How to Make a Tiki Cocktail Cake : Food Network

Photo: Kang Kim

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Next time happy hour rolls around, serve your friends this pina colada-inspired cake in place of a cocktail. We used two ovenproof bowls and one round cake pan to create the perfect coconut shape, then we carved out a hole for white icing and covered the shell with toasted coconut.

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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray one 6-inch cake pan and two 1-quart ovenproof bowls with cooking spray. Beat the cake mix, eggs, buttermilk and vegetable oil with a mixer.

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Divide the batter evenly among the pan and bowls; bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 25 minutes for the pan and 35 minutes for the bowls. Cool; unmold.

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Trim all 3 cakes to make them level. Hollow out the smaller end of one of the bowl cakes, carving about 1 inch deep. (Leave a thick rim around the edge.)

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Put the uncut bowl cake, wider side up, on a cake board or plate. Spread with a layer of chocolate frosting, then position the round cake on top.

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Spread the round cake with frosting, then put the other bowl cake on top, carved part up. Freeze the cake about 1 hour (this will make it easier to frost).

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Frost the outer rim and inside of the hole with vanilla frosting (an offset spatula works best). Put the remaining vanilla frosting in a resealable plastic bag.

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Spread the remaining chocolate frosting over the outside of the cake. Press handfuls of toasted coconut into the frosting, covering the cake completely.

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Microwave the bag of vanilla frosting for 5 seconds (the bag will not melt). Snip off a corner and squeeze the frosting into the top of the cake so it looks like liquid.