Here she is, the queen of cakes. Gorgeous and amazing eleven layers of tender cake, and a delicious coconut and raspberry caramel filling. It is as beautiful as it is delicious. I love how lovely the coconut pairs with raspberry and caramel. It is a small cake, and serves only six, so if you need to feed a crowd, you can double the recipe to suit your needs.
Ingredients
For the cake layers
270 grams plain flour
1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
150 grams granulated sugar
3 medium egg whites
270 ml whole milk
9 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 teaspoons coconut extract
For the filling
180 ml whole milk
4 tablespoons plain flour
1 whole vanilla bean
100 grams caster (superfine) sugar
5 tablespoons desiccated coconut
¼ teaspoon coconut extract
50 grams soft caramels
200 grams butter, softened
4 tablespoons double cream
1 tablespoon seedless raspberry jam
For the coconut cream frosting
200 ml double cream
½ teaspoon coconut extract
Preparation
To make the filling, pour the milk into a heavy-bottomed saucepan, add in the flour, sugar, and the beans from the vanilla bean, and whisk everything thoroughly. Place the saucepan over medium heat, and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens. It will coat the back of the spoon, and it will resemble a cooked pudding. It should take about 5 minutes or so. Remove it from the heat, and immediately add in the desiccated coconut, coconut extract, and the soft caramels. Mix the filling thoroughly, and let it cool down to room temperature.
While the filling is cooling, make the cake layers. Take a large bowl and sift the flour with the baking powder twice, add sugar and whisk well. In another bowl, whisk the whole milk with the oil, add in the coconut extract, and whisk really well. Add the wet ingredients into the dry, add in the egg whites, and blend everything well by hand. Take three small round pans (10 cm; 4”), grease the bottoms and sides, then line them with baking paper. Evenly distribute the batter between the three of them, and bake, in a preheated oven, at 180°C (350°F) for about 20-25 minutes. Check them with a toothpick, and let them cool completely.
By that time, the filling base should be almost completely cool to the touch. Place the softened butter into a large bowl. And beat with an electric mixer on high, for about 3 minutes, until it becomes lighter in colour, and completely creamy. At this point, start adding the cooked coconut base, a tablespoon at a time, beating on high constantly. Keep mixing until the filling is completely smooth. Add in the raspberry jam towards the end of mixing. Finally, add in the double cream, while beating constantly on high, until incorporated. This will make the filling extra creamy and smooth. Place some plastic wrap on the surface of the filling, and place it in the refrigerator.
To assemble the cake, level the cooled cake layers, cut them into two horizontally, and place the first layer on the cake platter. Place the filling in a decorating bag fitted with a large round nozzle, and pipe the filling on the first cake layer in a circle. Carefully place the second layer on top. Keep staking cake layers and frosting them until the cake is stacked. You should have enough filling to do a crumb coat on the cake. Take three cake dowels and insert them into the cake in a triangular manner, then trim to level them. This will act as support for this very tall and delicate cake. Do the crumb coat with the filling you have, then place the cake in the refrigerator for about half an hour. Whip the double cream with the coconut extract, decorate the cake as desired, and return it to the refrigerator for at least 8 hours. Serve it well chilled. Yields 6 servings. © TINA VESIĆ 2016
