5 large egg whites, at room temp
3/4 cup cream of coconut
1/4 cup water
1 large egg, at room temp
1 tsp coconut extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces and softened
1 recipe coconut frosting (follows)
2 cups sweetened shredded coconut
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Adjust oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 325 degrees. Lightly coat two 9 inch round cake pans with vegetable oil spray, then line bottoms with parchment paper. Whisk the egg whites, cream of coconut, water, whole egg and extracts together in a large bowl until combined and set aside. Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl. Beat in the butter, one piece at a time, with an electric mixer on low speed until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs, 2 to 5 minutes. Add 1 cup of the egg mixture, increase the speed to medium-high, and beat until light and fluffy, about 45 seconds. Add the remaining egg mixture in a steady stream ad continue to beat until the batter is combined, about 30 seconds, scraping down the bowl and beaters as needed (the batter will be very thick). Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans and smooth the tops. Bake until a wooden toothpick inserted comes out with a few crumbs attached, 30 to 35 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking. Let the cakes cool in the pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Run a paring knife around the edge of the cakes to loosen, then flip out onto the racks. Remove the parchment paper, flip the cakes upright and let cool completely before frosting (1 to 2 hours). After frosting the cake press the coconut into the side of the cake and sprinkle it over the top.
Coconut Frosting
2 Tablespoons heavy cream
1 tsp coconut extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch salt
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup cream of coconut
3 cups confectioners sugar
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Stir the cream, extracts, and salt together until the salt dissolves. Beat the butter and cream of coconut in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until smooth, about 20 seconds. Reduce the speed to medium-low, slowly add the confectioners’ sugar and beat until smooth (2 to 5 minutes). Beat in the cream mixture. Increase the speed to medium high and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy (4-8 minutes).