• In the bowl of a stand mixer (or just a large bowl if you're using a hand mixer), combine flour, sugar, cocoa, black cocoa (or just additional cocoa), baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix on low until fully blended.
• In a separate bowl, combine eggs, sour cream, vegetable oil, and vanilla.
• With mixer on, pour liquid into dry ingredients and mix gently until smooth.
• Slowly pour in hot/warm coffee while mixer continues.
• Pour an even amount of batter into three prepared cake pans (wax/parchment and shortening or other method as preferred). Bake at 300°F for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
• Cool cakes for about 5 minutes after removing from the oven. Run a plastic knife quickly around the edges of each cake pan to help release the cake.
• Turn the first cake layer onto a parchment paper covered plate. (Trim any dome off of the cake so layers will stack without cracking.) Do this with the second cake layer and stack parchment/cake on top of first layer. Do the same with the third layer and cover cake with cake carrier lid until cool. Then refrigerate until ready to frost.
• Fill with Coconut Cream Truffle Filling. The filling will be thick, so it will require gently pressing the filling onto the cake layers by hand.
• Frost with Dark Chocolate Ganache. Garnish with coconut flakes, piped ganache, etc as desire.

Coconut Cream Truffle Filling

• Whisk flour, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan until smooth and without lumps. (The process is essentially a half recipe of Vanilla Ermine Frosting, but with the additions of coconut extract and coconut flakes, so check out the link for a more in-depth description of the process.)
• Place the saucepan over medium heat and slowly stir in milk and extracts as the mixture heats.
• Continue to stir almost continuously until the milk custard reaches a thick pudding consistency.
• Remove the mixture from heat and either press plastic wrap onto the surface of the milk custard or continue to stir every few minutes while cooling to prevent a film from forming.
• This mixture must be slightly cooler than room temperature to move to the next step. Allow to cool on the counter and then refrigerate until ready to use (up to three days). If leaving in the refrigerator for a lengthy amount of time, allow to warm up on the countertop until cool (not cold) for about an hour before moving to the next step.
• Place slightly softened butter in the bowl of an electric mixer and whip until very light in color and fluffy.
• Scrape down the sides of the bowl and continue to whip, adding the milk custard mixture to the butter by tablespoons until fully combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl a couple of times during this process and finish with a final quick whip.
• Stir in flaked coconut, reserving about ⅓ cup for pressing into the sides of the cake as garnish, if desired.

Dark Chocolate Ganache

• Heat cream in a medium sized microwave safe bowl for 90 seconds or until very hot, but not boiling.
• Pour chocolate into cream so that it is as submerged as possible. Wait 2 minutes.
• Gently whisk or stir the mixture until smooth. Cover and let the mixture rest for several hours or overnight until spreadable consistency.