Coconut Cake with Lemon Curd and Vanilla Buttercream

If you love coconut, then this cake is for you. The cake is moist, the lemon curd filling is tart and bright, and the vanilla icing is silky smooth.

This coconut cake pulls out all the stops. It is the best dessert for any special occasion.

If I learned anything from my days as a pastry chef, it is that in baking, you can often play around with timing and make most recipes work on your schedule.

This is because pastry making is all about components. At the restaurant, we made many of our building blocks throughout the week: puff pastry, pastry cream, pie dough, even buttercream, could all be made ahead at separate times and then combined in different ways depending on the particular __dessert we needed to make.

The same holds for this cake. It’s a big bite to take all in one day, unless you have an entire morning for the job. Instead, spread out the tasks over a few days.

Here’s what I do: Make the cake, and while it is baking, make the lemon curd (which is pretty quick and easy). Wrap the cake in foil and pack the curd into a storage container, and refrigerate both. Now you have done the lion’s share of work!

On the following day, make the buttercream, and then fill, ice and decorate the cake. Or refrigerate the buttercream for another day (or up to three days); let it come to room temperature before decorating the cake.

Once decorated, cover the cake with a cake dome or an inverted mixing bowl, and it can sit on the counter for several hours until serving. You can also refrigerate the covered cake for a few days before serving (up to 3 days).

Before you know it, your pièce de résistance is ready for its grand entrance at the dinner party, without too much fluster!