Cakes & Bakes: Coconut Pecan Cake

Home-made coconut pecan cake | H is for Home

The past few things I’ve made for the weekly Cakes & Bakes post have been pretty easy and speedy. Today’s coconut pecan cake is also pretty easy –  however, the multiple stages take that little bit longer.

Coconut pecan cake dry ingredients | H is for Home

If you’re in the mood to spend a lazy, rainy morning baking this is a great cake to try. The recipe is the work of Dolester Miles (or ‘Dol’ as she prefers) who last month (May 2018) won the prestigious James Beard Foundation pastry chef award.

Folding coconut pecan cake batter | H is for Home

If you’ve not got the luxury of a few hours in a single day, it’s easy to spread the steps over two or three days and bring everything together on the final day.

Coconut pecan cake batter in round cake tins | H is for Home Cooked coconut pecan cakes in round cake tins | H is for Home

As the chef (and her recipe) is from Alabama, a couple of the ingredients may be a bit unfamiliar to us Brits. The cream of coconut is the thick, syrupy, sweet tinned stuff that you can use to make piña colada. The sweetened, shredded coconut seems to be similar to the dessicated coconut we get here in the UK, but it appears to be shaved rather finely grated. I used dessicated in the custard filling, but used Tree of Life organic coconut chips in the cake batter and toasted on the top and sides.

Making coconut pecan cake custard | H is for Home Making coconut pecan cake custard filling | H is for Home

I don’t think I’ve incorporated a custard filling into a sponge cake before, it works really well. And I’ll save the recipe for a doughnut filling (when I eventually get round to making those for Cakes & Bakes!).

Forming layers for coconut pecan cake | H is for Home

Once all the component parts have been prepared, it’s simply a case of building up the layers and then coating. I think the colour and textures are very attractive – perfect to display in our recently purchased glass cake dome.

Frosting for coconut pecan cake | H is for Home

It’s a substantial cake, but light and airy too – coconutty and moist. Absolutely delicious – I’d be very happy if I was served a slice of this in a tea shop!

Slice of home-made coconut pecan cake | H is for Home

Here’s Dol making her now-even-more-famous coconut pecan cake!

Click here to save Dol’s coconut pecan cake recipe to Pinterest!

Dolester Miles' coconut pecan cake
Serves 12
Prep Time
1 hr
Cook Time
30 min
Total Time
1 hr 30 min
Prep Time
1 hr
Cook Time
30 min
Total Time
1 hr 30 min
For the cake
  1. 85g/3oz firmly packed sweetened shredded coconut
  2. 74g/2⅔oz pecan halves, toasted
  3. 402g/14oz granulated sugar
  4. 287g/10oz plain flour
  5. 1tbsp baking powder
  6. ¾tsp kosher salt
  7. 170g/6oz unsalted butter, softened, plus more to grease the tins
  8. 60ml/2fl oz cream of coconut
  9. 4 large eggs
  10. ¼tsp coconut extract (optional)
  11. 270ml/9½fl oz unsweetened coconut milk
For the filling
  1. 2 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
  2. 230g/8oz sweetened condensed milk
  3. 57g/2oz unsalted butter
  4. 1tbsp cream of coconut
  5. 85g/3oz sweetened shredded coconut
For the syrup
  1. 101g/3½oz granulated sugar
  2. 235ml/8 fl oz water
For the icing
  1. 240ml/8½ fl oz double cream
  2. 31g/1oz icing sugar
  3. 1tbsp coconut extract (optional)
  4. 170g/6oz sweetened shredded coconut, toastedHome-made coconut pecan cake ingredients
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Instructions
  1. Heat oven to 175ºC/350ºF/Gas mark 4
  2. Grease two 9-inch round cake tins and line the bottom of each with parchment paper
  3. Finely grind the coconut in a food processor, then transfer to a bowl
  4. Add the pecans to the food processor, along with 2tbsps of the sugar, and finely grind together
  5. In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt
  6. Stir in the ground coconut and pecans
  7. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, cream of coconut and the remaining sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes
  8. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition and scraping down the bowl as necessary, then beat in the coconut extract
  9. Add the flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with the coconut milk, starting and ending with the flour mixture
  10. Divide the batter equally between the tins and smooth the top of each with a spatula
  11. Bake until the cakes are golden and a skewer inserted into the centre comes away clean, 30 to 35 minutes
  12. Allow the cakes cool in the tins on a wire rack for 30 minutes
  13. Run a knife around the edge of each cake, invert onto a wire rack and remove the parchment. Allow to cool completely
For the filling
  1. Place the egg yolks into a small, heatproof bowl and set aside
  2. In a saucepan, combine the condensed milk, butter and cream of coconut and cook over a medium-low heat, stirring constantly until hot, about 4 minutes
  3. Whisk ⅓ of the hot milk into the egg yolks
  4. Transfer the egg mixture to the saucepan of milk and whisk constantly over medium-low heat until mixture has the consistency of custard, about 4 minutes. Don't allow the mixture to get too thick
  5. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the shredded coconut. Allow to cool completely
For the syrup
  1. In a saucepan, heat the sugar and water, stirring occasionally, until sugar has dissolved
  2. Remove from the heat
To assemble
  1. Cut each cake in half horizontally
  2. Place one layer in the bottom of a /9-inch cake tin, moisten the top with 2 to 3 tablespoons simple syrup and spread ⅓ of the coconut filling in a thin, even layer with an offset spatula
  3. Repeat to make 2 more layers of cake and filling, then place the last layer on the top
  4. Refrigerate the cake for about 1 hour
  5. To remove, run a spatula around the edges, invert a cake plate over the top, and flip the cake over onto the plate
For the icing
  1. Whip the cream with the icing sugar and coconut extract until stiff peaks form
  2. Spread on the top and sides of the cake and sprinkle with toasted coconut
  3. Refrigerate until ready to serve
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Adapted from The New York Times
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