I made this for Father’s Day. The lemon and coconut flavours complemented each other gorgeously in this light, fluffy cake.
Aside from a mille crepe, this is the most time consuming cake I’ve ever baked. I was standing from 11am – 4pm just making this. The end result made it all worth it though :)
That said though, as long as you’ve got all the ingredients ready and prepared, it would cut the time down significantly.
# – Coconut lemon layer cake.
For the cake:
- 175 grams of plain flour
- A pinch of salt
- 6 eggs
- 225 grams of granulated sugar
- 65 grams of desiccated coconut
- Zest of 2 lemons
- 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
For the lemon curd filling:
- 1 tablespoon of cornflour
- 125 grams of caster sugar
- 1 egg
- 3 tablespoons of butter
- 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 120 ml of water
For the frosting:
- 75 grams of butter, at room temperature
- 175 grams of icing sugar
- Zest of 1 1/2 lemon
- 30 ml of lemon juice
- 200 grams of dessicated coconut
Lets start with making the cakes…
# – First, put a large bowl over a pot of boiling water. Crack 6 eggs into it and beat.
# – Beat for about 10 minutes until the mixture has turned pale, like this.
# – Add the lemon zest in it.
# – Add the one tablespoon of lemon juice.
# – Followed by the dessicated coconut.
# – Sift some of the flour into the mixture, stir to combine and then repeat till all flours are used up.
# – Divide the mixture into 3 non-stick/greased cake tins.
# – Stick them in a pre-heated oven 180 degrees celcius for 20 minutes. Remember to rotate the cakes around for even baking.
While the cakes bake away, it’s time to make the lemon curd filling.
# – Dissolve the cornflour with a dash of water.
# – Crack an egg over the mixture and whisk till combined. Set aside.
# – Melt butter, caster sugar, lemon zest and 120 ml of water in a saucepan.
# – When butter has melted, pour the egg + cornflour mixture into it while still whisking.
# – Keep whisking and you will start seeing the mixture thickens while turning a gorgeous yellow.
# – Stop whisking when it’s thick and gooey. Pour it out into a bowl to cool down. Delicious, homemade lemon curd, DONE!
The last bit to whip up is the yummy frosting…
# – Dump everything except the dessicated coconut into a bowl and beat till creamy.
# – Lemon frosting, DONE!
Finally, it’s time to assemble the cake, woohoo :D
# – Lay the cakes, lemon curd filling and lemon frosting out so it’s easier to work :)
# – Spread lemon curd over one cake.
# – Then lay another cake over and the rest is self explanatory in the following picture.
# – Next, frost the cake up. Yummy!
# – Then sprinkle dessicated coconut all over the cake and voila, coconut lemon layer cake, DONE!
# – Eat up!
Light, lemony fluffy cake with gorgeous homemade lemon curd and a tangy frosting. Absolutely delicious! If you’re planning to make something for a loved one, look nowhere else as this is the cake that says ‘I Love You’ :)