Amazingly dense, rich, saturated with coconut flavor with a light, fluffy, creamy frosting that only compliments and doesn’t overpower the rich, dense and super-moist cake.  Yes, of course, this was the best coconut cake we’ve ever had.  And why, is that? Because it’s Thomas Keller’s recipe, and as anyone who has ever heard of or seen one of his cookbooks will know, everything he touches is gold.  This recipe, however, is not found in any of his cookbooks, but was featured in an article on Saveur magazine online.  It was a recipe that took him back to his childhood, to having a cake very similar to this in a small town diner.  We had this recipe bookmarked for months and finally gave it a go.  While you can tell from the pictures that my layering techniques leave something to be desired, the flavors were amazing.  Spot on.  I even took it to a picnic in 80 degree weather and it held up (barely).  This cake needs to be chilled the adequate time recommended, for sure.  Even with my missteps and imperfect execution, it was one of the best cakes I’ve had in years.

Go forth!  Be bold!  Make this cake!  We changed nothing – this is just one of those “I made it, so can you” kind of posts,  so I’ll simply copy the recipe for you, here!  Happy Weekend!

Triple Layer Coconut Cake

FOR THE CAKE:
Unsalted butter, for greasing
2 cups flour
1 cup desiccated coconut
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. kosher salt
1½ cups sugar
3 eggs, separated
1¼ cup mayonnaise
¾ cup coconut milk
½ cup, plus 1 tbsp. buttermilk
2 tsp. coconut extract
2 tsp. vanilla extract

FOR THE MERINGUE:
6 egg whites
1⅔ cups sugar
3 cups sweetened shredded coconut

INSTRUCTIONS