Rons Coconut Cake

The Star-Studded Lineup

Gather your ingredients and let’s get this baking party started!

For the Cake Batter:

• Flour: 2 ¼ cups of all-purpose flour (or plain flour if you are in the UK)
• Baking Powder: 2 ½ tsp to give our cake its beautiful lift
• Salt: ½ tsp to balance out all the sweetness
• Sugar: 1 ½ cups of granulated sugar
• Butter: 6 Tbsp of softened salted butter
• Oil: ¼ cup of your favorite cooking oil for ultimate moistness
• Eggs: 3 large eggs, sitting happily at room temperature
• Extracts: 1 tsp vanilla extract + ¾ tsp coconut extract (the secret flavor weapon)
• Coconut Milk: 1 cup of unsweetened canned coconut milk (give the can a good shake first!)
• The Crunch: ½ cup of sweetened shredded coconut

For the Heavenly Frosting:

• Cream Cheese: 8 oz. of softened cream cheese
• Butter: 6 Tbsp of softened salted butter
• Sugar: 3 cups of powdered sugar (icing sugar for the UK folks)
• Flavor Boosters: 1 tsp vanilla extract + 1 tsp coconut extract
• The Blanket: 1 ½ cups of sweetened shredded coconut to coat the outside

👩‍🍳 The Step-by-Step Baking Symphony

Step 1: Fire Up the Oven and Mix the Dry Team

Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C). In a large mixing bowl, whisk together your flour, baking powder, and salt. Think of this as laying the solid foundation for our fluffy coconut castle.

Step 2: Make the Wet Ingredients Fluffy

Grab a separate bowl and dance your sugar, 6 tablespoons of softened butter, and cooking oil together with a hand mixer until well combined. Drop in the room-temperature eggs, vanilla extract, coconut extract, and that creamy canned coconut milk. Blend it up until it is completely smooth!

Step 3: The Great Sift and Fold

Sift your dry ingredients right into the wet mixture. Sifting breaks up any pesky lumps and guarantees a lighter, cloud-like cake crumb. Mix gently until just combined—no overmixing allowed, or the cake will get tough! Finally, gently fold in your ½ cup of sweet coconut flakes.

Step 4: Into the Cake Pans!

Generously grease two 8-inch cake pans with butter and line the bottoms with parchment paper so they pop out easily later. Divide the batter evenly between both pans. Bake for 28 to 30 minutes until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let them cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then flip them onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Step 5: Whip Up the Dreamy Frosting

While the cakes cool down, whip the softened cream cheese and 6 tablespoons of butter until silky smooth. Add the powdered sugar one glorious cup at a time, blending as you go, along with the vanilla and coconut extracts. Try not to eat it all straight from the bowl!

Step 6: Assemble the Masterpiece

Once the cakes are fully cooled, use a serrated knife to carefully slice off the domed tops so they sit perfectly flat. Place your first layer on a stand, slather on a ¼-inch deep layer of frosting, and stack the second cake layer on top.

Adding a vibrant layer of jam is a fantastic way to elevate this coconut cake into a tropical, fruity masterpiece!

Step 7: The Coconut Blanket Finale

Spread the remaining frosting all over the top and sides of the cake. Now for the fun part: use your hands to gently press the remaining 1 ½ cups of shredded coconut all over the cake until it looks like a beautiful, tropical snowball.