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If this coconut eton mess cake with whipped ricotta cream doesn’t brighten your day, then I don’t know what will. You see, I told you!! SPRING!!
I know, I know, spring doesn’t officially start until Sunday, but I just could not help myself. Gimme all the color please! Let’s recap: we started with this KILLER Shawarma Chicken Salad, then moved on to these pretty Blueberry Muffin Yogurt Bowls, killed Wednesday with this Green Goddess Zucchini Pasta and now we are ending on a major high note with this pretty, berry filled, Coconut Eton Mess Cake!!
So yeah, Bring-On-Spring, I am SOO ready!
WATCH HOW-TO VIDEO HERE:
Also, I’m pretty excited for Easter as well! I kind of love Easter. It’s just fun. Fun colors, fun food and then ok, I love the idea that with Easter comes lots and lots of chocolate. 🙂 Oddly, there is zero chocolate in this cake, but it’s still cool, cause there is coconut, whipped ricotta and all this delicious fresh fruit. Lovin it.
I’m going to attempt to keep things short today. I’m getting my wisdom teeth pulled in the morning and well, I’m basically trying to get as much done before then as possible. And yes, I am totally having a feast for dinner tonight in fear of the “soft foods” diet.
UGH.
Honest truth? I’m not sure how long the whole “soft foods only” thing will last with me. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I will totally be eating all the ice cream my stomach will allow, but I just can’t go very long without REAL food…aka crunchy tacos, granola, big ass salads and um basically, foods that need chewing. This should be interesting…
But anyway, this COCONUT ETON MESS CAKE!!
Isn’t it pretty? And fun?!? So perfect for Easter, it just kind of screams – SPRING! Ok and even summer too, I’m most definitely excited for that! Oh, and in case you were wondering…it’s still snowing here.
So if you’ve never heard of Eton Mess, it’s a traditional English dessert, usually made in a dish, with fresh fruit, smashed pieces of meringue, and cream. Super simple, but super delish. There are a ton of different fruit combos that can be used, but strawberries and bananas are most traditional… clearly I didn’t go completely traditional.
I took the idea of fresh fruit with smashed meringue and cream and basically put it all into a cake (not a new idea, but so much more fun!). BUT not just any cake, nope, a vanilla coconut cake. It’s EVERYTHING. I know at first glance you might think this cake looks difficult make, but it’s actually the complete opposite. An Eton Mess (Cake), is well, messy… so you really can’t go wrong. Just add fruit, cream and smashed meringue and inevitably your cake will be pretty and perfect!
As I said, the cake itself is a yummy and crazy moist vanilla coconut cake. The cake portion alone is awesome and perfectly sweet, so I didn’t want to go too crazy with the toppings. I went with a whipped ricotta cream and some fresh strawberries, raspberries and passion fruit. I also had a few blood oranges on hand so I added some slices of those in as well. You can really go with any of your favorite fruit combos, all berries would be delicious! Once you have your cream + fruit, just crumble on some homemade or store-bought meringue.
See, simple?!?
And then decorate with edible flowers or just add more fruit. Best part? Not only is this cake delicious, but it doubles as the perfect center piece for Easter Brunch or Easter Dinner.
COOL! 🙂
Oh but guys?
Do you think this cake would make the “acceptable” list once I get my wisdom teeth pulled?? I still have two slices left (that I’ve secretly hidden from family). I’m thinking they will be the perfect treat once the Novocaine wears off…
Coconut Eton Mess Cake with Whipped Ricotta Cream.
Servings: 8 Servings
Calories Per Serving: 1298 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
Coconut Cake
- 3 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 1/4 cups canola oil
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup honey
- 3 whole eggs + 3 egg yolks
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 1/2 cups full-fat canned coconut milk
- zest of 1 lemon
- 6-8 homemade or store-bought meringues
- edible flowers for decorating (optional)
Whipped Ricotta Cream
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 16 ounce whole milk ricotta cheese
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
To assemble the Cake
- 1 cup fresh strawberries divided
- 2 cups fresh raspberries divided
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1-2 blood oranges
- 2 passion fruits
- 6-8 homemade or store-bought meringues
- edible flowers for decorating (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease three 8-inch (or 9 inch) round cake pans, or line with parchment paper, then butter/spray with cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and salt.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (or use a hand held mixer) beat together the canola oil, sugar, honey, eggs + egg yolks and vanilla until smooth. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients with the mixer on low until there are no longer any clumps of flour. Add the coconut milk and mix until combined. Batter should be pourable, but not super thin. Stir in the lemon zest.
- Pour the batter among the 3 cake pans and bake 25-30 minutes, until the tops are just set and no longer wiggly in the center. Remove and let cool five minutes, then run a knife around the edges of the pan. Grab 3 large flat plates, line them with wax or parchment paper and invert the cakes onto the paper lined plates. Cover and let the cakes cool completely before assembling.
Whipped Ricotta Cream
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (or use a hand held mixer) fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add the ricotta and heavy cream, continue to whip until the the ricotta is smooth and the cream has fluffed, about 6-8 minutes. Add the honey + vanilla and whip until combined. Keep the cream covered in the fridge until ready to assemble.
Assemble the Cake
- In a bowl, mash together 1/2 cup chopped strawberry and 1/2 cup raspberries until you have a loose sauce.
- Place one cake layer on a serving plate or cake stand and drizzle lightly with honey. Spread 1/3 of the ricotta cream over the cake and then swirl 1/3 over the mashed berries into the cream. Crumble 2-3 meringues over top. Add a handful of fresh chopped strawberries, raspberries, orange slices and passion fruit. Repeat with the remaining 2 cake layers. Be careful not to over fill your layers with fruit or the cake will be hard to slice.
- If desired, decorate the cake with edible flowers.
Notes
*Coconut Cake adapted from [Martha Stewart | http://www.marthastewart.com/341935/coconut-layer-cake].
YUP. For sure, I mean, cake cures all!! ?
Oh. Em. Gee, Tieghan!!! Cake AND Meringues together at last! My two favorite food groups! This will be made ASAP!! And what a beauty it is! Hope your surgery went without a hitch and you have already consumed those last two pieces by now!
Cheers,
Maureen
P.S. Got my eyes peeled for some chamomile flowers so I can make those ridiculously yummy looking palomas!
Oh my goodness, what a very beautiful cake this is! Love the decoration and I’m sure it tastes as good as it looks.
I had my wisdom teeth pulled a couple of years ago under general anaesthetic in the morning and was eating rice and soup again that night – not without some minor issues, but it worked. Hope it went well for you! 🙂
This is such a beautiful cake!! When I got my wisdom teeth removed, it took me a week to spoon in a small strawberry milkshake! But, a friend of mine was eating doritos the next day so, wishing you the latter option!!
I adore this, we actually had an eton mess cake as one of the tiers of our wedding cakes, adding coconut into the mix sounds divine.
This is almost too gorgeous to eat. ……almost!
Ahh this is so beautiful!! I bet it tastes as good as it looks. I can’t wait for spring either. Just got back from a warm vacation and I am not ok with the cold again!!
Thanks so much, Natasha! Hope you had a great weekend!
Great Idea of a cake! I was thinking of making this in 2x 10″ cake tins..for this mix is that quantity ok! and what do you think cooking time should be…. Also temp , as I have a fan oven .. Hope you can help.Thanks
HI! Honestly, I have not tried this in a 10 inch cake pan. Not sure if all the batter will fit, but if not just don’t use all the batter I would cook the cake maybe 5 minutes shorter than I have listed. When you say a fan oven do you mean convection oven? If so bake at 350 degree F. Please let me know if you have questions. Thanks!
What a gorgeous cake! I can’t wait to make this… Can the cake layers be put in the freezer before to make ahead? I am looking to bake the cakes a week before heading to the cottage where I will put it together!
Thank you so much! Hope you are having a great weekend!!
This is a thing of beauty. A cake perfect for the first day of spring!
Thanks so much, Kate! Have a great weekend! 🙂
What an incredible cake! It’s so beautiful!
Thanks Kari! Have a great weekend! 🙂
This is seriously stunning! I like the addition of the coconut in the cakes and the whipped ricotta cream sounds delicious
THANK YOU! Hope you have a great weekend!
Any thoughts on how to make this gluten free?? Cup4cup mix? It sounds delish and looks beautiful! Thank you?
Hi Cristy! I personally have never tired it, but I would think your favorite gluten free blend would work great. I love Bob’s Red Mill Brand. Let me know if you have any other questions, thanks!!
Beautiful cake and pictures–I have never eaten flowers and I know you can but I still feel it is a strange thing. Maybe because in the Cincinnati area I have never seen it.
When I lived in Ohio, I would have never thought about edible flowers, but they are a great addition to so many dishes!! Plus, they are so fun! Thanks Nancy!
This cake is stunning Tieghan! Maybe it’s just me, but getting teeth pulled= so much crying. Not even from pain, though there’s pain, but just from all the emotions. I am always eating but after wisdom teeth, I could barely even drink, let alone eat. It all goes away quickly, but it’s pretty miserable.
UGH. not looking forward to it. 🙁
Have a great weekend! 🙂
Absolutely gorgeous, Tieghan! I so want to dig into this beauty :). Hope the wisdom teeth procedure went well. Stick with ice cream, smoothies, yogurt… anything like that and you should be good to go!
Thanks so much, Laura! Have a great weekend! 🙂