From Half Baked Harvest
Three soft, perfectly sweet, very moist, extra coconutty, lemon scented cake layers. Each drizzled lightly with a sweet honey lemon syrup, and then generously frosted with the most delicious whipped vanilla buttercream.
Three soft, perfectly sweet, very moist, extra coconutty, lemon scented cake layers. Each drizzled lightly with a sweet honey lemon syrup, and then generously frosted with the most delicious whipped vanilla buttercream.
Prep Time
20 minutes
Cook Time
40 minutes
Total Time
1 hour
Servings
12
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup melted coconut oil, cooled
- 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
- 3 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup canned full fat coconut milk
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1 cup shredded sweetened coconut, plus more for layering
Honey Lemon Syrup
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/3 cup honey
Whipped Vanilla Buttercream
- 3 sticks (1 ½ cups) salted butter, at room temperature
- 2 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, or vanilla bean powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 3 (6-inch) round cake pans or 2 (8 inch) round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter/spray with cooking spray.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (or use a hand-held mixer) beat together the coconut oil, yogurt, eggs, sugar, vanilla, and coconut milk. Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix until just combined. Fold in the lemon zest and shredded coconut.
- Pour the batter among the cake pans and bake 30-35 minutes, until the tops are just set, and no longer wiggly in the center. Remove and let cool five minutes, then run a knife around the edges of the pan and turn the cakes out onto a cooling rack. Poke 3-5 holes in the top of each cake.
- Make the honey lemon syrup. In a small sauce pan bring the lemon juice and honey to a boil over high heat. Boil 1-2 minutes, until just slightly thickened. Let cool until warm to touch, about 10 minutes.
- Make the buttercream. Add the butter and the cream cheese to the bowl of a stand mixer and whip until extra light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Add the powdered sugar and honey. Beat together until whipped, about 2 more minutes. Add the vanilla and beat until combined. If the frosting feels too loose, add powdered sugar to thicken.
- To assemble, place one cake layer on a serving plate or cake stand and drizzle lightly with the cooled honey syrup. Spread 1/3 of the buttercream over the cake and add a handful of shredded coconut. Repeat with the remaining 2 cake layers. Be careful not to over fill your layers or the cake will be hard to slice. Serve or store in the fridge for up to 1 day. If desired, decorate the cake with thyme blossoms and edible flowers.
