If you don’t have time to make Aunt Daisy’s Cooked Coconut Filling (this page), this is a nice substitute. The coconut milk and frozen coconut make it very flavorful. This is the same recipe I use in my CoCo-Mo’ Cake and the one I recommend to use along with the Yellow Cake (this page) and the Orange Curd (this page) for a taste reminiscent of ambrosia.
Ingredients
- ¼ cup coconut milk, plus more as needed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon coconut extract
- 2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 6 ounces fresh-frozen shredded or grated coconut, thawed
- 6 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 1 cup sweetened coconut flakes
How to Make It
- In a small bowl, combine the coconut milk and both extracts.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on high speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the thawed coconut and blend well.
- With the mixer on the lowest speed setting, gradually add the confectioners’ sugar, a cup at a time, alternately with the coconut milk mixture. When combined, beat on high speed for 1 minute. If the frosting is a little stiff, add more coconut milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, until it is fairly loose and easily spreadable. It is best to use this frosting right away. It hardens quickly when put into the refrigerator and requires bringing to room temperature and remixing in order to spread.
- After spreading the frosting, press the sweetened coconut flakes onto the sides and over the top of the cake.
