Coconut Cake

This year, I diverged from the norm. Every year Ian asks for a sour cream chocolate chip cake for his birthday; every year. This year, he asked to mix things up for his 30th year. Herein lies the coconut cake. I am not a fan of coconut, but Ian is and this is not about me. We decided to compromise and make a coconut cake with chocolate buttercream frosting. This was one of the cakes we wanted for our wedding, but the bakery was all out. How a bakery runs out of a particular kind of cake is beyond me, but that is for another discussion.

The recipe comes from Rose's Heavenly Cakes, one of the best cake books in town, but I will admit her recipes are hard. Her cakes usually come out with the best consistency, but there are a lot of bells and whistles.

The actual cake came out so well and Ian loved it, but the buttercream was a different story. You essentially have to make candy so the frosting has a smooth and glossy texture. This is hard.  My buttercream had little chunks of hard candy in it, but overall it tasted good and Ian was pleased. Maybe this means sour cream chocolate chip cakes are a thing of the past.

Here is the recipe:
Southern (Manhattan) Coconut Cake
6 large egg whites, room temp
1 1/3 cups canned (10.6 fl oz) coconut milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp coconut extract
4 cups cake flour, sifted
2 cups superfine sugar (I hand-blended caster sugar)
5 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 sticks unsalted butter (firm but not hard is best)

1. Oven preheated at 350 degrees  Prepare two 9 by 2 " round pans by lining with baking paper, then greasing them and lightly flour them
 2. Use a hand whisk to whisk the egg whites, 1/3 cup of the coconut milk, vanilla and coconut extract until just combined
 3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt at low speed for a couple of seconds
 4. Add the butter and remaining coconut milk. Mix on low speed until the dry ingredients are moistened, then increase speed top medium and beat 1 1/2 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl
 5. With the mixer at medium speed, gradually add the egg white mixture in 3 parts, beating at medium speed for 20 seconds after each addition
 6. Divide the batter evenly between the two pans and bake 30 to 40 minutes or until a wire tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean or the cake springs back when pressed lightly in the center
7. Let the cakes cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes then remove from pans with a metal spatula

Chocolate Buttercream 
3 large egg yoks
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup corn syrup
1 teaspoon lemon juice, freshly squeezed
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 ounces 60% - 70% chocolate

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the yolks on high speed until light in color
2. In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, syrup and lemon juice. Using a silicone spatula, stir until all the sugar is moistened. heat over medium-high, stirring constantly until the sugar dissolves and the syrup begins to bubble around the edges. Stop stirring completely and continue cooking for a few minutes until the syrup comes to a rolling boil. The entire surface will be covered with large bubbles. Immediately transfer the syrup to the glass measuring cup to stop the cooking
3. In the stand mixer, add the syrup to the yolks. Begin by pouring a small amount of syrup. Immediately beat on high speed for five seconds. Add the remaining syrup the same way in three parts
4. For the last addition, use a scraper to remove the syrup clinging to the glass measure and scrape it against the beater
5. When the outside of the bowl feels cold, beat the butter by the tablespoon on medium-high speed. The buttercream will not thicken until almost all the butter has been added. Add the vanilla and beat on low speed until incorporated.
6. Beat in three ounces of melted chocolate (cooled)