Best Island Coconut Cake Recipes

SMITH ISLAND CAKE

Steps:

• The icing needs to completely cool and thicken, so prepare it first. Combine the butter, chocolate, granulated sugar, heavy cream, and corn syrup together in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly until butter has melted. Once melted, stir occasionally as the sugar dissolves and the mixture comes to a boil. Allow to boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Taste (it's warm, so be careful!) Add a sprinkle of salt, if desired. I always add a pinch. Leave uncovered and set aside to thicken and cool for at least 1-2 hours or until it has a spreadable consistency. This is enough time to bake and cool the cake layers. See make ahead tip if you want to prepare ahead of time. Yields about 2 and 1/4 cups icing.
• Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease three 9-inch cake pans, line with parchment paper, then grease the parchment paper. Parchment paper helps the thin cakes seamlessly release from the pans; they may crack and crumble otherwise. (You can reuse the parchment for each of the 9 cakes or cut 9 individual circles.)
• Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside. Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. On medium-high speed, add 1 egg at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.
• With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients in three additions alternating with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, and mixing each addition just until incorporated. Do not overmix this batter. The batter will be smooth, velvety, and slightly thick.
• (There are 8 cups of batter total, so each of the 9 cakes will have slightly less than 1 cup of batter. Leave unused batter loosely covered at room temperature as cakes bake.) Pour slightly less than 1 cup of batter into prepared cake pans. Bake for 12 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. The cakes are VERY thin, so they shouldn't take much longer than that. Allow to cool for a couple minutes, then carefully invert the cake onto the counter. Peel off the parchment to reuse (or use a new parchment round). Grease the warm cake pans, line with parchment, and grease the parchment. Repeat with slightly less than 1 cup of batter per cake pan. Repeat baking, cooling, and releasing the cakes from the warm pans. Grease the warm cake pans, line with parchment, and grease the parchment. Repeat one final time. Allow all 9 layers to cool completely, about 45 minutes.
• Carefully place one layer on a serving platter or cake stand. Spoon and spread 1/4 cup of icing on top, then repeat with the rest of the cake layers and icing. Some icing will spill over the sides and that's ok! Makes a beautiful cake! Decorate the top with sprinkles, if desired.
• Set cake aside for at least 30 minutes before slicing and serving. This gives the icing a chance to adhere to the cake and makes slicing a little easier.
• Cover and store leftover cake at room temperature for 1-2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

TROPICAL ISLAND BUNDT® CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a fluted tube pan (such as Bundt®).
• Mix bananas, pineapple juice, water, applesauce, eggs, and coconut extract with an electric mixer until well combined. Add cake mix, coconut, and pudding mix; mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. Pour batter into the prepared pan.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Let cake cool in the pan.
• Combine brown sugar, cream, and butter for the sauce in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Add rum and crushed pineapple and boil, stirring occasionally, until it starts to thicken, 4 to 5 minutes. Set aside to cool down.
• Poke holes all around the top of the cake still in the pan. Pour about 1/3 of the sauce over the cake with a spoon, trying not to get the pineapple during this stage. Place a serving plate on top of the cake pan and invert the cake, holding onto the pan and plate tightly. Pour remaining sauce and pineapples evenly over the cake. Let sit until cake has absorbed the sauce, about 30 minutes. Slice and serve.

SIMPLY THE BEST COCONUT CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), or 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) for coated pans. Spray two 8-inch round cake pans with cooking spray.
• Stir sugar, frozen coconut, and sour cream for filling together in a medium bowl until well combined. Set aside in the fridge until ready to use.
• Combine cake mix, pudding mix, water, oil, eggs, egg whites, and vanilla for cake in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Blend on medium speed for 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Pour batter into the prepared pans.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool in the pans for 5 minutes, then invert onto a parchment-lined cooling rack to cool completely, about 30 minutes.
• Use a large, serrated knife to cut each cake layer in half lengthwise; you will have 4 pieces. Flip top pieces so all cut sides are facing up. Stack layers and filling on a serving platter as follows: 1 bottom layer, 1/3 of the filling, 1 top layer, 1/3 of the filling, remaining bottom layer, remaining filling, remaining top layer. Cover and chill, 30 minutes to overnight.
• Combine sugar, corn syrup, egg whites, water, vanilla, and cream of tartar for frosting in a large heat-proof bowl; stir until well combined. Place the bowl over a double boiler and whisk using an electric hand mixer until thick and glossy, about 7 minutes. Take care that the double boiler doesn't reach higher than a slow simmer.
• Spread frosting over cooled cake immediately and sprinkle with shredded coconut.

ISLAND COCONUT CAKE

Steps:

• CAKE:
• Preheat oven to 325°F.
• In a mixing bowl combine oil, egg yolks, lemon rind, vanilla and water.
• In a separate bowl, combine sugar, flour, baking powder and salt.
• Add the dry mixture to the liquid ingredients and mix until smooth.
• Beat egg whites until stiff. Fold egg whites gently into batter, pour into a greased spring form pan.
• Bake for 40-45 minutes or until cake is done.
• Remove cake cool then cut into three layers.
• CUSTARD FILLING:.
• In a saucepan combine milk, sugar, vanilla and lemon rind, Bring mixture to a boil.
• In a small bowl combine cornstarch with milk and eggs.
• Add 1/2 cup of hot milk mixture to cornstarch mixture.
• Slowly add remaining mixture into hot milk, let cool.
• Spread custard between cake layers.
• WHIPPED CREAM:.
• In bowl add already whipped, whipped cream, fold in vanilla and powdered sugar.
• Frost top and sides of cake with the whipped cream.
• Sprinkle entire cake with the toasted coconut and chill before serving.