Italian Coconut Crème Cake

This Italian Coconut Crème Cake is filled and topped with a fluffy coconut whipped cream and mascarpone frosting and coated with toasted coconut on the sides. 

This Italian Coconut Crème Cake, as fancy as it looks, is surprisingly easy to make. And, it's so full of coconut! First, there's coconut extract in the cake and frosting. Next, there's coconut milk and shredded coconut in the cake batter.

In addition, the cake layers are brushed with coconut milk after baking to make them extra moist. Plus, the coconut crème also includes the solids from coconut milk.

Finally, the sides of the cake are coated with toasted coconut.

The hardest part for me was grabbing the fat solids from a can of full-fat coconut milk for the frosting. Typically, when I buy a can of coconut milk, the fat is a solid layer on the top when I open the can. This time, the milk was fully blended. I had to refrigerate the milk to get some of the fat to solidify.

The second hardest part was sticking the toasted coconut to the sides of the frosted cake without everything falling on the plate. I ended up "semi-patiently" placing small amounts of toasted coconut on the side of the cake with my fingers to evenly coat it.

Steps for Making Coconut Crème Cake:

First, you make the cake layers in two 8 inch cake pans that have been greased and lined with parchment paper. You can make the layers in advance, cool them, and wrap them in plastic wrap until the next day. You can even freeze them in advance. 

Next, you make the coconut creme by combining whipped cream, mascarpone, sugar, coconut extract, and the fat from coconut milk. I also added some whipped cream stabilizer to the mixture so that the coconut creme would last for a couple of days without collapsing. It's one of my favorite secret ingredients. 

After that, you make the toasted coconut for coating the cake. Next, you split the cake layers in half. I use a revolving cake stand to get the split layers as even as possible. 

Brush each layer with coconut milk and stack and frost the layers. Pipe the top of the cake with the rest of the frosting with a French tip. 

Finally, coat the sides with the toasted coconut and sprinkle more on top. 

You can also coat the sides of the cake with the coconut before piping the rest of the cream frosting on the top of the cake. It's up to you. 

If you are a coconut lover, you will love this cake. If you need to make a cake that is impressive looking but still easy to make, you will also love this cake! 

Italian Coconut Crème Cake

Yield: 12 servings

Author: Karen Kerr

This Italian Coconut Crème Cake is filled and topped with a fluffy coconut whipped cream and mascarpone frosting and coated with toasted coconut on the sides.

ingredients:

For the Cake

• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons coconut extract
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup low fat coconut milk
• 2 cups (250 grams) all-purpose flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (60 grams) sweetened shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup low fat coconut milk for brushing the layers

For the Coconut Crème

• 8 ounces mascarpone or cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup of the solids from full-fat coconut milk (see note)
• 1 teaspoon coconut extract
• 2 cups cold heavy cream
• 1/2 cup sugar

For the Garnish

• 2 cups sweetened shredded coconut

instructions:

How to cook Italian Coconut Crème Cake

To Make the Cake Layers

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two 8 inch cake pans with parchment paper and spray the sides with spray oil.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer or large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the vanilla and coconut extract and mix. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well in between each addition. Add the coconut milk and mix thoroughly. 
3. In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and and salt. Sift the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix just until the ingredients are combined. Don't over mix. Fold in the coconut. 
4. Bake the cake layers for 28 to 30 minutes. Remove the cakes from the pans and cool completely on wire racks. 
5. Split the layers in half with a serrated knife. 

To Make the Coconut Crème

1. Cream together the mascarpone, coconut fat, and coconut extract in a small bowl. 
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, whip the heavy cream and sugar to stiff peaks, about 3 to 4 minutes. 
3. Add the mascarpone mixture to the whipped cream and mix on high speed for one minute. Transfer 2 cups of the mixture to a pastry bag fitted with a French tip. 

To Assemble the Cake

1. Toast the coconut by spreading it out on a half sheet pan and baking it in a 350 degree F, tossing it every 3 minutes, until golden brown. 
2. Brush each cake layer with coconut milk. 
3. Add a generous amount of frosting over each layer. 
4. Frost the top and sides of the stacked layers. 
5. Pipe dollops of frosting over the top of the cake and garnish the sides with the toasted coconut. 
6. Sprinkle the top with more toasted coconut.
7. Refrigerate the cake for about 3 hours before serving. 

https://www.karenskitchenstories.com/2019/09/italian-coconut-creme-cake.html

Karen's Kitchen Stories

cake, coconut

Cake, dessert

European, Italian

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Each month The Cake Slice Bakers are offered a selection of cakes from the current book we are baking through. This year it is The European Cake Cookbook by Tatyana Nesteruk.

We each choose one cake to bake, and then on the 20th - never before - we all post about our cake on our blogs. There are a few rules that we follow, but the most important ones are to have fun and enjoy baking & eating cakes!

Follow our Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest pages where you can find all of our cakes, as well as inspiration for many other cakes. You can also click on the thumbnail pictures below to take you to each of our cakes. If you have a blog and are interested in joining The Cake Slice Bakers and baking along with us, please send an email to thecakeslicebakers at gmail dot com for more details.

The Cake Slice Bakers also have a new Facebook group called The Cake Slice Bakers and Friends. This group is perfect for those who do not have a blog but want to join in the fun and bake through this book.

Our choices for September 2019 were ~

Apple Sharlotka Cake

• Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• My Recipe Reviews
• Amandie Bakes

Strawberry Verdens Beste

• Camille Cooks

Apricot Mousse Cake

• All That's Left Are The Crumbs

Italian Coconut Creme Cake

• A Little Bit of All Right 
• Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Oven Delights