Peninsula Grill Giant Coconut Layer Cake

When I saw this cake on Food TV, I knew I had to make it. Thank you for posting it, as I was quite obsessed with finding the recipe. Unfortunately, I used it to sabbotage my diet and asked my husband to take it to work with him after having two slices in one day. This is my first review and I want to be thorough. I have a weakness for round cakes set on old-timey cake pedestals. This cake is grand and homey at the same time and should be placed on a pedestal. The texture of the cake wasn't quite what I thought it would be. It was quite crumbly; I think all those eggs. The crust was quite nice and almost crunchy from the sugar. If you're going to slice the three layers, definitely double the filling. I didn't slice the layers because I didn't double the filling and I regret that (the filling is silky and coconuty at the same time). I will probably make this again, but there are so many coconut cakes on this site that may divert me from that for awhile.

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We need to have more than 5 stars, this is worth so many more. MEAN, all I can say is thank you for posting this recipe and taking the time to type it all up. WOW!!!! That is the word I can come up with. This is "THE" best cake I have honestly ever eaten. Since seeing that cake on tv, I have been wanting to make it. You came through for me!!!! It is such a hit at my house right now. All 4 of my kids are filling their faces with it. The preparation was not as hard as I thought it would be. I made the cakes a day in advance and then doubled the filling like you said. I cut the cakes in half so that I would have the 6 layers. I was afraid that the frosting would not cover the whole cake, but it certainly did. I assembled it all together and let it sit in the fridge overnight. The thing weighs about 15 lbs. I am in absolute heaven. Thank you, thank you, thank you.....You are the best!!!!

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Thank you so much for posting this! I haven't tried it yet, but I certainly will after reading the wonderful comments! One note: I notice that a couple of you said something about the crumbly nature of the cake. One thing I remember on the Food TV segment is that, as they assembled the layers, before they spread on the filling, they squirted onto each unfrosted cake some simple syrup (equal amounts of sugar and water boiled together and then cooled into a syrup). No exact amount for simple syrup was given; they just seemed to squirt it all over the cake and let it soak in a little before putting on the filling. This would certainly cut down on the cake being crumbly. Just thought I would throw that it. Now I REALLY can't wait to make this! :-)

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I made this cake for my husband to take to work for his boss. Everyone at the company raved about the cake. I did split the layers and double the filling as MEAN CHEF suggested. The cake has so much flavor and is VERY RICH. Because the cake is so rich I would suggest cutting the cake into thin slices.

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What a recipe! At my mother's birthday party, there were people who were "coconut cake haters" eating large pieces of this! My cake turned out a little tough, but that is probably my error because it was my very first cake from scratch (can you tell I am proud?). The filling was my absolute favorite part and I know that I will be using it again for other things. Due to my coconut haters, I lowered the amount of cocunut in the filling, and it worked great, kind of custardy. Thanks Meanie!

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I made this for my mom's birthday and it was awesome. Even my coconut hating husband and son loved it. The batter recipe itself is well worth keeping and using for any "basic" cake with frosting.

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Oh this cake was outstanding, So much butter and coconut. i made this for a friend of mine who loves coconut cake, it was her birthday. She told me it was the best she had every had. Which says a lot, she has had a lot of coconut cake. I did not change a single thing. Thanks for posting.

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I made this cake for Thanksgiving and my family loved it! The filling is awesome. The only things I changed was when I was making the cake I ran a little low on whipping cream, so I made up the difference with about 1/4 cup of coconut milk. Also, for the frosting, I used about 3 cups of powdered sugar instead of 2.

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Great flavor on the filling but the cake was way too dense and crumbly for our liking.

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This cake was outstanding. It is much better on the second or third day, if it can last that long. I only questioned the addition of 1 tablespoon of vanilla...I only added 1 teaspoon and it was fine.

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I loved making this. I forgot to rate it at Easter. I made one for work for our Easter lunch, and I made one for home. Everyone loved this. Thanks for posting! Update: made for Thanksgiving 2009... still great and wonderful. So pretty on a table.

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This review is only for the filling recipe that I made yesterday. I made this filling to go with another coconut cake recipe and must say that it was one of the best fillings i have ever had! We don't get sweetened flaked coconut here so I substituted dessicated coconut and made my own sour cream. I will be using the filling recipe everytime I make coconut cake from now onwards. Thank you for the great filling recipe Mysterygirl!!

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While this cake certainly looks impressive, I am so sad (after tasting it) to discover that this isn't the actual cake recipe. It tastes nothing like the peninsula grill cake. Please refer to Martha Stewart's recipe. She, in fact, had the chef as a guest, and he gave her the correct recipe. This cake is beautiful and it tastes ok, but this isn't the right recipe!

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Absolutely divine cake! I have become a star among my friends and family for this cake. One tip for anyone making this for the first time, be VERY careful not to overbake for even a minute. The cake is quite dense and you will have trouble splitting the layers and with crumbs in the frosting if it cooks too long. I bake in a convection oven and it takes exactly 23 minutes at 325 for perfect layers. It is ridiculously rich and definitely not for someone watching their weight!

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Excellent cake recipe! Very dense wonderful flavor for the cake and the filling was great! The frosting I might add a bit more sugar next time, it had a really cream cheesy flavor and I prefer more sugar flavor. All in all I will definatly make this recipe again! Thank you!

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This was the most beautiful cake I have ever made! Very impressive as it is really tall and looks great! Made it for my brothers 50th Birthday and it was a hit! Just remember to start the day before for prep time. Worth all the effort.

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I made this cake yesterday for my Mother's B-day. The filling was quite good, and the frosting too. My Dad really enjoyed the "cake" because he likes a cake that has "substance" to it. I can see why the cake is so dense because it has to support all those layers. But for my taste I would have liked more of a coconut flavor, not just from the filling or the frosting. Should I make this again, I may try using coconut milk in place of the whipping cream for the cake part of the recipe. The recipe was good, but no offense not worthy of 5 stars.

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Exceptional! I first discovered this recipe in Bon Appetit, October 2001. I love the filling! It is like combining cake and coconut cream pie. However, if you aren't careful, the cake layers can slide right off of the smooth filling. For extra coconut flavor, I use the cake from Coconut Layer Cake, Coconut Layer Cake, which has cream of coconut in the cake batter. Makes a very impressive birthday cake...I made it for a friend and she loved it.

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WOW!!! That's not even close to describing how awesome this cake is! I followed the recipe to the T (including doubling the filling) and every single person who ate it raved about it! The only thing I'll do different next time is actually whip in the dry ingredients into the wet ones (instead of stirring it with a spoon like I did this time). I think it would make the cake part fluffier. The flavor was excellent, but very dense. Overall, an OUTSTANDING recipe!

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I made the filling and the icing for this cake. The filling is so good, it reminds me of the best custard I've ever tasted. I bet it would even be a wonderful substitute for tiramisu with a few additions and minus the coconut. The texture is smooth and creamy until the coconut is added. The icing was very good and not grainy at all since it didn't use granulated sugar. I made the icing with neufeschatel cheese rather than cream cheese and the taste was very rich. I used this with a white boxed mix plus a box of cocunut pudding. I made the cake, punched large holes in the cake and then poured cream of coconut over the cake layers. I used a 15 oz can (found it in the mixer section of the alcohol aisle at the grocer)which made the cake almost too moist as it was hard to cut without it falling apart. I would've made the cake too had I not already planned everything the other way! Thanks for saving me with the filling and icing...they are very very good.

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