i've gone coconuts

today ladies and gentlemen, i've made for you a coconut cake.i had never made a coconut cake before, so i turned to my favorite chef on food network to give me the advice i needed. ina garten, or as you all may know her "the barefoot contessa", had been a favorite of mine for awhile now, so of course i was going to use her recipe.
i have altered it a little, simply because i thought it might need more coconut flavor. the original recipe, it called for almond extract instead of coconut. you can find her original recipe here http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/coconut-cake-recipe/index.html

or you can follow the one i tweaked:

cake batter:

3 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
5 x-large eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 tsp. coconut extract
3 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 cup milk
4 ounces sweetened shredded coconut

frosting:

1 lb (2 packages) cream cheese, room temperature
2 sticks unstalted butter, room temperature
3/4 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. coconut extract
1 lb confectioners sugar
6 ounces sweetened shredded coconut
* after making the icing and tasting it, i added more coconut extract (probably about 1/2 tsp. more) and more confectioners sugar.

preheat your overn to 350 degrees.

cream the butter&sugar on medium/high in your mixer for 3-5 minutes. make sure you are using the paddle attatchment with your mixer.

add eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each one, just to make sure nothing is clumped on the bottom or sides and everything is being incorporated.

add your vanilla&coconut extracts and mix well. at this point your batter may look a bit curdled, but don't be alarmed it's ok!

in a separate bowl, sift together your flour, baking soda&powder and your salt.

slowly add about half of your dry ingredients into your wet mixture.

now add your milk

finish adding your dry ingredients. after everything is mixed, shut your mixer off. do not overmix anything.

divide your batter as equally as possible into 2 9" baking pans ( you want to have these already greased and ready to go)
the recipe says to bake for 45-55 minutes, but i always check after 20 minutes, and every 10 minutes after that. every oven is different and you don't want to burn your cake, so please check it!

after the cake tester has come out of your cakes clean, remove them from the oven and let them cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes. after 30 minutes, you can remove them from their pans and continue to let them cool.

while the cakes are in the oven, i use this time to clean up from round one, then make the icing.

add everything except your confectioners sugar to your mixer and cream together. then slowly add your sugar(you don't want a huge snow white mess to clean up) until it is nice and smooth.
i'm so sorry because the only picture i remembered to take was the final product.