Say’s Coconut Layer Cake with Seven-Minute Frosting

Name: Say’s Coconut Layer Cake with Seven-Minute Frosting
Yield: makes one 8- or 9-inch 3-layer cake / serves 10 to 12
Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups canola oil; 3 cups sugar; 6 large eggs; 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract; 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour; 1 tablespoon baking powder; 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt; 1 1/2 cups milk; 2 1/4 cups sugar; 4 large egg whites; 1/4 cup light corn syrup; 1/4 cup water; 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt; 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar; 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract; 4 cups sweetened flaked coconut

December 14, 2011

Nothing finishes a meal quite so regally as layer cake; for Southerners, at least, it is the epitome of fine entertaining. This towering confection, draped in glossy white frosting and scattered with coconut, was one of my mother’s signature dinner party desserts. You can make the cake layers two days in advance, but make the frosting no more than two or three hours before serving; it doesn’t keep its silky-smooth texture very long.

Recipe notes

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