Coconut Layer Cake

John Barricelli teaches you how to make a delicious coconut layer cake.

Ingredients

For the Cake
- 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pans
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for pans
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 2 large eggs, plus 3 large egg yolks (reserve whites for frosting)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup whole milk
For Assemby
- Seven-Minute Frosting
- 1/4 cup lemon curd
- 1 1/4 cups sweetened shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with rack in center. Butter two 9-inch round cake pans. Line bottom of pans with parchment-paper rounds; butter paper. Dust paper and sides of pans with flour, tapping out excess.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Add flour mixture in three additions, alternately with milk in two, beginning and ending with flour. Mix until just combined.
Divide evenly between prepared pans. Place pans next to each other in oven (without touching); cook until a toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean, about 30 minutes, rotating pans halfway through.
Cool in pans 10 minutes. Run a knife around edges; invert cakes onto a rack. Peel off parchment; reinvert and let cool completely before assembling.
Assemble the cake: In a small bowl, whisk 1/4 cup store-bought lemon curd with 3/4 cup Seven-Minute Frosting. Place bottom cake layer on a platter; tuck strips of parchment under edges of cake.
Leaving a 1-inch border, spread layer with lemon-curd mixture and 1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut. Top with remaining cake layer.
Spread 2 cups frosting over top; spread remaining on sides (push spatula in a forward motion to prevent crumbs). Sprinkle 1 1/4 cups coconut over cake; pat gently on sides.