Coconut Cake

Yes, you may sing that to the tune of Porcupine Pie (which makes me sound so old).

For Son2's birthday, I made a coconut cake, which turned out pretty tasty. I will also admit here, to the entire world, that I am a bad mom and completely forgot about his birthday and forgot to plan a cake for him. Luckily, Facebook notifications reminded me of the day, and my son, then, reminded me that I hadn't made him a cake. Oh, the comedies of aging and having a bad memory.

I figured some of you coconut lovers might want this recipe too. 

Coconut Cake (a.k.a. "I forgot about my own son's birthday" cake)

adapted from Elegant White Cake in King Arthur Flour's The All-Purpose Baking Cookbook

8 T butter, softened

½ C vegetable shortening

1 T baking powder

1 (to 1¾…I only used 1) C superfine or granulated sugar

¾ t salt

2 t vanilla extract

1 t coconut extract/flavor

5 large egg whites

2¾ C cake flour

1 C milk

1 C (plus maybe 1/8 more for decoration) toasted coconut - I used shredded but I guess you can use flake if you like chunky pieces

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, shortening, baking powder, sugar, salt and extracts until fluffy and light, approx. 5 minutes depending on the power of your mixer. Add egg whites one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Stir 1/3 of the flour into the mixture, then half the milk, another 1/3 of the flour, the rest of the milk, and then the last of the flour, scraping down bowl occasionally. Add 1 C of the toasted coconut, stirring until just combined.

Pour batter into 2 greased and floured or parchment-lined 8” or 9” round pans, 3 8” round pans, or a 9x13” pan. Bake the cakes for 23-26 minutes (for the 8” pans), 25-30 minutes (for the 9” pans), or about 35 minutes (for the 9x13” pan). Remove cakes from oven and cool completely on racks before frosting.

Use your favorite frosting recipe, adding 1 t of coconut extract into it. Sprinkle the frosting with the remaining ¼ C of toasted coconut to garnish.

Enjoy with or without guilt and a candle!

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." ~ Douglas Adams