- Preheat and Prepare Pans: Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour three 9-inch round cake pans. Line the bottoms with parchment paper.
- Toast Nuts and Coconut: Toast the 1 ½ cups of chopped pecans and 1 ½ cups of shredded coconut for the cake layers. Also, toast the 1 cup of finely chopped pecans and 1 cup of coconut for decoration. Set aside all toasted nuts and coconut to cool.
- Whisk Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- Beat Egg Whites: In another bowl, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar using an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
- Cream Butter and Sugar: In a large mixing bowl, cream the softened butter and granulated sugar together until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
- Add Egg Yolks and Extracts: Add the egg yolks one at a time to the butter-sugar mixture, beating well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla extract and almond extract.
- Alternate Wet and Dry Ingredients: Gradually add the dry flour mixture to the butter mixture in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk in two additions, beginning and ending with the flour. Mix until just combined after each addition.
- Fold in Nuts and Coconut: Gently fold in the toasted and chopped pecans and the sweetened shredded coconut into the batter.
- Fold in Egg Whites: Gently fold in the beaten egg whites until just combined. Be careful not to deflate the meringue.
- Divide and Bake: Divide the cake batter evenly between the prepared cake pans. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cake comes out clean.
- Cool the Cakes: Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes before inverting them onto wire racks to cool completely.
For the Frosting:
