With 10,000 egg-laying hens on the chicken ranch, Momma had more eggs to than she knew what to do with. One of her favorite spring recipes was for a moist coconut layer cake.
Coconut Layer Cake with Boiled Icing
White Cake
4 egg whites, room temperature
3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 3/4 cups flour
4 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1 cup whole milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. almond extract
Preheat oven to 350*F. Grease and flour two 8-9″ cake pans.
In a large mixing bowl, cream the fat and sugar with an electric mixer.
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together three times in a small bowl.
Add the flavorings to the milk. Add the dry ingredients alternatively with the milk mixture to the butter/sugar mixture. Beat well.
Beat the egg whites until stiff. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter. Divide evenly into prepared cake pans.
Bake for 25-30 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes and turn out onto racks to cool completely.
Boiled Icing
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
1/8 tsp. salt
1 tsp. white vinegar
3 egg whites
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 pkg. (14 oz.) shredded coconut (toast if desired)
Combine the sugar, water, and salt in a saucepan and cook over medium heat until it turns clear, stirring constantly. Without stirring, cook until it reaches the “soft ball” stage on a candy thermometer. While it is cooking, beat the egg whites in a separate bowl until they are stiff. With the mixer running, slowly drizzle the hot syrup into the egg whites, and continue beating until the frosting holds its shape. Add vanilla.
After cake layers cool, turn bottom layer upside down on a cake plate. Top with 1/4 of the icing and coconut. Place top layer right side up over bottom layer, making sure to turn it if necessary to even out the layers. The top should look parallel with the plate. Ice the top and the sides with remaining icing. Pat coconut generously onto sides and top.
Serves 8-10.
