A friend offered me an inspiration for a new cake. He was reading a history of the Tiki Room at Disneyland, and learned that the original concept for the Tiki Room was to be a restaurant run by Stouffer’s. And on the menu was Coconut Angel Cream Cake. It was a delicious sounding cake, but alas — no record nor recipe of this cake was ever found.

We’ve known each other for decades, and have shared a lot of desserts together. So, knowing that I’m a curious baker and recipe developer, he wondered if I could invent this cake. Challenge accepted! This recipe is the result, and I’m delighted with it.

I knew that starting with a good, from scratch angel food cake was a must. I’ve made many a boxed angel food cake, and they have their merits. But I was looking for the delicate, springy soft texture and clean light coconut flavor that can’t be found in a boxed mix. I adapted a recipe from the excellent Williams-Sonoma Baking Book for this recipe. The Coconut Whipped Cream was the key to making this cake a cream cake. An uber simple solution emerged from my bar stock as the perfect addition to heavy cream – Coco Lopez Cream of Coconut. I keep this on hand for the occasional piña colada, and it turned out to be just the thing to turn heavy cream into a smooth, light, rich, coconuty whipped cream. Topping the cake with toasted sweetened coconut added texture and a light crunch to make this just the cake I’d hoped for. And my friend loved it. Enjoy!

Coconut Angel Cream Cake – served 10 – 12
one Coconut Angel Food Cake
one batch Coconut Whipped Cream
one batch Toasted Sweetened Coconut

for the Coconut Angel Food Cake 
(adapted from the Williams-Sonoma Baking Book)

Ingredients:
1 cup (4 oz/110 g) cake flour
1 cup (3½ oz/100 g) powdered sugar
¼ tsp sea salt, fine
12 large egg whites*, at room temperature
¾ cup (5 oz/140 g) superfine sugar
1½ tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
½ tsp coconut extract

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Have ready an ungreased two piece tube (angel food) cake pan 10 inches in diameter and 4 inches deep.

Sift the flour, confectioners’ sugar, and salt together twice. Set aside.

Using a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on medium speed until foamy. Add a third of the superfine sugar and beat until the whites are opaque, then add another third of the sugar and the cream of tartar and continue beating. When the whites start to increase in volume and turn white and creamy looking, add the remaining sugar and the vanilla and coconut extracts. Increase the speed to high and beat just until the whites form very soft peaks. Do not overbeat. Remove the bowl from the mixer. Sift a third of the flour mixture over the egg whites and carefully fold in with a large silicone spatula. Sift and fold in the remaining flour mixture in 2 more additions.

Pour the batter into the pan and smooth the top.

Bake until the top of the cake is lightly browned and feels springy to the touch, and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 40-45 minutes. Invert the cake to cool completely, either onto a heatproof surface or by suspending upside down on a wine bottle.

When the cake is completely cool, use a thin knife to cut around the edge of the tube cake pan. Remove the side section of the tube cake pan. Cut around the top of the cake to remove the bottom/tube portion of the tube cake pan.

Using a very thin serrated knife, cut the cake horizontally into three equal height layers. Fill and frost the cake with the Coconut Whipped Cream.

Cover the top of the cake with the toasted coconut, reserving extra toasted coconut for sprinkling on individual pieces of cake for extra crunch.

*egg size matters:  12 large egg whites, 11 extra large egg whites, or 10 jumbo egg whites may be used.

for the Coconut Whipped Cream
1 pint heavy cream
1 can (15 oz) Coco Lopez Cream of Coconut

In the mixing bowl, use a balloon whisk to combine the cream of coconut with 1/3 cup or so of the heavy cream to loosen the thick texture of the cream of coconut. This step helps to prevent lumps in the final coconut whipped cream. Add the remainder of the heavy cream and blend with the balloon whisk. Chill the mixture for about 20 minutes. Using a stand mixer with a whisk attachment whip the mixture until thick and spreadable. – just like you would make whipped cream. Use to fill and frost the cooled coconut angel food cake.

for the Toasted Sweetened Coconut
1/2 bag of sweetened coconut

Spread the sweetened coconut in a single, thin layer on a large shallow rimmed baking pan. Bake at 350 until lightly toasted. Check at 10 minutes, and every 3-5 minutes thereafter until lightly toasted. You may wish to stir the coconut mid bake to promote even browning. Cool completely and store air tight until ready to use.