I've honestly never been a fan of coconut cake.
But on a recent visit to High Hampton Inn in Cashiers, North Carolina, at the urging of our server, we ordered a slice of pastry chef April Franqueza's special recipe.
I wasn't expecting to eat any of it. Then I tasted it. Again and again and again.
I couldn't quite pinpoint why Franqueza's was so delicious. It was rich without being overly heavy and moist without being too dense. And best of all, it wasn't overly coconutty. That's all by design.
"Coconut cake is near and dear to my heart," she told me. "It’s my favorite cake. I had it every year growing up. My husband still makes it for me on my birthday every year."
Menu 'fluke' turned crowd favorite
Franqueza was happy to share a few secrets about her recipe. But first, we have to explore how and why the cake ended up on High Hampton's rotating menu of desserts to begin with.
"It was kind of a fluke," she said. "I put it on the menu as a placeholder for a photo shoot. But when our owner, Sandy Beall tried it, he said 'You can never take this off the menu.' It's kind of controversial because everyone has their own coconut cake they like."
After that photographer asked her for a few spring desserts to shoot, she thought, 'What would be beautiful?" So she landed on a big slice of cake. She never intended it to be a menu staple at the resort.
"I took a plain white cake recipe that I loved and took out some of the butter and put in coconut oil," she said, "I took out some of the milk and replaced it with coconut milk and it tastes so amazing. There are all these yummy things that make it rich and it doesn't taste fake because it has real coconut flavor as opposed to extract."
But the cake is only part of the equation. Good icing is just as important.
"I do a classic American buttercream with butter, confectioners sugar, milk and vanilla, but I like to use buttermilk," she said. "Icing needs more salt than you'd think so it doesn't taste so sugary sweet. I top it with some toasted, flaked coconut on top which makes it so harmonious."
Pastry chef's top baking tip? Slow down
Franqueza, the genius behind all of High Hampton's baked goods, was happy to share her coconut cake recipe. Still, trying to make a cake at this level can scare novice bakers. That's why she rolled through a few tips for success, starting with the fact that you can't make a good cake if you're in a hurry.
"You have to give yourself enough time," she said. "Every time I am dissatisfied with what I make, even if it's a simple chocolate chip cookie, it's because I've tried to rush myself."
Franqueza adds there's "almost nothing" that can't be made ahead of time. Go ahead and make the layers to a cake that you ice the next day. Freeze cookie dough and bake it as you want. Cinnamon roll dough can be kept in the refrigerator overnight for next-day baking.
More pastry chef tips for the perfect coconut cake:
- "Make sure your butter has thawed out the night before for the cake and the buttercream icing," Franqueza said. "It just makes your life easier. Soft butter makes it smoother to mix."
- Add baking powder, salt and baking soda in the beginning, not with the dry ingredients. That ensures leaveners don't get stuck in clumps of flour.
- Franqueza swears by White Lily flour, because it's soft, makes a lighter cake, and isn't too rich on the palate.
- Always sift your flour. Yes, even White Lily.
- Franqueza's coconut cake bakes at 325 degrees, as opposed to 350. "Everyone's oven is a little different, so check it after 25 minutes with a toothpick," she said. "If you leave it in too long, you get a dryer cake. I set a timer on my phone in 2- to 3- minute increments."
- She also recommends organic coconut oil. "Look for super refined, pure coconut oil," she said. "When you open the can, it smells so good."
- Buy unsweetened coconut for the topping, then toast it per the recipe below, then cool it and store it in a Ziplock bag or Tupperware bowl until it's time to use it.
April Franqueza's Southern Coconut Cake
Ever wondered how to tell if a cake is perfectly baked and not overcooked? Franqueza said the toothpick test is still the gold standard. If it comes out clean, your cake is ready. If not? Keep baking.
"I always saw my mom and grandma poke the center of the cake with a toothpick," she said. "Don't be afraid to do it. It's reassurance you won't get a soupy cake."
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened to the touch
- ½ cup coconut oil
- 2 ¼ cups granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ tablespoons Kosher salt
- 1 ¼ cups egg white
- 2 tablespoons coconut extract
- 1 ¼ tablespoons vanilla paste or extract
- 3 ¾ cups White Lily all-purpose flour
- 1 ¾ cups coconut milk
- ⅓ cup heavy cream
For the buttercream:
- 2 cups unsalted butter, softened to the touch
- 2 ¼ cups confectioners’ sugar
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon vanilla paste or extract
- ¼ cup buttermilk
- 1 12-ounce bag of shredded, unsweetened coconut
Instructions
To make the cake:
Preheat the oven to 325.
Measure your granulated sugar with the baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Ensuring your butter is soft to the touch, in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, coconut oil and sugar mixture until fluffy, 3-5 minutes. Then add the egg whites, coconut extract and vanilla. You can combine the coconut milk and heavy cream in one measuring cup, then alternate adding the White Lily flour and the coconut milk and heavy cream mixture.
Ensure that you are scraping down the sides of the bowl. The mixture will look light and fluffy when finished.
Butter and flour your baking pans, then evenly divide the batter amongst three 8-inch pans.
Bake the cake layers for 25 minutes. Insert a toothpick in the center after 25 minutes and, if it comes out clean, remove the cake from the oven. If it is wet, give the cakes 2-3 more minutes, and repeat this process until the toothpick comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool in the pan for 45 minutes, then remove to finish cooling on a wire rack.
While you have your oven on and hot, evenly pour coconut on a baking sheet, and toast it for 2-3 minutes, or until lightly golden brown. Allow to cool on the tray.
To make the frosting:
Ensuring that your butter is soft to the touch, place it in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment and mix on medium until smooth and creamy, then gradually add the confectioners’ sugar and salt while mixing on low, scraping down the sides as needed. Mix on medium for a minute, then on high speed to fully combine and aerate.
Lastly, add the buttermilk and vanilla while the mixer is running on low, until fully combined. The buttercream should be light and fluffy. if the buttercream appears too stiff, mix on medium-high speed for a few more minutes, or add a few more tablespoons of buttermilk.
To frost the cake:
Ensure that the cake layers have completely cooled (you can even bake the cake layers the day before, allowing them to cool, then wrapping them overnight).
It can be helpful to trim the tops of the layers to make them a little shorter and completely flat across this top. Use an ice cream scoop to scoop even portions of buttercream in between each layer, which will help with stacking.
Working in sections when trying to ice the sides can also be helpful. Ice one 3-inch section from top to bottom first, then move on to the section next to it, instead of trying to work your way around all at once.
Ice the cake layers as desired, then sprinkle (or generously coat) the cake with the cooled shredded coconut.
