Recipe: Coconut Cake with Coconut White Chocolate Frosting

Joyce Affeldt’s Coconut Cake with Coconut White Chocolate Frosting took first place in Westlake's Bicentennial Bake-Off. Below is her winning recipe:

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Coconut Cake
Makes two 10-inch round cakes or four 9-inch round cakes

1 lb. unsalted butter
3 cups sugar
6 large eggs
4-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 T baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1-1/2 cups heavy cream
1-1/2 T vanilla extract
1 tsp. coconut extract

Preheat oven to 325. Spray cake pans with cooking spray. Dust with flour. Set aside.

Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 5 to 6 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat until creamy, occasionally scraping down sides of the bowl.

In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt. In a small bowl, mix together cream, vanilla and coconut extract. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture, alternating with cream mixture, beginning and ending with flour; beat until just combined.

Pour batter into prepared cake pans and bake until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean (40-45 minutes for 10-inch cakes; 30-35 minutes for 9-inch cakes.)

Cool, in pans, on cake rack. Remove from pans when cool. Frost with Coconut White Chocolate Frosting.

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Coconut White Chocolate Frosting

2 cups (11 oz. pkg.) white chocolate baking chips
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 pkgs. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
1 tsp. coconut extract
5 cups confectioners’ sugar
Sweetened flaked coconut, toasted, for garnish

Melt white baking chips in a double boiler (or glass bowl in the microwave). Beat butter, cream cheese and coconut extract in large bowl with electric mixer until creamed and blended. Beat in melted white chocolate until blended. On low speed, gradually beat in confectioners’ sugar until of spreading consistency.

Fill and frost cakes. Sprinkle with toasted coconut, if desired.