Searching for the perfect Mother’s Day cake recipe, coconut cake with coconut buttercream icing and a lime curd filling, was the winner! I searched through numerous websites and selected the cake and filling recipes with the best reviews. My younger sister is allergic to dairy, so ingredient substitutions are needed. Vegetable shortening had no indications of the top ten allergens, butter is always replaced with Earth Balance butter sticks, and butter milk is substituted using a recipe found on godairyfree.org. Ingredients for the cake, icing, and filling are as follows:
Coconut Layer Cake
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup canned sweetened cream of coconut (such as Coco López)*
4 large eggs, separated
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
Fresh Lime Curd
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon lime zest
2 eggs, beaten
Buttercream Icing
1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine softened
1 teaspoon coconut extract
4 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar (approximately 1 lb.)
2 tablespoons milk
