Ingredients
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pans
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for pans
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs, plus 3 large egg yolks (reserve whites for frosting)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup whole milk
Seven-Minute Frosting for Quick Coconut Layer Cake
1/4 cup lemon curd
1 1/4 cups sweetened shredded coconut
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with rack in center. Butter two 9-inch round cake pans. Line bottom of pans with parchment-paper rounds; butter paper. Dust paper and sides of pans with flour, tapping out excess.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternately with milk in 2, beginning and ending with flour. Mix until just combined.
Divide evenly between prepared pans. Place pans next to each other in oven (without touching); cook until a toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean, about 30 minutes, rotating pans halfway through.
Cool in pans 10 minutes. Run a knife around edges; invert cakes onto a rack. Peel off parchment; reinvert and let cool completely before assembling.
Assemble the cake: In a small bowl, whisk 1/4 cup store-bought lemon curd with 3/4 cup frosting. Place bottom cake layer on a platter; tuck strips of parchment under edges of cake.
Leaving a 1-inch border, spread layer with lemon-curd mixture and 1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut. Top with remaining cake layer.
Spread 2 cups frosting over top; spread remaining on sides (push spatula in a forward motion to prevent crumbs). Sprinkle 1 1/4 cups coconut over cake; pat gently on sides.
