Chocolate Coconut Cream Cake

"I had to make this cake at work on Easter and it was just beautiful so I made it at home and jazzed it up. You will be quite happy with this cake. Color the coconut on top any color you like."

Ingredients

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
 1 1/2 cups white sugar
 2 cups all-purpose flour
 2 teaspoons baking powder
 1/4 teaspoon salt
 6 egg whites
 3/4 cup milk
 2 teaspoons coconut extract

 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
 3/4 cup sweetened flaked coconut

 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

 1 cup sweetened flaked coconut

 2 drops food coloring, or as needed

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Butter the sides of two 9-inch cake pans and line the bottoms of the pans with 9-inch parchment paper.
3. Beat unsalted butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
4. Stir flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl; set aside.
5. Whisk egg whites, milk, and coconut extract in a separate bowl.
6. Thoroughly mix about 1/3 of the flour mixture into the creamed butter and sugar; stir in half the egg white-milk mixture. Repeat twice more, ending with final 1/3 of flour mixture; stir to make a smooth batter.
7. Pour batter into prepared cake pans and smooth tops with a spatula.
8. Bake in the preheated oven until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cake comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.
9. Cool cakes in pans on racks for about 5 minutes before turning out onto racks to cool completely. Peel parchment paper from cakes.
10. Stir sweetened condensed milk, 1/4 cup heavy cream, and vanilla extract together in a bowl; stir in 3/4 cup flaked coconut. Refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour.
11. Bring 1/2 cup heavy cream to a simmer over low heat; gradually stir in chocolate until thoroughly melted and the mixture is thick and smooth. Allow to cool to lukewarm.
12. Place a cake layer onto a serving platter; top with the condensed milk-coconut mixture. Place second cake layer over the coconut filling. Spread warm chocolate mixture evenly over top and sides of cake with a thin spatula.
13. Toss 1 cup flaked coconut in a bowl with food coloring until coconut is evenly colored; sprinkle coconut over chocolate topping to serve.