Ingredients
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups packed sweetened shredded coconut
6 ounces (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pans
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
3/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk
Simple Seven-Minute Frosting
Piped Spring Flowers
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour 9-inch egg-shaped cake pans, tapping out excess flour. Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and 1 cup coconut in a medium bowl.
Cream butter and sugar with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs and almond extract, and beat until incorporated. Beat in flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with coconut milk, and ending with flour mixture.
Divide batter between prepared pans. Bake until golden brown and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool in pans on wire racks for 30 minutes. Invert cakes onto racks; let cool.
Trim flat sides of cakes with a serrated knife to create an even surface. Dab some frosting in the center of a serving platter or cake stand. Place 1 cake layer, rounded side down, on top of frosting, and spread 1 cup frosting on top. Top with remaining cake layer, flat side down. Spoon 1/4 cup frosting into a piping bag fitted with a small star tip, and reserve. Working quickly, spread remaining frosting over entire cake. Pipe a decorative garland around circumference of cake with reserved frosting. Press piped spring flowers gently into the frosting to decorate if desired. Mound remaining 1 1/2 cups coconut around cake.
Using a wooden skewer as a guide, cut cake into slices about 2 inches thick. Cut each slice in half vertically, and serve.
