Happy Easter!

I am sharing my grandmother’s old fashioned Coconut Cake with Classic Seven Minute Frosting. Nothing ever says Easter to me more than a forkful of the lusciously dense first bite of this cake followed by the deliciously light and fluffy frosting and sweet coconut that literally melts in your mouth! If you make it please post a photo and tag me— but most of all hope you enjoy it!

(2) 9 inch round cake pans. Butter and flour mixed with powder sugar for preparing the pans

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease and flour/powder sugar coat two 9 inch round cake pans and set aside.
Cream together the butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until very smooth, at least four minutes (this way the sugar is broken down and emulsified with the butter fats) Add eggs, vanilla, vanilla paste, coconut flavoring and lemon/clementine zests and beat well to combine. In a separate medium sized bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
Add flour mixture, the buttermilk and coconut milk to the butter mixture and beat with an electric mixer at medium speed, scraping down the sides as needed, until thoroughly blended and smooth.
Pour batter into the prepared pans. Bake until a toothpick or fork inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes.
Set aside and let cool, then flip out onto a tray with removable parchment paper, frost with seven minute frosting. Stack and continue. Sprinkle with coconut in the middle, top and and press coconut into sides immediately after frosting.
Keep covered at room temp.

Combine all ingredients except vanilla and vanilla paste in a heavy bottomed sauce pan. Place over medium low heat and beat with an electric hand mixer constantly for 5-7 minutes, or until icing is fluffy and stiff peaks form. Remove from heat, set aside and stir in vanilla and vanilla paste. Ice the cake.