• 3/4                      cup unsalted butter, room temperature , plus more for pan
• 2                          cups sifted cake flour, plus more for pans
• 1/2                      tsp baking powder
• 1/2                      tsp baking soda
• 1/4                      tsp salt
• 1                          cup berry sugar
• 4                          large egg yolks, lightly beaten
• 2/3                     cup sour cream
• 1                         tsp vanilla extract
•                            Coconut Cream Filling
• 11 oz                 sweetened flake coconut
•                             Mock Icing

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Arrange the rack in the centre of the oven. Line the bottom of 2 x 8 inch buttered cake pans with Parchment paper. Dust the bottom and sides of the cake pans with flour, and tap out any excess.
2. Shift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and set it aside.
3. In a bowl with electric mixer, cream butter on medium-low speed until fluffy, 1 – 2 minutes. Gradually add sugar, and keep beating until the mixture is fluffy and light in colour, about 3 minutes.
4. Gradually drizzle in egg yolks, beating on medium-low speed between each
5. addition until the batter is no longer slick. Beat until the mixture is fluffy again, about 3 minutes.
6. Alternate adding flour mixture and sour cream to the batter, a little of each at a time starting and ending with the flour mixture.
7. Beat in vanilla.
8. Divide the batter between the prepared cake pans. Bake until a cake tester inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes, rotating the pans in the oven, if needed, for even browning.
9. Transfer cake pans to wire racks to cool, about 15 minutes. Remove cakes from pans, and let cool completely on racks, tops up.

To assemble

1. Remove parchment paper from the bottoms of cakes. Split each layer in half horizontally with a serrated knife. Set aside the prettiest dome; it will be used for the final layer.
2. Line with cake pan with plastic wrap. Place another domed layer, dome side down, in the cake pan. Sprinkle 2 to 3 tablespoons of flaked coconut over the cake. Spread a generous 1/2 cup coconut-cream filling over coconut flakes. Repeat sprinkling and spreading process on the remaining layers until all but the reserved domed layer are used.
3. Top cake with the reserved domed layer. Transfer cake to the refrigerator to firm for 1 hour. Remove from the refrigerator, invert the cakes on a serving platter and frost the outside of cake with butter icing. Sprinkle remaining coconut flakes all over cake while frosting is soft; do not refrigerate. Cake can be left out at room temperature for several days.

NOTE Sweetened angel-flake coconut is available in grocery stores.

Mock Icing

• 8                   oz butter
• 8                   oz granulated sugar
• 8                   tbsp hot water
• 8                   tbsp cold milk

Instructions

1. Cream butter and sugar until very soft, about 5 mins.
2. Add a tbsp of water and a tbsp of cold milk, beating very hard all the while. The sugar will have disolved, the mixture will be white. This will take about 10 minutes.
3. If the mixture is too soft leave it in a cool place until it is sufficiently firm.