Chocolate Fudge Cake with Coconut Butter Cream Frosting

It has been a baking weekend. Our youngest son Ryan turns 16, my husband celebrates his birthday on Wednesday and I was asked to make a cake for a friend's birthday tomorrow. I am making Dave a carrot cake and that is baking now. My husband loves coconut and my son loves chocolate. I decided to combine the two for a delicious cake duo. The cake is very dark and fudgy, almost like a brownie. The frosting is to die for.

Cook's Notes- I recently made this frosting for a whoopie pie(July 2011) filling. For some reason the frosting never set up. So if you experienced the same issue, my apologies. I have since revamped the frosting by omitting the coconut milk and adding coconut rum as part of the flavoring. I also did not let the butter get too soft before adding and I think that helped as well.

Serves 16
Cake
3 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 sticks of softened butter
1 cup dutch cocoa powder(the good stuff)
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups strongly brewed coffee( I use instant and mix it into hot water)
1/ 1/2 cups buttermilk
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 325. Grease 2 9 inch cake pans with baking spray. In a large bowl mix the sugar and butter together until light and fluffy. Add the cocoa and continue mixing until combined, scraping down the bottom and sides of bowl. Add the coffee, eggs and vanilla. Add the baking powder and soda, mix well. Add half the flour and half of the buttermilk, continue to mix. Then add the rest of the flour and buttermilk. Mix until just combined. Over mixing will develop the gluten in the flour and the cake will be tough. Divide the batter evenly into the pans. Bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. Cool completely and slice both cakes in half cross wise. Trim the tops flat if necessary.

Frosting
4 eggs whites
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
2 sticks of butter, softened and cut into chunks
1 tablespoon coconut rum
2 teaspoons coconut extract
1 cup shredded coconut for top of frosted cake.
Put egg whites into a bowl and whip until stiff peaks form. In a small sauce pan, put in the sugar, water and cream of tartar. Stir to combine. Over high heat bring mixture to a boil until it reaches 238 degrees(soft ball stage) without stirring. With the mixer running on low. Mix the egg whites and slowly pour in the hot sugar syrup. Once all the syrup has been added to the egg whites, turn the mixer on high and mix for 3 minutes. With the mixer running, add the butter a little at a time until it is all incorporated. The mixture will appear to curdle, keep mixing, it will come together in a few minutes. Once it is smooth, add the coconut rum and the extract. Whip until smooth. If the frosting appears too soft, place it in the frig and it will firm up in a few minutes.  Frost cake, spreading a layer of frosting between each layer. Then frost the sides and top. Sprinkle coconut over the top. Refrigerate cake until ready to serve