Coconut Cake

Ingredients:

basic cake:

-2 sticks of butter, at room temp

-2 C sugar

-4 eggs

-3 C sifted self-rising flour

-1 C coconut milk

-1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Filling:

-3/4 C sugar

-1 C sour cream

-4 T milk

-1/2 C flaked, sweetened coconut

7-Minute Frosting:

-1 1/2 C sugar

-1/4 tsp cream of tarter or 1 T white corn syrup

-1/8 tsp salt

-1/3 C water

-2 egg whites

-1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

-2 to 3 C coconut, flaked and sweetened

Directions:

Cake:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 3 (9-inch) cake pans. Using an electric mixer, cream butter until fluffy. Add sugar and continue to cream well for 6-8 min. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour and coconut milk alternately to creamed mixture, beginning and ending with flour. Add vanilla and continue to beat until just mixed. Divide batter equally among prepared pans. Level batter in each pan, removing air bubbles. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until done. Cool in pans 5-10 min, invert cakes onto cooling racks.

Filling:

Stir together sugar, sour cream, milk and coconut in a bowl until well blended. Add first cake layer onto pedestal. Using the wrong end of a wooden spook, poke holes about 1-inch apart until entire cake has been poked. Spread a third of the filling mixture on cake layer. Top with second layer, repeat process. Top with third layer and repeat process again.

Frosting:

Place sugar, cream of tarter or corn syrup, salt, water, and egg whites in the top of a double boiler. Beat with a handheld electric mixer for 1 minute. Place pan over boiling water, being sure that boiling water does not touch the bottom of the pan. Beat constantly on high speed with mixer for 7 minutes. Beat in vanilla. Frost the top and sides of the cake. Sprinkle top and sides of cake with coconut.