Coconut Pecan Cake

Martha Stewart Living

Ingredients

•     3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pans
•     2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
•     1 cup firmly packed sweetened shredded coconut
•     3/4 cup pecan halves (3 ounces), toasted
•     2 cups sugar
•     1 tablespoon baking powder
•     3/4 teaspoon salt
•     1/4 cup creamed coconut or unsalted butter
•     4 large eggs
•     1 tablespoon pure coconut extract
•     1 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened coconut milk (9 ounces)
•     Coconut Cake Filling
•     Milk Chocolate Ganache for Coconut Pecan Cake
•     2 cups toasted shaved coconut, for garnish (optional)

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Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 9-inch round cake pans. Line bottoms with parchment. Butter parchment, and dust with flour; tap out excess, and set aside.
2. In a food processor, finely grind coconut; transfer to a bowl. Finely grind pecans with 2 tablespoons sugar, and set aside. Into a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt; stir in ground coconut and pecans. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter, creamed coconut, and remaining sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Beat in eggs and extract. Beat in flour mixture in three batches, alternating with the coconut milk, and starting and ending with flour.
4. Divide batter between prepared pans; smooth tops. Bake until golden and a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 35 minutes. If tops begin to get too dark, cover loosely with foil. Let cool in pans 30 minutes. Run a knife around edges of cakes; invert onto a wire rack. Reinvert; let cool completely.
5. Line two rimmed baking sheets with plastic wrap; fit one with a cooling rack. Use a serrated knife to trim tops of cake layers, if desired. Transfer one layer to baking sheet with rack; spread with filling. Place remaining cake layer on top.
6. Using an offset spatula, spread 1 cup chilled ganache on sides of cake; smooth with a bench scraper. Pour remaining ganache over cake, coating completely. Transfer cake and rack to other baking sheet; chill until set, about 5 minutes. Scrape excess ganache back into bowl, passing through a sieve.
7. Coat the cake again with ganache. Chill until set, about 5 minutes. Press toasted coconut on sides of the cake, if desired. Keep at room temperature until ready to serve.

More:

• Risotto Cakes
• Birthday Cakes
• Marble Cake