sides of the pan and test for doneness (see page 25). If the cakes are completely baked, remove from the oven, and after a few minutes, remove them from the pans as they will continue to cook in the hot pans. It’s important to remove them almost immediately from the pans; otherwise the bottom of the cake will become soggy.

12. Place the layers on cake racks and let them cool uncovered for 5 minutes, then cover them lightly with a light cloth. Let the cakes cool completely before icing them with the following boiled white frosting.

Boiled White Frosting with Coconut

It may seem difficult to bring the syrup and the egg whites to the correct stage at precisely the same moment the first time you make this icing, but with practice it will become simple and easy.

It is a favorite frosting of mine, and, made as directed in the recipe, it will hold up beautifully without hardening or collapsing, as many boiled icings tend to do. In fact, it has been our experience that this cake is even more delicious on the second and third day when it seems to become lighter and moister and even more flavorful.

• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-fine sugar

• ¼ cup cold water

• 3 whites medium-sized eggs (slightly less than a half cup) at room temperature

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or lemon juice

• 1 small sweet coconut, grated (about 3 cups)

1. Grate the coconut, following the directions on page 112.

2. Put the egg whites in the bowl of your electric mixer.

3. Bring the sugar and water to a boil over medium heat without stirring. When the syrup comes to a full boil, watch the time carefully. One minute and 15 seconds after the syrup comes to a boil, begin to beat the egg whites.

4. Watch the boiling syrup closely. After about 2 minutes, begin to test; watch for it to form a thread. Dip the side of a spoon into the syrup and hold it above the pan. The thread you are waiting to see formed will hang from the spoon and be a clear filament at least 2 or 3 inches long. If the thread has a ball at the end, the syrup is not ready. Continue to dip the spoon into the syrup until this thread appears. You don’t want to overcook the syrup, as that will give the icing a grainy texture.

5. As soon as the thread appears, immediately remove the syrup from the burner. By this time the egg whites should be at the soft peak stage. Pour the syrup slowly (it should take about a minute) into the egg whites, beating at medium speed.

6. Add the flavoring and beat for a few seconds more until the icing stands in peaks.

7. Let it cool for a minute before spreading it over the cake layers.

8. Spread over one layer with the bottom side up, and sprinkle on some of the coconut.

9. Spread icing over the bottom side of the second layer, and place it bottom side down over the first layer.

10. Smooth the remaining frosting over the top and sides and sprinkle the remaining coconut over the top and sides.