From Amy Chu:


3/4 cup cake flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg
1/3 cup water
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 cup sugar

***Pastry Cream:***
1 1/2 cup milk
1 split vanilla bean
1/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons flour
4 egg yolks

***Whipped Cream:***
3 cups whipping cream
3 tablespoons sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Sift together cake flour, 1/3 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Set aside. Combine egg, water and oil; add to sifted ingredients. Mix batter until smooth.

In a separate bowl, whip egg whites with cream of tartar. Gradually add 1/4 cup sugar; continue to whip to form a stiff meringue. Fold batter into meringue and mix thoroughly.

Pour into an ungreased 9-inch cake pan and bake about 30 minutes. Invert cake onto a rack and cool.

To make pastry cream: Scrape vanilla bean seeds into milk and bring to a boil over moderate heat (add vanilla bean pod to milk as well). Combine sugar, flour and egg yolks; whip until light yellow. Slowly pour 1/3 of the hot milk into the egg mixture to temper it. Add milk-yolk mixture back into the remaining milk and cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly until thick. Immediately remove bean pod and strain, then place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Chill.

To prepare whipped cream: Whip cream and sugar until fluffy. Fold 1 cup into pastry cream; reserve the rest to frost cake.

To assemble: Cut cooled cake into three layers. Stir 3/4 cup of coconut flakes into pastry cream. Spread cream between layers of the cake. Frost top and sides of cake with remaining whipped cream and sprinkle with remaining coconut flakes.