Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans or one 9x13-inch cake pan and set aside.
vegetable shortening and flour
Cream together the butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until very smooth, at least four minutes. Add eggs, vanilla, and coconut flavoring and beat well to combine. In a separate medium-sized bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
Add flour mixture and the buttermilk to the butter mixture and beat with an electric mixer at medium speed, scraping down the sides as needed, until thoroughly blended and smooth, around two to three minutes.
1 cup buttermilk
Pour batter into the prepared pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. This is about 25 to 30 minutes for round cakes and 30 to 35 minutes for a 9x13 cake.
Cool completely and frost with the no-fail seven-minute frosting. Sprinkle with coconut and press coconut into the cake's sides immediately after frosting.