Southern Coconut Cake

This year, my dad requested coconut cake for his birthday and

well... whatever dad wants dad gets, right?! It just so happens 

{believe it or not!}that I may or may not have ever made a 

coconut cake before when he made his request, but I was sure 

willing to try! {lol!}

{my dad with his birthday cake}

I love coconut but have never really been a big fan of coconut cake

because, in my opinion, the only thing that's ever "coconutty" is the

actual coconut flakes in the icing. Just not my idea. So I searched and 

searched for a recipe that sounded really good and what I really found

was a few things about many different recipes that cought my eye. 

Sooo, I just evolved those into my own unique recipe! And I could

NOT be happier with the results.

Today I'm going to share that recipe with YOU! And let me just fill you

in on a little secret... I'm sooo not a recipe sharer, people! I know! It's

a terrible thing, but it's just ME! Now, don't get me wrong... there are

lots of recipes that I will, and do, share but if you ask me for my 

grandma's strawberry cake recipe... you ain't gettin' it!! So, long story

short... you should feel a little special for getting this recipe! Hope

you enjoy it as much as we do! :)

{This would normally be made using 2 9-inch round cake pans,

however it can be made using a sheet cake pan. We just

wanted the cake & didn't really care what it looked like,

hence the sheet cake!}

2 Pillsbury white cake mixes, and ingredients to prepare

1 large can {or 2 small cans} coconut milk

1 small can cream of coconut

coconut extract

For frosting:

2 cups sour cream

1 3/4 cups granulated sugar

1 container Cool Whip

1 bag sweetened coconut

1 tsp. coconut extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Prepare cake according to package directions

for WHOLE EGG recipe and substitute the 2 cups of water for 2 cups of the 

coconut milk. Before opening the coconut milk, shake up the can very well. 

Open it and with a whisk, stir to remove any "lumps" before measuring your 

2 cups. Add 2 tsp. coconut extract to cake batter. Pour into greased pan(s) 

and bake until done.

While cakes are baking, prepare your frosting by combining sour cream and

granulated sugar in a large mixing bowl and beat on low speed for 2 minutes.

Scrape down the sides of bowl, add 1 tsp. coconut extract and continue 

beating on medium speed until the sugar has dissolved, or about 2 minutes 

longer. Add whipped cream topping and gently fold into sour cream/sugar 

mixture until well combined. Next, stir in 3/4 bag of coconut. Place frosting in 

refrigerator and chill until ready to use. After the cakes are done, remove from 

oven and let sit for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, pour the cream of coconut into a bowl 

and stir well. Brush the tops of the cakes with the cream of coconut as they cool. 

I usually try to hang around in the kitchen and keep applying a good layer 

of COC on the cakes every few minutes. You want the cakes to really soak up the 

COC and you want plenty of it, but not enough to make the cake soggy. 

Find your happy medium and go with it!

After the cakes have cooled completely, you can now frost it. Let me go ahead and

warn you, this icing is not thick and can be a real pain to use. Be patient and just

put on a little at a time. Also, after icing the bottom layer, refrigerate for about 

5-10 minutes to let it firm up a little before adding the top layer. Turn your oven 

on to broil and place the remaining coconut on a cookie sheet, evenly spread 

out. Place in oven to toast to a golden brown and sprinkle on top of cake. This 

is just heavenly served with a little dollop of extra icing and sliced fresh 

strawberries. I can imagine raspberries would be pretty tasty too!

If you try this recipe, I'd love to know how it turns out and if you love it

as much as we do!!