Speckled Robin's Egg Malted Coconut Cake

Ingredients

Baking spray, for pan

3 c. cake flour, spooned and leveled

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 c. malted milk powder

1 tsp. Kosher salt

1 c. canola oil

1 c. half-and-half, at room temperature

1 c. sugar

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1 tsp. pure coconut extract

1 large egg plus 2 large egg whites, at room temperature

Coconut Buttercream (recipe below)

1/8 tsp. brown gel food coloring

Phyllo nest and robin egg candies (recipe below)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease three 8-inch cake pans and line bottoms with parchment paper rounds. Whisk together flour, baking powder, malt powder, and salt in a bowl.

Whisk together oil, half-and-half, sugar, vanilla, coconut extract, and whole egg in a separate bowl until smooth. Fold in flour mixture just until incorporated. Beat egg whites with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form, 1 to 2 minutes. Fold egg whites into batter just until combined.

Divide batter among prepared pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 18 to 22 minutes. Cool in pans on a wire rack for 15 minutes, then invert onto racks to cool completely.

Place one layer on a cake plate and frost top with 1 cup  Coconut Buttercream. Repeat two more times. Frost sides with remaining Coconut Buttercream.

Stir together food coloring and 2 drops water in a bowl. Dip the tip of a wide, stiff paintbrush into the mixture. Holding the brush 6 to 8 inches from the cake, gently fling the mixture onto iced cake. Repeat for desired effect. Spread Phyllo nest around the base of the cake, and nestle candies in nest.

Coconut Buttercream

1 c. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 c. cream of coconut

6 c. confectioners' sugar

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

pinch of Kosher salt

Blue gel food coloring

Beat butter and cream of coconut with an electric mixture on medium speed until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes.

Gradually beat in sugar.

Beat in pure vanilla extract and a pinch of kosher salt until combined.

Beat in blue gel food coloring, one drop at a time, to desired color.

Phyllo Nest

6 sheets of phyllo dough

Cooking spray

Tightly roll 6 sheets of phyllo dough lengthwise. Very thinly slice.

Transfer to a baking sheet, loosely separating layers. Spray with cooking spray.

Bake at 350 degrees F until golden-brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool completely.

Recipe taken from Country Living Magazine.

Enjoy!