Tuesday, October 26, 2010

2 Coconut Cake

I made this cake over the past two days. We had a "pot luck" soup lunch today and I said I would bring a coconut cake (which is many of my friends at school's favorite dessert!) Since I had a volleyball game on Monday (which we won and finished the season UNDEFEATED!), I made the cake and the filling on Sunday night and then iced it last night! Ok, now let me clarify some things. . . if you live ANYWHERE NEAR the Gulf of Mexico and have ANY bit of humidity in your air then your cake will NOT look like this. .
Let me explain. . . my cake and filling turned out amazing. Beautiful. . . just like a yummy homemade, from scratch cake. AND THEN last night was a DISASTER. . . I made the icing just like Paula Deen told me too. . . but it was too runny . . . soooo I made it again. . . . let me set the stage: I had a long day at school, a volleyball game, I went running when I got home, so I didn't start making the icing until around 10. . . so, in other words, I was pretty exhausted. Paula (I feel like we are on a first name basis since I seriously love her) said to use a hand held electric mixer. . . well, I decided to give my hand held mixer away since I had a beautiful new KitchenAid KSM150PSWH Artisan Series 5-Quart Mixer, White! SO, I whisked the icing by hand. . . for 7 min the first time. . . then with the second batch I WHISKED with MORE vigor since I thought my WHISKING was the problem. . . well, by that time, I was thinking MANY not nice thoughts about my "7 minute icing" soooo I just went ahead and tried to ice my cake. . . DISASTER. . . icing EVERYWHERE. . . so much so that icing was running off the counter onto Gus Gus (who thought he was in heaven) and then onto the floor. So I gave up and just DUMPED a bunch of coconut on the top and called it a night. . . Nate had begged me for a piece since Sunday . . I gave in. . . I mean, he is REALLY good looking and when he winks, it is hard to resist! Nate said it tasted wonderful. . . (but I didn't really believe him). . . until I took it to school today. . . I had to write an email to our "lunch bunch" about "not judging a cake by its cover" AND I had to explain why there was a piece of cake MISSING! BUT . . . all of the teachers RAVED about the cake. . . .I had more than one person tell me the cake tasted just like their mother or grandmother's homemade cakes did. . . Oh, did that make me feel better. . . what a compliment. . . and THEN the best news of all. . . Bobbie told me that it was impossible to make Paula Deen's 7 min Icing in our climate! News to my ears. . . I am not a failure in the kitchen! ;-) So, if you would like to make a coconut cake, I have a wonderful recipe. . . but instead of icing, the cake will have a lovely and delicious glaze. . . and the shredded coconut on the top of the cake will complete the "coconut cake look!" Like the Cinnamon Rolls , this is a process but well worth it . . . . I only have one slice left of the entire cake. . . which I saved for . . . Nate! :-) (and I have a date with Williams Sonoma for a hand held mix master!)

Basic 1-2-3-4 Cake
Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
3 cups sifted self-rising flour
1 cup unsweetened canned coconut milk 
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease and flour 3 (9-inch) cake pans. Using an electric mixer, cream butter until fluffy. Add sugar and continue to cream well for 6 to 8 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour and milk alternately to creamed mixture, beginning and ending with flour. Add vanilla and continue to beat until just mixed. Divide batter equally among prepared pans. Level batter in each pan by holding pan 3 or 4 inches above counter, then dropping it flat onto counter. Do this several times to release air bubbles and assure you of a more level cake. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until done. Cool in pans 5 to 10 minutes. Invert cakes onto cooling racks. Cool completely and spread cake layers with your favorite frosting to make a 3-layer cake.

The Filling:
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup sour cream
4 tablespoons milk
1/2 cup flaked, sweetened coconut
Directions
While cake is baking, prepare filling. Stir together sugar, sour cream, milk and coconut in a bowl until well blended. Remove cake layers from oven and allow cake to remain in pan as you prepare to stack and fill. Remove first layer and invert onto cake plate. Using the wrong end of a wooden spoon, poke holes approximately 1 inch apart until entire cake has been poked. Spread one third of filling mixture on cake layer. Top with second layer, repeat process. Top with last layer and repeat process again. (As I stack layers together, I stick them with toothpicks to prevent cake from shifting.) You can place the cake in the refrigerator for 3 days to allow it to absorb the filling mixture.

7 Minute Frosting
Ingredients:
1/3 cup water
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar or 1 tablespoon white corn syrup
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 egg whites
1 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Directions
Place sugar, cream of tartar or corn syrup, salt, water and egg whites into a mixing bowl and beat for 1 minute with a handheld electric mixer. Using the double boiler method, place the bowl over the top of rapidly boiling water, making sure that boiling water does not touch the bottom of the top bowl. (If this happens, it could cause your frosting to become grainy.) Beat constantly on high speed with electric mixer for 7 minutes. Remove the bowl from the boiler and gently stir in vanilla with a spatula. (So if you live in the HUMIDITY, like I do, then just spread some over the top of your cake and try to spread some on the sides. . . yes, you will make a mess. . .that is ok. . . THEN DUMP lots of coconut on the top of the cake! and it will taste AMAZING!)
www.pauladeen.com
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2 comments:

  1. girrrrrllll...you were crrrazy to give away that mixer! ;) if I had an extra $50 I would buy you one! you will especially want one when you and nate make super cute babies...and the hand held is easier to get out/clean up! ;) your cake still sounds delish, by the way!

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