Raspberry Coconut Double Layer Cake
By PutoPinoy on Sunday, October 31, 2010 At
Sunday, October 31, 2010
For the cake:
1. Make the cake: Center a rack in the oven and preheat oven to 350°F. Butter two 9-by-2-inch round cake pans, dust the interiors with flour, and tap out the excess. Line the bottom of the pans with parchment or wax paper, butter and flour the paper, and put the pans on a baking sheet.
2. Whisk or sift the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt together.
3. Beat the butter with an electric mixer until it is soft and creamy. Pour in the sugar and beat for another 3 minutes. One by one. add the eggs and the yolk, beating for about 1 minute after each egg goes in. Beat in the vanilla (don't worry if the mixture looks curdled), reduce the mixer speed to low. and add the flour mixture alternately with the coconut milk. Add the flour in 3 additions—start and finish with it—and the liquid in 2 additions. Mix only until the ingredients disappear into the batter; there's no need to beat energetically. Divide the batter between the 2 pans and smooth the tops with a spatula.
4. Bake the layers for about 30 minutes, rotating the pans at the midway point, until the cakes are golden and springy to the touch and a slim knife inserted into the centers comes out clean. (The layers won't be very high.) Transfer the cakes to racks, cool for a couple of minutes, then run the knife around the edges of the cakes and invert them onto the racks. Peel off the parchment or wax paper, turn the cakes right side up, and let them cool to room temperature on the racks.
5. Make the coconut whipped cream: Whip the heavy cream until it holds soft peaks. With the mixer running, gradually add confectioners' sugar and vanilla, and beat until the cream is thick but still very smooth. Switch to a rubber spatula and fold in the coconut. Keep the cream in the refrigerator while you get the cake ready for finishing.
6. Assemble and finish the cake: Warm the jam or jelly for a few seconds in a microwave oven. You want it to spread easily. Add a few drops of water to thin it just enough to allow you to spread a thin layer on the cakes. If the cake layers crowned while baking, use a long serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion to level the layers.
7. Place one layer, top side up. on a cake plate and spread half the jam over the cake. Spoon half of the whipped cream over the layer and spread it almost to the edges of the cake.
8. Spread the rest of the jam on the top of the second layer and arrange that layer, jam-side-down, over the whipped cream. Top the layer with coconut cream, leaving the sides bare. Decorate the top with berries and dried shredded coconut Chill the cake for at least 3 hours before serving.
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 10 tablespoons (5 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup coconut milk, well stirred
- 1 1/2 cups heavy or whipping cream, very cold
- 1/3 cup confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract - 2 cups dried shredded coconut
berries (of your choice) and dried shredded coconut, to top the cake - 1/2 cup jam or jelly in the same flavor as the berries, for the filling
1. Make the cake: Center a rack in the oven and preheat oven to 350°F. Butter two 9-by-2-inch round cake pans, dust the interiors with flour, and tap out the excess. Line the bottom of the pans with parchment or wax paper, butter and flour the paper, and put the pans on a baking sheet.
2. Whisk or sift the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt together.
3. Beat the butter with an electric mixer until it is soft and creamy. Pour in the sugar and beat for another 3 minutes. One by one. add the eggs and the yolk, beating for about 1 minute after each egg goes in. Beat in the vanilla (don't worry if the mixture looks curdled), reduce the mixer speed to low. and add the flour mixture alternately with the coconut milk. Add the flour in 3 additions—start and finish with it—and the liquid in 2 additions. Mix only until the ingredients disappear into the batter; there's no need to beat energetically. Divide the batter between the 2 pans and smooth the tops with a spatula.
4. Bake the layers for about 30 minutes, rotating the pans at the midway point, until the cakes are golden and springy to the touch and a slim knife inserted into the centers comes out clean. (The layers won't be very high.) Transfer the cakes to racks, cool for a couple of minutes, then run the knife around the edges of the cakes and invert them onto the racks. Peel off the parchment or wax paper, turn the cakes right side up, and let them cool to room temperature on the racks.
5. Make the coconut whipped cream: Whip the heavy cream until it holds soft peaks. With the mixer running, gradually add confectioners' sugar and vanilla, and beat until the cream is thick but still very smooth. Switch to a rubber spatula and fold in the coconut. Keep the cream in the refrigerator while you get the cake ready for finishing.
6. Assemble and finish the cake: Warm the jam or jelly for a few seconds in a microwave oven. You want it to spread easily. Add a few drops of water to thin it just enough to allow you to spread a thin layer on the cakes. If the cake layers crowned while baking, use a long serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion to level the layers.
7. Place one layer, top side up. on a cake plate and spread half the jam over the cake. Spoon half of the whipped cream over the layer and spread it almost to the edges of the cake.
8. Spread the rest of the jam on the top of the second layer and arrange that layer, jam-side-down, over the whipped cream. Top the layer with coconut cream, leaving the sides bare. Decorate the top with berries and dried shredded coconut Chill the cake for at least 3 hours before serving.
