Recipe

Ingredients:

For the Cake:

• Butter and all-purpose flour for preparing the pans

• 1 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)

• 2 cups sugar

• 5 large eggs (separated)

• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

• 2 cups cake flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 cup buttermilk (at room temperature)

For the Almond Filling:

• ½ cup sugar

• ¼ teaspoon salt

• ¼ cup cornstarch

• 2 cups whole milk

• 4 large egg yolks

• 4 ounces almond paste, crumbled

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• ½ teaspoon almond extract

For the Frosting:

• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter (at room temperature)

• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

• ½ teaspoon almond extract

• 1 teaspoon brandy (optional)

• ¼ teaspoon salt

• 3 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

• 3 tablespoons heavy cream or half-and-half

• 2 to 3 cups grated fresh or packaged unsweetened coconut

Instructions:

For the cake, place a rack in the center of the oven, and set one rack above it for the third pan. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease three 8"- or 9" -inch round cake pans with butter, then dust with flour, and shake out excess flour. Set the pans aside.

Place the butter and sugar in a large bowl, and with an electric mixer on medium speed, cream until light, 1 minute. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, and beat each until just combined before adding the next one. Add the vanilla.

Sift together the flour and baking soda in a medium-size bowl and add this in thirds to the egg mixture, alternately with the buttermilk. Blend on medium-low until smooth.

Place the egg whites in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer with clean beaters on high speed until stiff peaks form, 4 minutes. Fold the whites into the batter with a rubber spatula until the whites are just combined. Divide the batter between the three pans and place the pans in the oven, placing two pans on the center rack, and one pan on the rack above.

Bake the cake layers until they are golden brown and just pull away from the pan, 22 to 25 minutes for 9"-inch pans, and slightly more for 8"-inch pans. Let the cakes cool in the pans set on wire racks for 10 minutes. Then run a knife around the edges, give them a good gentle shake to loosen from the pans, and invert them once and, then again, to cool right-side up on the racks for at least 30 minutes before frosting.

While the cake is baking, make the filling and frosting. For the filling, place the sugar, salt and cornstarch in a heavy saucepan, and whisk in the milk until smooth. Place the pan over medium heat, stirring, and bring to a boil. After 1 minute, remove from the heat. Beat the egg yolks in a small bowl and stir 1/2 cup of the hot milk mixture into them to raise their temperature. Pour the warm egg yolk mixture into the saucepan and stir to combine well. Remove 1 cup and combine it with the crumbled almond paste and mash with a fork until smooth. Turn this almond mixture back into the saucepan and cook the filling over medium heat until it returns to a boil for 1 minute and is thickened. Remove from the heat and stir in the extracts. Turn into a glass bowl and let cool 20 minutes, then cover with plastic wrap and chill.

For the frosting, place the butter, vanilla, almond extract, brandy, if using, and the salt in a large bowl and beat until smooth with an electric mixer. Add the sugar by 1/2 cups and beat on medium until fluffy, adding enough cream to make the frosting spreadable. 

To assemble the cake, place one layer on a cake stand. Spread with half of the filling, but not all the way to the edges or it will ooze out. Add another cake layer and spread it with the remaining filling. Place the last layer on top. Spread the sides of the cake with a thin coat of frosting to seal in the crumbs. Frost it ‘’thick on the top,’’ and then frost the sides with the remaining frosting. Press the top and sides of the cake with coconut.