Mamas Coconut White Cake Recipe

Directions:

1. Take out all ingredients, and separate eggs while they are cold - set aside egg whites so they come to room temperature.
2. If you are saving the egg yolks for another day, you can add a little water and placing plastic wrap so that it touches egg yolks and water, place in fridge for when you make your scrambled eggs or other such dish.
3. Taking cake pans, place on sheets of parchment paper, and with pencil, make a circle using cake pan as mold . Cut out parchment paper circles you just created.
4. Grease bottom and sides of cake pans.
5. Place cut out circles of parchment paper and place into cake pans.
6. Grease parchment paper that now sits in your cake pans.
7. Taking a little flour, lightly dust the cake pans, making sure to shake out any excess.
8. In one bowl, measure out cake flour carefully and sieve into second bowl.
9. Remeasure flour once again and place in sieve for a second time around, this time adding salt and baking powder.
10. Please note, not sieving your flour and careful measuring will results in holes in your cake along with it being tough. yuck. (that's hint #1 folks)
11. In mixing bowl, cream butter and add measured sugar gradually.
12. Cream together until light and fluffy - yes fluffy - scraping sides of bowl when necessary ensuring all of the butter is incorporated in sugar.
13. Add unbeaten egg whites and beat under mixer thoroughly 2 minutes.
14. Stop mixer and add extracts including the almond flavoring - do not forget the almond flavoring! Mix 1 minute more.
15. Next you will be adding the wet ingredients alternately with the remaining dry ingredients carefully on low speed, you do not wish to beat and mix the heck out of your cake. You do not wish to over beat the eggs into submission which is very easy to do with today's strong mixers (hint #2).
16. On your lowest speed, or frankly, preferred with spatula, mix in half of the dry mixture (your measured cake flour with salt and baking powder).
17. Gently mix till incorporated, then add 1/2 of your 2/3 cups of whole milk.
18. Then back to remaining dry ingredients, add, mix, then add the last of your whole milk, blending until well incorporated.
19. Pour cake batter into your cake pans, trying to make the amount of cake batter even in both pans.
20. Place on the middle rack of your oven and bake for 25 minutes at 375 degrees.
21. Once done, take them out of oven and let cool for five minutes still in pan.
22. With knife, cut around the edges of the cake pans.
23. Then using cooling racks, place one rack on each layer, then with oven mitts, carefully flip (not you, the cakes silly) over and gently tap on the backs of the cake pans.
24. Gently remove pans from cakes. Remove parchment paper too. And let thoroughly cool before frosting.
25. To frost, look at cakes, is one overly top heavy or curved at the top?. You can create a flatter look by placing this one upside down so that the layers now created are straight. You can also cut it carefully straight if you have to. This happened when ovens are not properly calibrated - and it happenes to the best of us bakers too, not to worry.
26. Using wax paper, place 2 sheets of over-lapping wax paper on platter that you will frost and serve your cake on. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the white sugar on top of the wax paper (hint #3)
27. This helps keep your platter pretty and the sugar will help the cake from drying out, besides sliding off the platter easier.
28. Want to remove any loose crumbs, once cool, place cakes in freezer for 1 or more hours, when you take it out, you can be a little rougher, and with hands gently brush off any loose crumbs.
29. Then place first layer of cake and add your filling of your choice (I would use the lemon filling I have already posted here)
30. Then placing second layer, use bamboo skewers to help cake stay still and straight while you tickle it fancy with the frosting. (hint #4)
31. Plop the top of your top layer with most of your frosting (I chose my Mamas 5 minute frosting) and spread out allowing some of the frosting to saunter down the sides of your cake. Continue frosting the sides, this will help with preventing any crumb issues.
32. OK Coconut ready time... With coconut, sprinkle generously on top, and then with a handful in your hand, gently using upward motion, from the bottom layer to the top, place coconut on the sides of your cake. The wax paper will catch any not caught by the frosting, throw it back on as you can.
33. Keep cake in a cool dry place with bamboo skewers in until ready to serve.
34. If you haven't finished cake, take two pieces of bread and adhere them to the insides of the cake with toothpicks, this will help keep cake super moist.
35. Enjoy!
36. Take out skewers and wax paper before bringing it to table of course..
37. Photo is from didn't have time to make cake for photo - will do the next time- I promise - and umm our cakes are slightly taller too! But it looks extremely close to mine and my mama's (though I never call her that despite her always asking me to! - go figure)