Coconut Cake

I saw a recipe for coconut cake using fresh coconut in the April 2010 issue of BHG and it looked so yummy that I decided to make it (albeit over one year later). Most of my cooking escapades are issue free, but this one did not go so well!

Let's start with the coconut. According to the recipe and author, cracking a coconut doesn't have to be difficult. I beg to differ. You are supposed to put holes in two of the eyes using an ice pick, which I do not own, so I used a screw driver and hammer. Drain all of the water from the coconut and set that aside. Then tap the coconut forcefully all over in order to loosen the shell. After several minutes the shell should crack. Then break the shell open completely using a few more forceful taps of the hammer. Next, using a thin, flexible knife, separate the shell from the flesh. A thin skin will remain, but can be removed with a vegetable peeler. Finally, shred the coconut finely using a box grater. Hopefully your experience is better than mine. I did get the water drained but was never able to crack the coconut open, so my husband smashed it for me. I then used the thinnest knife that I had, but was not able to separate the shell from the flesh. When I managed to get a small amount of flesh cleaned and grated, I tried a bite and found it highly unappealing. I couldn't imagine how the mostly tasteless chewy flesh was going to taste good on a cake.

The recipe for the cake batter is pretty straight forward and quite tasty. I would recommend it for making any yellow cake. I don't understand why it is called coconut cake since there is no coconut flavor in the batter. It seems to me that it should be a yellow cake with coconut frosting. If you make a yellow cake with chocolate icing, it is not called chocolate cake.

I made the batter and placed it into two prepared pans. One was an individual round cake pan. The other was an extra deep Wilton round cake pan. Once the cake was cooled, I planned on cutting it in half to make two separate layers. Here is where my second problem occurred. The individual layer cooked nicely in about 20 minutes as expected, but the double layer was still not cooked after 1 1/2 hours (normally this pan requires a 50-60 min cook time). After several failed attempts to get things going I learned that my oven had stopped working. Flash forward a few days: The oven had come mostly unplugged, my husband remedied the situation and the oven works fine. Back to the cake: It never completely cooked through. So, I took it out of the pan, placed it on a microwave safe plate, and nuked it for 10 minutes. Obviously this dried the cake out to the point that it could not be used as a layered cake. It turned into the cake used for a tiramisu, though a yummy treat, I do not recommend the recipe that I used for the cheese filling, so I won't post it. But I digress. :)

I never got to make the icing, so I cannot give you any tips or tricks for that part.

After some thought I have decided to post the recipe that I will use next time I attempt to make a coconut cake. I will give you the original recipe with my suggested changes in parenthesis. I intend to use coconut milk to give the cake a light coconut flavor and packaged sweetened coconut because it is easy and guaranteed to taste good. May you have better luck than I!

Coconut Cake

Batter:
5 eggs
1 c butter
1 c whole milk (coconut milk or coconut water)
3 c cake flour (all-purpose)
1 tbls baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 c sugar
1 tbls vanilla

Frosting:
3-4 c fresh grated coconut (packaged sweetened coconut)
3 egg whites
2 c sugar
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
3/4 c water
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla

Cake:
Let the eggs, butter, and milk come up to room temperature. Meanwhile, sift the flour, baking powder, and salt onto a piece of parchment (or waxed) paper. In a large mixing bowl beat butter until smooth, add sugar and vanilla and mix until well combined. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down sides of bowl periodically. Alternate adding flower and milk (1/3 each at a time) until batter is well mixed and smooth. Evenly divide batter among three round or square pans that have been greased, lined with parchment (or waxed) paper, greased again, and floured. Bake for 20-25 min at 350 F or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool cake in pans for ten minutes then invert on wire rack and cool completely.

Icing:
Let the egg whites come up to room temperature. In a medium saucepan combine sugar, cream of tartar, and water. Cook and stir over low heat until sugar is dissolved. Cover and bring to boil; boil for 2 minutes. Remove cover and cook until candy thermometer reaches 240 F. DO NOT STIR! Beat egg whites until frothy, add salt and beat until stiff peaks form. While beating on low speed, slowly drizzle in hot syrup. Add vanilla. Beat on medium-high for 3-4 minutes or until light and fluffy.

Ice cake being sure to sprinkle coconut between layers and on outside of cake. If the icing begins to thicken up, place frosting bowl over bowl of hot water and mix periodically. For a slightly different flavor you can use toasted coconut.

BBQ Beef (Crockpot)

I have never made BBQ beef before, but thought it would be a yummy way to celebrate 4th of July this year. I know the easiest method is to place beef and BBQ in a crock pot, but then the beef doesn't seem to get as much flavor, lots of BBQ is wasted, and the crock pot is a mess to clean up! So, I decided to try my own recipe, it is currently cooking, so I'll have to post later to tell you how it turned out. Good luck to me :)

BBQ Beef (Crock pot)

1 c water
1/2 large onion (diced)
1/4 c ketchup
1 tbls prepared mustard
1 tbls onion powder
1 tbls garlic powder (I didn't have any so I used Mrs. Dash Garlic & herb)
2 beef bouillon cubes
2-4 lb beef chuck roast
Salt
Pepper
8 oz beer (I used Woodchuck Hard Cider instead)
BBQ sauce
Buns

Combine the onion, ketchup, mustard, onion and garlic powders, bouillon cubes, water, and beer in a large crock pot. Place beef in mixture and thoroughly season both sides with salt and pepper. Cook on the lowest setting that time allows. I started late so it will be 6 hours. Once the meat is done, pour off liquid, shred beef and mix with your favorite BBQ sauce. I like Gates original (a local BBQ). I will put the BBQ in the crock pot because I don't want to waste the onions that have cooked all day and I want to heat the sauce up a little. Enjoy!

Red, White, and Blue Ice Cream Dessert

Many of the foods that I make were once inspired by a recipe that I read somewhere, but failed to write down. This tasty festive treat is one of those recipes. It is very simple, very pretty, and most importantly delicious. The sweetness of the ice cream is contrasted with a slight tanginess from the blueberry muffin mix. The strawberries add an excellent contrast. Enjoy!

Red, White, and Blue Ice Cream Dessert

1 box Bakery Style Blueberry Muffin Mix (shoud include muffin mix, blueberries, and crumble topping)
1 qt Vanilla ice cream, softened
1 pint strawberries, sliced
2 tbls butter, melted

Grease an 8x8 square baking dish. Combine melted butter with 2/3 of muffin mix. Press into bottom of dish to form a crust. Bake in oven at 350 F for 10 min or until set but not browned. Cool completely. Combine ice cream with remaining muffin mix. Spread evenly on top of crust. Sprinkle top with packet of crumble topping. Place in freezer until ice cream has re-frozen. Just before serving, remove dish from freezer and place in hot water for 30 sec to 1 min to loosen up the edges. Strain and rinse blueberries. Arrange blueberries and strawberries in pattern of choice.