The moment I laid eyes on these flamingo swizzle sticks in the Oh Happy Day Party Shop I knew I wanted to cover a cake with bright green coconut and stick ’em in the top to make what is now being called “The Flamingo Lawn Cake”. I knew I had the concept for the decorating in my head but to actually follow through I took steps and recipes from Tessa Huff’s new Book Layered: Baking, Building, and Styling Spectacular Cakes. She has all the info you need for making fun, professional cakes. There’s a whole range of difficulty so even if you’ve got two boulders for hands like me, you can accomplish something that looks great. Good news is that this cake is on the easier end of the spectrum because we cover any mistakes with coconut, and even better news is that we’re giving away a copy of Layered!

For the buttermilk lime cake:

• 3 cups cake flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• zest of 2 limes
• 3 large eggs + 2 large egg yolks
• 1 1/4 cup buttermilk

For the coconut cream cheese frosting:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 4 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 teaspoon coconut extract
• 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• green gel food coloring(or a mixture of blue and yellow)
• 2-2 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut + more gel food coloring

To make the cake: start by preheating your oven to 350 F and grease and line 3 8″ cake pans with a circle of parchment. In a large bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat together the butter, sugar, and lime zest on medium high speed until the butter is pale and fluffy, 3-5 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape down the bowl.

Turn the mixer to medium low and add the eggs and egg yolks one at a time. Stop the mixer and scrape down the bowl.

Turn the mixer to low and add the flour mixture in three batches, alternating with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Mix no more than 30 seconds after the last streaks of the dry ingredients disappear into the batter. Evenly divide the batter between the three pans (I use a scale because I’m a freak that likes it to be exact but you could also use a large ice cream scoop to evenly distribute the batter). Smooth it out and bake for 25-28 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Let the cakes cool for 10-15 minutes before removing them from the pans. Place on a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, cream cheese, and coconut extract together until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Add the sifted powdered sugar on low speed in a couple batches so it doesn’t go everywhere, beat until smooth then add in the food coloring until you get the desired shade of green.

To assemble the cake: Place strips of parchment paper around the edge of the cake stand to keep it clean during the frosting then one of the cake layers on top of that in the center of the cake stand. Plop about 1/2 cup of frosting down and use an offset spatula to evenly smooth it out. Top that with another cake layer, repeat with another 1/2 cup of frosting then top it with the third layer.

Use the offset spatula to evenly coat the cake in a thin layer of frosting to make a crumb coat then place the whole thing in the fridge or freezer for 20-30 minutes so the frosting firms up a little. While this happens tint your coconut by placing the coconut and food coloring in a zip top bag and massaging the two together until everyone’s the appropriate shade of green.

Remove the cake from the fridge or freezer and take the remaining frosting and evenly spread it out all over the cake. Sprinkle the coconut all over the top of the cake then use the palm of your hand to place it on the side. Don’t worry if you drop some because we set up the parchment insurance. Once the whole cake is covered in coconut push as many of the flamingo swizzle sticks in the top, carefully remove the parchment strips, and serve. If not serving for a while just place in the fridge until your party.

And here’s how to win a copy of Layered for yourself:

1) Visit Amazon to read more about Layered.
2) Comment below on why you’d like to add this book to your collection!

The giveaway ends on Monday, 7/25 when 1 winner will be chosen at random. Good luck!