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.

Aren’t they pretty? The cool thing about these Easter egg cake toppers is they’re 100% edible. You basically create a Candy Melt “shell,” let it set, add the filling of your choice, and seal it with another layer of Candy Melt. After a quick trip to the refrigerator, they pop right out of the mold looking all beautiful and flawless! The mold is made of silicone for super easy release, so they literally do just pop right out. Love it!

My favorite thing about these Easter egg cake toppers is no two are alike. The process all starts by creating the colorful “shell” on the outside of the egg and you can get as creative as you want with decorating it. I ended up using Candy Melts to splatter paint and brushstroke the mold before pouring a solid color over it to create my shells. This technique made for a really seamless look, but you can feel free to be as creative as you want with your toppers. Save the splatter painting and brush stroking for the end to get a more textured look, swirl your Candy Melt Colors, or do whatever else you’re imagining!

Once the eggs were made, I placed them on top of a yellow cake and piped more Easter-inspired colors all around them in a variety of textures. All of this gorgeous piping was made possible with just three of my favorite Wilton Tips: 1M (for the rosettes), 4B (for the stars), and 233 (for the dots of colorful grass). I paired these piping tips with six different buttercream colors and just piped away until I was satisfied. The textures are such a great match for these pretty Easter eggs!

Here’s a quick video of the techniques I used to create these colorful Easter egg cake toppers, plus some footage of how I decorated the rest of the cake:

If you love videos like this one, be sure to check out my YouTube Channel! There are tons of cake decorating and recipe videos there to inspire you and I’m always rolling out new ones. If you click Subscribe you can rest assured that you’ll never miss a new video! 

You Will Need

• An Egg Shaped Silicone Treat Mold
• 12 oz. Wilton Candy Melts in Bright White 
• Candy Decorating Primary Colors Set
• EZ Thin Dipping Aid 
• Bowls and spoons for color mixing
• 5 Piece Decorating Paint Brush Set
• Angled spatula
• ⅓ Cup filling of your choice (I went with cake pop filling)

Step 1: Melt and Tint the Candy Melts 

Melt the Candy Melts according to the package instructions, then add them to six separate bowls. Color the first three bowls using colors specifically made for Candy Melts (I used this Primary Colors Set and custom mixed the shades shown below). You’ll want to make these first three colors bold and vibrant, since they’ll be the colors of the “paint” on the outside of the shells. Candy Melts do come in all sorts of colors, so feel free to use pre-colored ones for this part if you want!

Use a little bit of the bold colors to tint the remaining three bowls and create pastel versions. These colors will be used as the shell behind the paint splatters and brushstrokes (we’ll get to those next!). 

If at any point your Candy Melts seem too thick, try adding some EZ Thin Dipping Aid or heat in the microwave for an additional few seconds. 

Step 2: Paint the Easter Egg Mold

Using the paint brush set, splatter paint and brushstroke the cavities of the Egg Shaped Silicone Mold with the bold Candy Melt colors until you love the look.

Let the painted mold set up at room temperature for 2-3 minutes before moving on to the next step. 

Step 3: Create the Easter Egg Shells

Fill each cavity in the Egg shaped mold with the pastel Candy Melts, right over the top of the painted designs. Gently tap the mold on a flat surface to make sure the entire cavity is covered evenly and let sit for about 3 minutes, or until a hard shell starts to form on the edges only.

Turn the mold over and pour out the excess Candy Melts onto a piece of wax paper.

Then, take an angled spatula and swipe over the top of the mold to remove any excess Candy Melts.

Refrigerate for at least 10 minutes to let the shells firm up. 

Step 4: Add the Filling 

Using the filling of your choice (I used cake pop filling for these), fill each cavity about ⅔ full. Be sure to leave enough room for more Candy Melt on top.

If your filling requires setting (most do), place the mold back into the refrigerator until your filling is nice and set. 

Step 5: Add More Candy Melts

Once the filling is set, add more of the melted pastel Candy Melts to the top (aka the back) of each egg.

Swipe off the excess with an angled spatula and place back into the refrigerator to set for at least 10 minutes. 

Step 6: Release

When your eggs are set, they’re so easy to remove from the silicone mold. They pop right out, and just look at how incredible the painterly designs show up!

You can serve these edible Easter eggs as a dessert all on their own, use them in your next Easter cake design, or add them to any of your bakes for a festive pop of color. Can’t wait for you guys to try this technique. And be sure to check out Wilton’s online shop for some super fun Easter themed baking supplies!

What kind of bakes are you making for Easter? Let me know in the comments below. And if you end up making these Easter eggs, be sure to tag @sugarandsparrowco on Instagram and show me!

The post Colorful (Edible!) Easter Egg Cake Toppers Tutorial appeared first on Sugar & Sparrow.

Ready to get a little crazy with Easter M&M’s? Head over to The Cake Blog to learn how to make this Easter cake that’ll turn all the heads.

The post Rainbow Candy Mosaic Cake appeared first on Sugar & Sparrow.