Ambrosia Layer Cake
From mountainmama 16 years ago
- 25 minutes to make
- Serves 12
Ambrosia may sound exotic, but it's simply chilled fruit (typically oranges or bananas) tossed with coconut and sugar. Some serve it as a salad as well as a dessert. This southern classic brings cake into the picture, and moving the oranges to the filling and pressing the coconut into the frosting. Read more Absolutely Heavenly! See less
Ingredients
- For cake shopping list
- 2 3/4 cups sifted cake flour (not self-rising; sift before measuring) shopping list
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder shopping list
- 1/2 teaspoon salt shopping list
- 1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened shopping list
- 1 1/2 cups sugar shopping list
- 4 large whole eggs, at room temperature for 30 minutes shopping list
- 1 tablespoon finely grated fresh orange zest shopping list
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla shopping list
- 1 cup whole milk shopping list
- For orange filling shopping list
- 2 large whole eggs shopping list
- 3/4 cup sugar shopping list
- 1/4 cup cornstarch shopping list
- 3/4 cup water shopping list
- 1/2 cup fresh orange juice shopping list
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice shopping list
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter shopping list
- 2 teaspoons finely grated fresh orange zest shopping list
- For seven-minute frosting shopping list
- 1 (7-oz) bag sweetened flaked coconut (2 2/3 cups) shopping list
- 2 large egg whites shopping list
- 1 cup sugar shopping list
- 1/4 cup water shopping list
- 2 teaspoons light corn syrup shopping list
- 1 teaspoon vanilla shopping list
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice shopping list
How to make it
- Make cake:
- Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour cake pans, knocking out excess flour.
- Sift together flour (2 3/4 cups), baking powder, and salt into a bowl.
- Beat together butter and sugar with an electric mixer (fitted with paddle attachment if using a stand mixer) at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Beat in eggs 1 at a time, then beat in zest and vanilla and continue beating 5 minutes more. Reduce speed to low, then add flour mixture and milk alternately in 4 batches, beginning with flour mixture and mixing until batter is just smooth. Divide between cake pans, spreading evenly.
- Bake cake layers until they begin to pull away from sides of pans and a wooden pick or skewer comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool 5 minutes in pans on racks, then invert cake layers onto racks and cool completely. (Leave oven on for toasting coconut.)
- Make filling while layers bake:
- Whisk together eggs in a heatproof bowl until combined well.
- With clean dry whisk, stir together sugar, cornstarch, and a pinch of salt in a 1 1/2- to 2-quart heavy saucepan, then whisk in water and juices until smooth. Bring to a boil over moderate heat, whisking, then reduce heat and cook at a bare simmer, whisking constantly, 2 minutes (mixture will be thick).
- Add half of hot juice mixture to eggs in a slow stream, whisking, then whisk egg mixture into juices in saucepan and cook over moderately low heat, whisking, just until it reaches a boil. Remove pan from heat, then add butter and zest, whisking until butter is melted. Chill filling, its surface covered with a buttered round of wax paper (buttered side down), until cold, about 30 minutes.
- Make frosting:
- Spread coconut in a shallow baking pan and toast in oven, stirring occasionally, until golden, 12 to 15 minutes.
- Beat together egg whites, sugar, water, corn syrup, and a pinch of salt in a large metal bowl with a handheld electric mixer (clean beaters if necessary) until combined. Set bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and beat mixture at high speed until it holds stiff, glossy peaks, 5 to 7 minutes. (Humid weather may necessitate additional beating time.) Remove bowl from heat, then add vanilla and lemon juice and continue beating until frosting is cooled and very thick, 6 to 10 minutes.
- Assemble cake:
- Halve each cake horizontally with a long serrated knife. Put 1 layer on a cake stand or large plate and spread with about 3/4 cup filling. Stack remaining cake layers using about 3/4 cup filling between each layer. Spread top and side of cake with frosting and coat cake with coconut, gently pressing to help it adhere.
- Notes:
- Cake layers (not split horizontally) can be made 3 days ahead and chilled, wrapped individually in plastic wrap.
- Filling can be chilled up to 8 hours. Stir before spreading.
- Frosting can be made 4 hours ahead and chilled, covered.
- Cake can be assembled and frosted 2 hours ahead.
- ALWAYS READ A RECIPE ALL THE WAY THROUGH BECAUSE THERE IS AWAYS HIDDEN TIMES. YOUR CHILL TIME ETC.
The Rating
Reviewed by 7 people-
Wonderful! I love it and will make it often! Thanks for the post.
tippystclair
in North Hollywood loved it
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Oh, divine!
elgab89
in Toronto loved it
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Thank you for posting this recipe. I haven't seen this for a while.
frandee
in Burnaby loved it
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