Our coconut cloud cake recipe creates a dessert as light as, well, a cloud. It features an airy vanilla cake that’s baked in a tube pan before being sliced, filled, and topped with our silky seven-minute frosting. Coconut flakes are the final touch, bringing flavor and a light crunch to both the filling and exterior. Besides a tube pan, you’ll need an electric mixer and a sifter or fine-mesh sieve—they’re crucial for achieving an impossibly light cake and fluffy frosting. Serve this ethereal dessert for a birthday, shower, or holiday celebration—or just to treat the coconut lover in your life.

Ingredients

For the Cake

• 1 cup sifted cake flour
• 1 ½ cups superfine sugar
• 14 large egg whites (1 ¾ cups), room temperature
• 1 tablespoon warm water
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 ½ teaspoons cream of tartar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the Seven-Minute Frosting

• 3 large egg whites
• 1 ¼ cups sugar
• 5 tablespoons cold water
• ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Seven-Minute Frosting

• 3 to 4 cups flaked coconut

Instructions

• Heat oven; sift cake flour and sugar: Preheat the oven to 350°F. With a fine sieve, sift together flour and 3/4 cup sugar four times.
• Beat egg whites: In the bowl of a stand mixer on medium speed, beat together egg whites and water until foamy. Add salt, cream of tartar, and vanilla; beat until soft peaks form. Increase speed to medium-high and sprinkle in remaining sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time. Beat until stiff but not dry.
• Sift dry ingredients over meringue: Transfer to a large bowl. In six additions, sift dry ingredients over meringue, folding in quickly but gently.
• Transfer batter to tube pan: Pour batter into an ungreased 10-inch tube pan with removable bottom. Smooth top with an offset spatula. Run a knife through batter to release air bubbles. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until golden brown and springy to touch.
• Invert pan to cool: Invert pan on its legs or over the neck of a glass bottle, and let cool completely, about 1 hour.
• Make frosting: In the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer set over a saucepan of simmering water, combine egg whites, sugar, water, and cream of tartar. Cook over medium heat, whisking frequently, until sugar is dissolved and mixture is foamy, about 5 minutes.
• Beat frosting and add vanilla:Attach the bowl to a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat the mixture on high speed until glossy and voluminous, about 7 minutes. Beat in the vanilla.
• Release cake from pan; slice cake horizontally and cut channel in bottom half:Carefully run a long offset spatula or knife around the inner and outer perimeter of the cake pan to release cake. Place on a plate, bottom side up. Using a long serrated knife, carefully slice off 1 1/2 inches from the top of the cake, being sure not to break the layer. Set aside. Cut out a 1-inch-wide, 1-inch-deep channel halfway between the center and edge of cake.
• Spread icing over bottom layer:Spread icing into channel and over entire layer. Sprinkle with coconut.
• Add top layer and spread with frosting:Gently place reserved layer on top and ice with remaining frosting. Sprinkle with coconut and serve immediately.

Recipe from Martha Stewart