My dad’s birthday was last week and when I saw this recipe, I knew I’d make it for him. It’s very coconut-y and surprisingly intense and rich. Well worth it.

Ingredients:

For the cake:

• 1 cup butter, at room temperature
• 1 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup cream of coconut (found by the drink mixer section of the grocery store)
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 tsp. coconut extract
• 2 1/2 cup flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt

For the frosting:

• 1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
• 8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 tsp. coconut extract
• 1 bag powdered sugar
• milk, as needed

Toasted coconut:

• 1/2 bag of sweetened shredded coconut

Preparation:

For the cake:

Grease, line with parchment paper, grease and flour 2 9 inch round pans; set aside. Preheat oven to 275 degrees.

Separate eggs, set whites aside. Beat the butter, sugar, egg yolks, and cream of coconut until light and fluffy. Sift dry ingredients together and add to the creamed mixture on low speed alternating with the buttermilk and coconut extract. In a clean bowl, beat egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff. Fold egg whites into batter, incorporating fully. Divide the batter between the two pans and bake for 60 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into the middle of the cakes comes out clean, adding 5-10 minute increments as needed. Transfer to a cooling rack and poke holes (not all the way through) throughout the cake and drizzle remaining cream of coconut , approximately a 1/2 cup. After the cakes cool, transfer to the freezer for overnight.

Remove the cakes from the freezer. Prepare the frosting, beating together the butter, cream cheese, coconut extract and powdered sugar using milk, as needed, to achieve desired consistency. Add frosting between the two layers and frost all the way around the cake.

To toast the coconut, preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spread out the coconut on a baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes, stirring and tossing halfway through. Add to the tops and sides of the cake, pressing in gently to secure.

Allow the cake to rest for an hour or so, to thaw, before serving.

Source: http://www.favfamilyrecipes.com/coconut-cream-cake-with-coconut-cream.html