How to Add Coconut Frosting to Devil's Food Cake

The crunch of coconut in a fluffy vanilla frosting adds texture and contrast to the velvety smoothness of a rich devil's food cake. The whiteness of the frosting intensifies the darkness of the cake. Pile additional coconut on top of the cake as well as including it in the frosting itself. Dip frosted devil's food cupcakes into even more coconut. Decorate with fresh edible summer flowers, colorful jelly beans or chocolate curls. Add this to my Recipe Box.

Instructions

1

Place the butter in your bowl. Beat the butter with the electric mixer until it is soft. Add the confectioners' sugar 1/2 cup at a time. Beat the mixture for one minute after each addition. Add the milk and vanilla and beat again for one minute.

2

Spread a thin layer (no more than 1/4 inch thick, even thinner if possible) of frosting over the top of one of the cake layers and on the sides of both of the devil's food cake layers. Let the frosting harden as it glazes over. This will keep the crumbs of the dark brown cake from getting into the white coconut frosting and ruining the look. Wait 20 to 30 minutes, then proceed with frosting the cake.

3

Put strips of wax paper on the plate you plan to serve the cake on. The strips will be pulled out when you're finished frosting. Any excess frosting will stay on the wax paper and keep the plate clean.

4

Add all but 1/2 cup of the coconut to the remainder of the frosting. Stir well. Divide the frosting into thirds with the spatula. You'll use one-third to frost between the layers, one-third to frost the top of the cake and the remaining one-third to frost the sides.

5

Place the first cake layer (the one you did not frost) on the plate. Put one-third of the frosting on top of the layer using the spatula. Spread the frosting smooth so it is the same thickness throughout.

6

Put the second cake layer on top of the first layer. Fill any gaps between the two layers with additional frosting.

7

Dip the spatula into the frosting and pick up about 1/4 cup of frosting. Spread the frosting on the side of the cake facing you. When finished with that spatula-full, turn the cake plate so an unfrosted side is facing you. Continue to frost until the sides of the cake are completely covered.

8

Place the remaining frosting on top of the cake. Use the spatula to evenly spread the frosting. Sprinkle the reserved coconut on top of the cake. Pull the wax paper pieces out from under the cake.