Preheat the oven to 350F and grease a 9×13 baking dish.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl using a hand or stand mixer with the paddle attachment, add the sugar and lime zest. Using your fingers, rub the zest into the sugar to release even more flavor.

Now add the butter and mix to combine. It will not turn smooth and creamy – more like wet sand.

Mix in the eggs one at a time, adding in the vanilla with the last egg. Scrape down the bowl and mix again until smooth.

Mix in the lime juice and coconut milk.

Dump in the dry ingredients and mix. Switching to a rubber spatula, scrape down the bowl to make sure all of the ingredients are well combined.

Spread the batter in the prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes.

While the cake bakes, combine all of the soak ingredients in a pourable measuring glass.

When the cake is fresh from the oven, use a shop stick, skewer, or a fork to prick holes all throughout the cake.

Pour over the soak and use a spoon or small offset spatula to make sure it’s evenly distributed.

Allow the cake to cool before making the whipped cream. This can be done fully at room temperature, or allow the cake to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes and then transfer to the refrigerator to speed up the cooling process.

Using a hand or stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whip the heavy cream just until it ever-so-slightly starts to thicken.

Then pour in the rest of the sweetened condensed milk along with the coconut extract and whip until it reaches soft peaks.

Spread the whipped cream over the cake and top with coconut flakes and lime zest.

When slicing and serving the cake, the soak can make the bottom a bit sticky so I suggest using a small spatula to lift out the slides. Enjoy!