Nee Nee's Prized Coconut Cake

Sherrybeth's Note:

This cake has been a standard in our family for over 40 years. My grandmother made it, taught my mother who taught me, who taught my daughters. This was my grandmother's signature cake and is a staple at all church functions and a must at any family gathering!

• Total Time: 1 hrs 30 mins
• Prep Time: 45 mins
• Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 12

Cake Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons boiling water
• 1 cup butter
• 1 lb confectioners' sugar
• 4 egg yolks
• 3 cups sifted cake flour
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup coconut
• 4 egg whites , stiffly beaten

Icing

• 2 egg whites
• 1 1⁄3; cups sugar
• ½ cup white Karo
• 6 tablespoons water
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla flavoring
• 1 teaspoon coconut flavoring

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine boiling water to butter and sugar. Cream well with mixer. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Sift flour, baking powder and salt together, three times. Add these dry ingredients to the creamed mixture, alternating with the milk. Add vanilla. Fold in coconut and beaten egg whites, by hand. Pour into 3 nine-inch cake pans that have been well greased and floured. Bake for 20-25 minutes according to your oven.
2. Icing:.
3. Combine egg whites, sugar, syrup, water, salt and cream of tartar. Place in double boiler over boiling water. Beat with a hand mixer until mixture stands with "peaks" (approximately 10 minutes). Remove from heat, add vanilla and continue beating until thick enough to spread. Use fresh or frozen grated coconut to sprinkle between each layer along with the icing and sprinkle generously on the top and sides. Keep any leftovers refrigerated.

Reviews

[Chef #776846]

My cake did not turned out right.Ithink it was due to the amount of baking powder two tablespoons seems a little bit too much . It tastes good so I will try it with two teaspoons of baking powder.

[Bonnie G #2]

Amazing cake, well worth all the effort that went into making it. We had this for our Easter Brunch and it was wonderful. Afraid I had no luck w/the frosting - it never got stiff; but I'm sure that's something I did wrong. But I used Cream Cheese Frosting for the frosting (thank goodness I had the ingrediants on hand) and Simple Cake Filling for the filling. YUM, everyone was so impressed with the results. Thanks Sherrybeth for sharing, I'll be making this again for other events for sure.

[podapo]

This is by far the BEST Coconut cake I've had to date. Really is easier to mix then when you first read it. Is well worth the time involved. Can't wait to make this one again. Thanks SB for sharing Nee's great cake.