Lemon Coconut Layer Cake

I am a complete sucker for lemon anything. So when it came time to make my birthday cake, of course I went lemon. I tried this new recipe and it was delicious. I loved the lemon-coconut combination and the pudding in between the layers was so flavorful and divine.

I didn't have 3 cake pans, so I just did two layers. I think it would be even better with 3 layers because there would be more of the pudding filling. But either way...delicious.

Lemon Coconut Layer Cake


CAKE

1 cup flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 eggs
3/4 cups granulated sugar
grated rind of 1 lemons
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (save the rest of the juice for the filling)
1/2 cup shredded coconut

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line three 8 or 9-inch cake pans with wax paper and grease. In a bowl, sift together the flour and salt and set aside.

Place 6 of the eggs in a large heatproof bowl set over hot water. With an electric mixer, beat until frothy. Gradually beat in 3/4 cup of the sugar until the mixture doubles in volume and is thick enough to leave a ribbon trail when the beaters are lifted, about 10 minutes.

Remove the bowl from the hot water. Fold in half the grated lemon rind and 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice until blended. Fold in the coconut.

Sift the flour mixture into the egg mixture in 3 batches, folding in thoroughly after each addition.

Divide the mixture between the prepared pans.

Bake until the cakes pull away from the sides of the pan, about 25 minutes. Let stand 3-5 minutes then unmold and transfer to a cooling rack.

FILLING

2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 eggs
grated rind of 1 lemon
juice of 1 lemon (I just used the remaining juice of the lemon I squeezed for the cake)
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
6 tablespoons butter

In a bowl, blend the cornstarch with a little cold water to dissolve. Whisk in the eggs just until blended. Set aside.

In a saucepan, combine the lemon rind and juice, water, sugar, and butter.

Over a moderate heat, bring the mixture to a boil. Whisk in the eggs and cornstarch, and return to a boil. Whisk continuously until thick, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat. Cover with wax paper so a skin won't form.

FROSTING

1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
grated rind of 1 lemon
6-8 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup shredded coconut

Cream the butter and sugar until smooth. Stir in the lemon rind and enough lemon juice to obtain a thick, spreadable consistency.

To assemble:

Sandwich the 3 cake layers with the lemon filling mixture. Spread the frosting over the top and sides. Cover the cake with the coconut, pressing it in gently.

{Adapted from Complete Baking, by Martha Day}