When I think of Easter desserts, I think of two cakes first and foremost: carrot cake and coconut cake. You’ll find my mega-delicious carrot cake recipe with cream cheese frosting in my book, Anyone Can Cake, and if I wouldn’t have waited so long to develop this coconut cake recipe it would be in my book as well. Instead, it’s right here and let me tell you: when I tasted this cake my first thought was “now I know what’s been missing from my life.” I know that sounds dramatic but IT’S SO GOOD! I truly could not resist this one.

These coconut cake layers are perfectly soft and moist, packed with just the right amount of coconut flavor, and have an amazing texture from the shredded coconut baked right in. The cake flour and egg whites in the recipe keep it light and fluffy, while the sour cream and canned coconut milk balance it all with the ideal amount of moisture. I was originally going to top it with regular ol’ coconut buttercream, but then I heard about coconut cream cheese buttercream and I couldn’t stop myself from trying it. Spoiler: it turned out insanely good. It felt like a mic drop moment. 

While the coconut cream cheese buttercream is supremely tasty, it will be a little on the softer side to work with. I do have a couple stabilizers I recommend to make it much easier for cake decorating: cornstarch and full-fat block-style cream cheese. Cornstarch will add stability to the frosting just like adding more powdered sugar would, only it won’t flavor the buttercream or add any extra sweetness. And full-fat block-style cream cheese is a must. It turns out that cream cheese spread has a lot of added liquid, which will make your frosting super runny. 

TIP: If you live in the UK and don’t have access to block-style cream cheese, I hear that Longley Farm cream cheese is the best to use because it doesn’t have additional liquid in it. For other parts of the world without access to full-fat block-style cream cheese, you may need to search your area for cream cheese brands that don’t add extra liquid or for alternative recipes from people in your area. 

After filling and frosting this coconut cake with coconut cream cheese buttercream, I added a coating of sweetened shredded coconut over the whole thing (as is pretty much tradition with a coconut cake). You can either roll the cake through the coconut after the frosting is firm to the touch like what I did with this Rafaello cake recipe or you can press the coconut onto the cake by hand while the frosting is still slightly tacky. I pressed it on by hand this time, but only because I wanted to try an alternative to rolling the cake. Either way works like a charm! 

To finish the look, I added a swirl border to the top of the cake with Wilton Tip 4B and sprinkled it with a little more sweetened shredded coconut. I wanted a little pop of color and realized I had these cute pastel rainbow candles on hand, so on they went. They’re perfect for dressing this cake up for Spring or Easter festivities! 

However you choose to decorate, I think this recipe is what coconut cake dreams are made of and I hope you love it as much as I do!

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Coconut Cake with Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting

Layers of fluffy, moist coconut cake with decadent coconut cream cheese buttercream, topped with shredded coconut to make it classic. It's what coconut cake dreams are made of!

Prep Time 50 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Servings 15 slices

Ingredients

Coconut Cake

• 3 Cups (315g) sifted cake flour* DIY recipe in notes
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 Cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 Cups (300g) granulated sugar
• 5 large egg whites, room temperature
• 1/3 Cup (76g) sour cream, room temperature
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 tsp coconut extract
• 1 Cup (240ml) canned full-fat coconut milk, room temperature
• 1 Cup (78g) shredded sweetened coconut

Coconut Cream Cheese Buttercream

• 8 Cups (960g) powdered sugar
• 1/4 Cup (32g) cornstarch (optional)**
• 1 1/2 Cups (339g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 12 Oz (339g) full-fat cream cheese, block-style***, room temperature
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 tsp coconut extract
• 2 tsp canned full-fat coconut milk, room temperature
• pinch of salt, or to taste

Garnish

• 1 1/2 Cups sweetened shredded coconut

Instructions

Make the Coconut Cake

• Preheat the oven to 350°F/177ºC. Prepare three 6-inch (15cm) or two 8-inch (20cm) cake pans by spraying the sides with cooking spray and fitting a parchment paper circle to the bottom of the pan.
• Add the sifted cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.
• In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on high for two minutes until it’s light and creamy. Add the sugar and continue to mix on medium-high for another two minutes, scraping down the bowl and paddle as needed. Turn the mixer to low speed and add the egg whites one at a time, mixing until well combined. Add the sour cream, vanilla extract, and coconut extract and mix for one minute on high. Scrape down the bowl and paddle once more. It will look curdled at this point but don’t worry – it will look like smooth cake batter by the end!
• Turn the mixer to low, add in the dry ingredients all at once. When they’re just beginning to combine, add the canned coconut milk in a slow, steady stream. Continue to mix on low until incorporated. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and give it a few stirs by hand to make sure there are no large lumps, then gently fold in the shredded coconut.
• Pour the batter evenly into the prepared cake pans and bake for 35-40 minutes. They’re done when they spring back to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pan for five minutes before turning them out onto a wire rack for an additional few hours of cooling.

Make the Coconut Cream Cheese Buttercream

• Sift together the powdered sugar and cornstarch (if using) and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and cream cheese on medium-high until light, fluffy, and uniform (no lumps), about 5 minutes.
• Turn the mixer to low speed and add the powdered sugar and cornstarch mixture a few cups at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition and scraping down the bowl and paddle as needed. Add the vanilla extract, coconut extract, coconut milk, and salt and mix on low for another minute, until fully combined and smooth.

Assembly

• Once the coconut cakes are completely cooled, level them to your desired height. Add a swipe of coconut cream cheese buttercream onto a cardboard cake circle and place the first cake layer on top. Fill and stack the cake layers with coconut cream cheese buttercream, then crumb coat the cake with a thin layer of coconut cream cheese buttercream. Place the crumb coated cake in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to let the frosting firm up.
• To create the look pictured, frost a smooth buttercream finish with coconut cream cheese buttercream. Place the cake back into the refrigerator for about 15 minutes, until the frosting is slightly set but still tacky, then gently press the shredded coconut onto the sides and top of the cake.
• Once the sides and top of the cake are covered in coconut, place the remaining coconut cream cheese buttercream into a piping bag fitted with Wilton Tip 4B. Pipe a swirl border on top of the cake and finish with pastel rainbow candles if desired.

Notes

*DIY Cake Flour Recipe: To make your own cake flour, spoon and level one cup of all-purpose flour and remove 2 Tbsp. Add 2 Tbsp of cornstarch. Repeat per the amount of cake flour you need, then sift the flour and cornstarch mixture 4 times (don’t skip that step!). After sifting, spoon and level to re-measure the amount of cake flour you need. 

**Cornstarch helps thicken the consistency of the cream cheese buttercream without adding any flavor/extra sweetness. I highly recommend it if you’re using this frosting to pipe intricate details.

***It’s important to use block-style cream cheese in this recipe because cream cheese spreads contain a lot more liquid and will make your buttercream runny. 

Make Ahead Tips: 

1. The coconut cake layers can be baked, cooled, wrapped in plastic wrap, and left out at room temperature up to two days ahead of decorating. Unfrosted cake layers can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and stored in the freezer for up to two months before thawing and frosting.
2. The coconut cream cheese buttercream can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container at room temperature for one day. Alternatively, you can store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. When you’re ready to use it, bring it back to room temperature and re-whip with your stand mixer to bring it back to piping/frosting consistency.

 

The post The Dreamiest Coconut Cake Recipe appeared first on Sugar & Sparrow.

I have an ongoing list of cake flavors I want to make, and this Golden Milk Cake recipe has been on it for two whole years! I just love golden milk lattes and thought a layer cake version would be a fun flavor to try in cake form. So when I was killing time on baby watch in my final weeks of pregnancy, I decided to break out the turmeric and get a little creative in the kitchen. Not only did I learn some surprising things in the testing process, but the end result was so tasty and timely for Fall baking. Whether you’re a turmeric tea lover or just looking for something different than your average tea cake, this one’s for you!

The thing I love most about a golden milk latte is the spice blend, so I made sure to incorporate a good amount of spice in this recipe with turmeric, cinnamon, and ginger. And since my milk of choice for a golden milk latte is always coconut milk, I decided to use it as the liquid in this cake and the buttercream. Not only did coconut milk complement the flavor profile perfectly, it added a great amount of moisture to the cake without making it dense at all. I usually add sour cream to my cake recipes for moisture, but with the coconut milk, this recipe doesn’t need any extra moisture! From the taste to the texture, this Golden Milk Cake is exactly what I was hoping for. 

Let’s talk about the color of this cake, because I learned some science-y things about that in my recipe testing. In my first trial, I used baking powder and baking soda as leavening agents, and while the cake rose beautifully and tasted great, the color was reddish orange instead of the classic turmeric yellow color I was envisioning. It looked like a sweet potato cake!

After doing a little research, I realized that when turmeric comes into contact with alkaline (or base) solutions like baking soda, it turns the end result red. Being the perfectionist I am, I just couldn’t settle for a Golden Milk Cake that was not a golden yellow color, so I tweaked the recipe to omit the baking soda and include more baking powder. The result: a tasty Golden Milk Cake that is perfectly turmeric colored!

One important side note about turmeric though: it can stain things. Be careful not to get it on your clothes or kitchen towels! 

I decided to fill and frost this Golden Milk Cake with Coconut Buttercream just because the sweetness of the coconut pairs so perfectly with the spices in the cake. Like I mentioned before, coconut milk is my milk of choice when it comes to an actual golden milk latte, so incorporating the flavor of coconut was a no-brainer for me. If you’d rather use my Vanilla Buttercream recipe, I’m certain that it would be a great flavor pairing as well. But trust me, the Coconut Buttercream takes this cake beyond. 

Since I love the color of turmeric so much, I tinted some of the Coconut Buttercream with a custom mix of Americolor Dijon + Lemon Yellow + Orange until I ended up with the perfect turmeric hue. Then, I used it to create an ombrè of color that goes from turmeric to white, piped an open star border with Wilton Tip 6B, and sprinkled some turmeric over the top for an extra pop of color. Any way you end up decorating this cake, I can assure you that it’s delicious if you’re a golden milk latte lover like me! Enjoy! 

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Golden Milk Layer Cake

Inspired by one of my favorite Fall treats: the golden milk latte! Layers of moist, fluffy golden milk flavored cake (spiced with turmeric, cinnamon, and ginger), filled and frosted with decadent coconut buttercream.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Ingredients

Golden Milk Cake

• 2 3/4 Cups (290g) cake flour, sifted before measuring
• 2 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1 Tbsp ground turmeric
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 Cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 3/4 Cups (360g) granulated white sugar
• 3 whole eggs, room temperature
• 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 Cups (296ml) full fat coconut milk

Coconut Buttercream

• 2 Cups (452g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 7 Cups (840g) powdered sugar
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 tsp pure coconut extract
• 3 Tbsp coconut milk, room temperature
• 1/4 tsp salt

Instructions

Make the Golden Milk Cake

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare three 6-inch or two 9-inch cake pans by spraying the sides with a cooking spray (Baker's Joy is my favorite) and fitting a wax or parchment paper circle to the bottom of the pan. Alternatively, you can grease and lightly flour the pans.
• Sift the cake flour and then measure by spooning and leveling it in your measuring cup. Add the cake flour, baking powder, turmeric, cinnamon, ginger, and salt into a bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.
• In the bowl of your stand mixer (a handheld mixer works fine too!), cream the butter for on high for two minutes until it's light and fluffy. Add in sugar and continue to mix on medium-high for another two minutes, scraping down the bowl and paddle as needed. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Add the vanilla and mix for one minute on high, scraping down the bowl and paddle once more. 
• With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Then, add the coconut milk slowly and mix until just incorporated. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and give it a few stirs to make sure there are no lumps (without over-mixing). The batter will be slightly thick, but pourable. 
• Pour batter evenly into prepared cake pans (no more than 2/3 of the way full) and bake for 35-40 minutes. They're done when they spring back to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pan for five minutes before turning them out onto a wire rack for an additional few hours of cooling. Make sure they're entirely room temperature before applying any frosting. 

Make the Coconut Buttercream

• With a hand mixer or paddle attachment on your stand mixer, cream the butter on medium-high until it’s creamy and light (almost white) in color. About 7 minutes. 
• With the mixer on low, add the powdered sugar a few cups at a time, scraping down after each addition and making sure each addition is fully incorporated before adding the next one. 
• Add vanilla extract, coconut extract, coconut milk, and salt and mix on medium-low for another two minutes until fully incorporated. 

Assembly

• Once the Golden Milk Cake layers have cooled completely, fill and frost with Coconut Buttercream. To create the design pictured, tint one cup of buttercream a deep yellow color with the food color gels of your choice (I used a mix of Americolor Dijon + Lemon Yellow + Orange until I ended up with the perfect turmeric hue). Mix a lighter yellow shade by combining the darker yellow with some uncolored buttercream and create a messy ombrè by adding the darkest yellow on the bottom third of the cake, followed by the lighter yellow until finally adding the uncolored buttercream to the top third and top of the cake. Keep adding and smoothing until you like what you see.
• Pipe a star border around the top of the cake with the uncolored Coconut Buttercream using Wilton Tip 6B, then sprinkle with ground turmeric.

Notes

Make Ahead Tips:

1. The Golden Milk Cake layers can be made ahead and stored, wrapped in plastic wrap, at room temperature for up to two days. Alternatively, you can store the wrapped cake layers in the freezer for up to 2 months before thawing and frosting.
2. The Coconut Buttercream can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. When you’re ready to use it, bring it back to room temperature and re-whip in your stand mixer to bring back to smooth buttercream consistency. 

To Make As Cupcakes: fill cupcake tins no more than 2/3 of the way full and bake at 350ºF for 15-17 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Yields about 36-40 cupcakes. 

Did you make this cake recipe? I want to know how it went! Let me know in the comments below and feel free to tag @sugarandsparrowco in a photo on Instagram to show me – I love to see what you create with my recipes!

The post Golden Milk Layer Cake Recipe appeared first on Sugar & Sparrow.

One of my favorite things to do in Portland is go meet a friend for Pip’s Doughnuts and Chai. Their tasty mini doughnuts are hands down my favorite in the city and I’ve even topped some birthday cakes with them over the years. When the pandemic forced so many local businesses I love to close up shop, Pip’s did something extraordinary: they adapted by launching a new way to do business, all while keeping the community at the heart of what they do. Instead of serving up doughnuts these days, they’re hard at work bottling their chai concentrate and giving 10% of the profits back to other service businesses in Portland. Not only is their ability to launch Community Chai during these wild times inspiring, but their chai concentrate is incredible.

 It’s more important than ever to support small businesses both creatively and financially, and making #CakesForSmallBiz is one of my favorite ways to do it. So when I saw that Pip’s was bottling their chai concentrate to keep the lights on during this season of uncertainty, I was all in on placing an order. Not only is their chai tasty for drinking, I also thought it would make the perfect cake ingredient (it totally did!). Side note: if you’re looking for a creative way to support your fave small businesses right now, consider making a cake with local ingredients or designing a cake inspired by the businesses you love. They could use all the help right now! 

Let’s talk about this chai concentrate. There are five different blends to choose from and I am a firm believer that any of them would be perfect in this cake recipe (and most definitely tasty for making at-home lattes). I chose the Heart of Gold blend and the flavor profile is just so good. The description: “a smooth blend of toasted coconut, golden turmeric, ginger, grassy sencha green tea, and Assam tea. Brewed with whole coconut flakes, Heart of Gold has a naturally creamy body. The chai we’d drink in a hammock under a palm tree.” Not only did it work perfectly in this cake recipe, I enjoyed this blend in latte-form so much that upon first sip I was ready to place my order for a second bottle! I’m hooked. 

For this cake, I used my Spiced Vanilla Chai Cake recipe as a base and subbed in a mixture of this Heart of Gold concentrate + whole milk (so, basically a latte) to infuse it with these lovely flavors. Spoiler alert: it worked! This Chai Cake is incredibly soft and moist, fragrant (my kitchen smelled amazing), and all of the added spices take the flavor to the next level. Since it’s brewed with whole coconut flakes, pairing this Heart of Gold-infused cake with Coconut Buttercream was only natural. The combination of spicy chai and refreshing coconut are a total match made in chai cake heaven! They truly complete each other.

For decorating this Coconut Chai Cake, I was really inspired by the look of when you pour milk into the chai concentrate and the two colors swirl together. To capture that moment, I tinted some of the Coconut Buttercream a deep brownish orange (using Americolor Chocolate Brown + Orange) to match the color of the chai concentrate, then mixed a few in-between shades and frosted them onto the cake in a messy ombrè design. I used Wilton Tip 4B to create the swirls around the top edge and sprinkled toasted coconut flakes on top (details on how to toast coconut flakes in the recipe notes below). 

You can decorate this cake however you’d like – keep the frosting one color, add toasted coconut to the sides, or create whatever you’re envisioning! One thing is for sure though, this cake is insanely tasty. I have not been able to stop enjoying it, and am quickly finding out that being quarantined with a whole cake while pregnant is a really silly situation to be in (send help!).  
If you’re wanting to make this cake but don’t have access to Community Chai concentrate (it’s only available in Portland), there are substitutions in the recipe notes so you can work with what you’ve got!

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Pip’s “Heart of Gold” Coconut Chai Cake

Layers of spiced Chai Cake infused with delicious golden chai concentrate, paired with refreshing Coconut Buttercream and toasted coconut flakes – a match made in chai cake heaven!

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Ingredients

Chai Layer Cake

• 1/2 Cup (120ml) chai concentrate (I'm using Community Chai's Heart of Gold blend)*
• 3/4 Cups (180ml) whole milk
• 2 3/4 Cups (290g) cake flour, sifted before measuring
• 2 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/4 tsp ground allspice
• 1/8 tsp ground cloves
• 1 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 Cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 3/4 Cups (358g) granulated white sugar
• 3 whole eggs, room temperature
• 1/2 Cup (112g) sour cream, room temperature
• 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract

Coconut Buttercream

• 2 Cups (452g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 7 Cups (840g) powdered sugar
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 tsp pure coconut extract
• 3 Tbsp coconut milk, room temperature
• 1/4 tsp salt

Instructions

Make the Chai Layer Cake

• Whisk together the chai concentrate and whole milk. Set aside until it's reached room temperature.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare three 6-inch or two 9-inch cake pans by spraying the sides with a cooking spray (Baker's Joy is my favorite) and fitting a wax or parchment paper circle to the bottom of the pan. Alternatively, you can grease and lightly flour the pans.
• Sift the cake flour and then measure by spooning and leveling it in your measuring cup. Add the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, allspice, cloves, and salt into a bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.
• In the bowl of your stand mixer (a handheld mixer works fine too!), cream the butter for on high for two minutes until it's light and fluffy. Add in sugar and continue to mix on medium-high for another two minutes, scraping down the bowl and paddle as needed. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Add vanilla and sour cream and mix for one minute on high, scraping down the bowl and paddle once more. 
• With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Add the (room temperature!) chai milk mixture slowly and mix until just incorporated. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and give it a few stirs to make sure there are no lumps (without over-mixing). The batter will be slightly thick, but pourable. 
• Pour batter evenly into prepared cake pans (no more than 2/3 of the way full) and bake for 30-35 minutes. They're done when they spring back to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pan for five minutes before turning them out onto a wire rack for an additional few hours of cooling. Make sure they're entirely room temperature before applying any frosting. 

Make the Coconut Buttercream

• With a hand mixer or paddle attachment on your stand mixer, cream the butter on medium-high until it’s creamy and light (almost white) in color. About 7 minutes. 
• With the mixer on low, add the powdered sugar a few cups at a time, scraping down after each addition and making sure each addition is fully incorporated before adding the next one. 
• Add vanilla extract, coconut extract, coconut milk, and salt and mix on medium-low for another two minutes until fully incorporated. 

Assembly

• Once the Chai Layer Cakes have cooled completely, fill and frost the layers with Coconut Buttercream. To create the design pictured, tint one cup of buttercream a deep brown-orange with the food color gels of your choice (I used a mix of Americolor Chocolate Brown and Orange). Mix two in-between shades and create a messy ombrè by adding the darkest color on the bottom third of the cake, followed by the second darkest (and so on) until finally adding the uncolored buttercream to the top third and top of the cake. Keep adding and smoothing until you like what you see.
• Pipe swirls of the uncolored buttercream around the top edge of the cake using your favorite piping tip (I used Wilton Tip 4B), then sprinkle with toasted coconut flakes**

Notes

* You may substitute the chai concentrate in this recipe with any other brand, or by steeping one chai tea bag in 1 1/4 Cups (296ml) of boiled whole milk. Either way, make sure the mixture is room temperature before using it in this cake recipe. 

** To make toasted coconut flakes, preheat your oven to 350ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Add a single layer of sweetened (or unsweetened) coconut flakes and bake for 5 minutes, stir, then bake for an additional 2-3 minutes until golden brown. 

Make Ahead Tips:

1. The Chai Cake layers can be made ahead and stored, wrapped in plastic wrap, at room temperature for up to two days. Alternatively, you can store the wrapped cake layers in the freezer for up to 2 months before thawing and frosting.
2. The Coconut Buttercream can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. When you’re ready to use it, bring it back to room temperature and re-whip in your stand mixer to bring back to smooth buttercream consistency. 

Did you make this Coconut Chai Cake recipe? Let me know how it went in the comments below. And if you used Community Chai concentrate in the recipe, be sure to tag @sugarandsparrowco and @communitychai on Instagram to show us! We’d love to see your chai cake creations.

The post Pip’s “Heart of Gold” Coconut Chai Cake Recipe appeared first on Sugar & Sparrow.