Adapted from What To Bake & How To Bake It by Jane Hornby
There are two kinds of people in the world.
People who sleep peacefully through the night and people whose brains decide 2:00 AM is the perfect time to start a construction project.
If you have an ADHD mind like mine, you already know exactly which category you’re in and you didn’t even have to think about it; you just felt it.
For me, those late-night brain rebellions usually end in the kitchen. Not the “oh maybe I’ll prep tomorrow’s lunch for my son” kind of kitchen visit. Full production mode with every bowl out, a mixer going, butter sitting on the counter getting itself together while the rest of the house has the audacity to sleep peacefully.
That’s how this cake became a tradition.
It wasn’t because I planned it that way, instead it was because sleep wasn’t happening, and if I was going to be awake at 2 AM anyway, I was going to have something to show for it. Something tall and layered and slightly ridiculous to present at breakfast like it was completely normal and I was the mother who gets up early to prepare home-baked goods for my family…
Enter: the coconut layer cake.
Four layers. Toasted coconut chips pressed into every surface. Lemon curd tucked between each layer like a secret. It’s the cake that makes people ask “wait, you made this?” with an expression that implies they weren’t sure you had it in you and it’s deeply satisfying on both counts.
I originally found the recipe in What To Bake & How To Bake It by Jane Hornby — a cookbook that actually teaches you to bake rather than just handing you a list of steps and wishing you luck. And to be quite honest, I stole it from my brother (aka. “borrowed it” and never got around to returning it.)
The best chapter in this cake’s history happened during one of those midnight sessions.
2 AM and a quiet house. Slightly unhinged baker operating on ambition and zero sleep. Foster pup joining me in case I decided to share in the licking of battered spoons.
The recipe calls for lemon curd, which I Googled for how to make myself. And to brighten it up a little, I grabbed what I thought was lemon juice from the fridge.
It was not lemon juice.
It was garlic-infused lemon juice. The kind you use on roasted vegetables and has absolutely no business being within ten feet of a vanilla cake batter.
Did I notice while making it? No. Did anyone notice while eating it? Also no. Was the cake finished completely and complimented enthusiastically?
Reader, it REALLY was.
To this day I don’t have an explanation for that and some things are simply not meant to be understood.
That’s the thing about traditions though — they rarely start as traditions. They start as a random Tuesday night, a kitchen light on too late, and a decision to make something instead of lying in the dark staring at the ceiling having complicated thoughts.
So if you ever find yourself wide awake at midnight with nowhere to be and a mixer within reach — make this cake. Follow the recipe exactly. Check your labels (unless you like to live on the dangerous side like some others) and know that somewhere out there, someone else has also absolutely dumped garlic lemon juice into a batter and served it with complete confidence to people who loved every bite.
We don’t talk about it. We just bake.
COCONUT LAYER CAKE
Preparation time: 45 minutes
Baking time: 25 minutes
Cuts into 12 or 16 very tall pieces
To cook
• ½ c. unsweetened desiccated finely shredded coconut
• 2 sticks (1 c.) soft butter
• 1 c. + 2 Tbsp. sugar, preferably superfine
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 5 eggs, room temperature
• 2½ c. all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. salt
• ½ c. full-fat coconut milk
To decorate
• 5 eggs (you will only need the whites)
• 2½ c. confectioners’ sugar
• a pinch of salt
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 sticks + 5 Tbsp. (generous 1¼ c.) soft butter
• ½ c. full-fat coconut milk
• 1 c. good-quality lemon curd (I made my own)
• 2½ c. toasted coconut chips
1. Soak the desiccated coconut in boiling water for 15 minutes (or longer if you can), then pour it into a sieve and press out the excess water. Use a little butter to grease two 8-inch round cake pans with removable bottoms, then line the bottoms with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter, sugar, and vanilla together until creamy and pale, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally with a spatula. Beat in an egg until completely combined, fluffy, and light. Repeat with the other eggs, one by one. If it starts to look lumpy, add 1 Tbsp. of the flour and it will become smooth again.
3. Thoroughly mix the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Sift half into the cake batter, then fold it in using a spatula or large metal spoon. Next, fold in the coconut milk, then fold in the rest of the flour mixture, then the drained coconut.
4. Using a spatula, divide the batter evenly between the pans and spread it flat.
5. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the cakes have risen, are firm, and slightly shrunken back from the sides of the pans. Let cool on a rack for 10 minutes, then remove from the pans and let cool completely.
6. For a four-layer cake, cut each cake in half horizontally using a large serrated knife.
7. Clean the mixer thoroughly. For the frosting, bring 2 inches of water to a simmer in a medium pan. Separate the eggs, then put the whites into a very clean heatproof bowl. Sift in the sugar.
8. Sit the bowl on the pan, then beat the whites for about 7 minutes, or until very thick and shiny. Beat in the vanilla.
9. Scrape the meringue into another cold bowl, then beat for a few minutes more until just about room temperature. Beat the soft butter into the meringue one Tbsp. at a time.
10. Gradually beat in the coconut milk. If the mixture becomes slightly lumpy, warm it very gently over the hot water while beating and it will loosen again.
11. Place one layer on a serving plate and spread with ½ c. lemon curd. Top with the second layer of cake, then add about 1¼ c. frosting and spread evenly to the edges. Top the third layer with curd too.
12. Place the final cake layer on top, then spread the remaining frosting over the cake and smooth with an icing spatula. Press the coconut chips up the side of the cake and sprinkle them over the top.
Keep the cake cool until serving. If making ahead, chill the cake, then allow it to return to room temperature before eating.
