Paula Deen's Coconut Cake

Ingredients

For the Cake:
1 box (18 1/4 ounces) yellow cake mix
Whole milk, as called for by cake mix
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups sugar
12 ounces canned or frozen shredded coconut
For the Frosting:
2 large egg whites
1 1/2 cups sugar

2 teaspoons light corn syrup or 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
About 1/2 cup shredded sweetened coconut

Yields:

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease three 9-inch round cake pans with butter, oil or cooking spray. To make the cake: Follow the directions on the cake mix box, substituting milk for water. Divide the batter among cake pans. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pans for 5 minutes on a wire rack, then remove the cakes from the pans to cool completely.

In a medium bowl, stir together sour cream, sugar and coconut. Spread between the slightly warm cake layers, piercing each layer with a toothpick as you stack them, but don’t pierce the top of the top layer. Store the cake in a container in the refrigerator 2-3 days to allow the flavors to soak through.

On the day you are ready to serve the cake, make the frosting: In the top of a double boiler, combine the egg whites, sugar, corn syrup or cream of tartar, and salt. Do not place over the heat; instead beat for 1 minute using a handheld mixer. Then place over simmering water and cook, beating constantly, until the frosting forms stiff peaks. This should take about 7 minutes. Remove from the heat. Add vanilla and beat until it reaches spreading consistency, about 2 minutes. Frost the top and sides of the cake and sprinkle all over with shredded coconut. Besides tasting great, y’all, this cake is just so pretty.