Grandma Luella's Coconut Cake

Summer is going by so fast and I've been making a conscious effort to find time for a few last lazy days in the sun with a good book. I love to eat and I love to read so it's not surprising that 'Foodie Fiction' has started to dominate my bookshelf (sorry for all the Amazon charges, Mom). Sometimes, these light reads are all I need to let go of all the work worries, the wedding planning stresses and just remember the beauty in a simple life and fresh baked goods.

Here are a few of my recent favorites that have inspired me both in life and the kitchen:

• The Coincidence of Coconut Cake by Amy E. Reichert (where this recipe comes from)

• The Glass Kitchen by Linda Francis Lee

• The All You Can Dream Buffet by Barbara O' Neil

• Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal

As for this recipe, I'm not much of a cake person. My love for cookies is far too great to use my far too expensive gluten-free flour blends on anything else! That being said, when I read the Coincidence of Coconut Cake, my mouth was literally watering and I felt like I owed it to the author to give her coconut cake recipe a shot (with my gluten free spin of course). It re-invigorated my love for baking and reminded me to count the memories, not the calories. Thanks, Amy and Grandma Lou :)

Here it is in Lou’s words:

"Though Harley says to weigh the ingredients, I’m giving the instructions the way Grandma Luella gave them to me. If you prefer to weigh, you can find nifty conversions on the internet. Make sure to bring all the ingredients to room temperature before mixing."

Cake Recipe

• 5 large egg whites

• 3/4 cup cream of coconut

• 1/4 cup coconut milk—make sure to stir the contents very well to recombine before measuring

• 1 large egg

• 1 tsp. coconut extract

• 2 tsp. vanilla extract (I’ve been known to use more—make sure it’s REAL vanilla)

• 2 1/4 cups cake flour (I substituted gluten free flour at a 1:1 ratio... make sure your gluten free flour blend has xantham gum in it or the cake will crumble. Bob's Red Mill just released a new flour with xantham gum)

• 1 cup sugar

• 1 tbsp. baking powder

• 3/4 tsp. table salt

• 12 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened, cut into 12 pieces

• 1 recipe Coconut Frosting (see below)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Brush or rub melted butter onto two 9-inch cake pans (I used one rectangular pan because I don't have enough kitchen storage for all this), then line the pan bottoms with parchment paper (trust me, this makes cake removal so much easier... it was actually lifechanging).

In a medium bowl, whisk the egg whites, cream of coconut, coconut milk, whole egg, and extracts together until combined and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. With a mixer on low speed, beat in the butter, one piece at a time, until the mixture resembles course crumbs, 2 to 5 minutes (about two minutes for a stand mixer, closer to 5 minutes with a hand-held mixer).

Increase the speed to medium-high and add 1 cup of the egg mixture. Beat until light and fluffy, about 45 seconds (a little longer with a hand mixer). Add the remaining egg mixture in a steady stream and continue to beat until the batter is combined, about 30 seconds. Scrape down the bowl and beaters as needed.

Divide the batter evenly between the two cake pans and smooth the tops with a spatula. Bake until a wooden skewer inserted in the center of the cakes comes out with a few crumbs, about 30-35 minutes. All ovens vary, so be careful not to over bake. Rotate the pans halfway through baking.

Let the cakes cool for 10 minutes on wire racks. Run a knife around the edge, then flip out onto the racks. Remove the parchment paper, flip the cakes upright, and let them cool completely before frosting.

Coconut Frosting Recipe

• 2 tbsp. coconut milk

• 1 tsp. coconut extract

• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

• Pinch of table salt

• 16 tbsp unsalted butter, softened

• 1/4 cup cream of coconut

• 3 cups powdered sugar

• 2 cups toasted coconut (use the toaster or lightly sautee in a pan on medium heat)

Stir the coconut milk, extracts, and salt together until the salt dissolves.

Beat the butter and cream of coconut in a large bowl at medium-high speed until smooth, about 20 seconds.. Reduce the speed to medium-low and slowly add the powdered sugar. Beat until smooth, about 2-5 minutes. Beat in the extract mixture. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 4 to 8 minutes.

Set one layer of cake on a cake stand or plate; you can use a daub of frosting to keep it in place. Take one cup of frosting and spread over the bottom layer (an offset spatula works well for this). Sprinkle with toasted coconut. This gives a nice crunch in the middle of the cake.

Set the second layer on top of the first. Scoop out the remaining frosting onto the top of the cake. Spread the frosting to the edge of the cake, working it over the sides and down, spinning the stand or plate as needed to frost all sides of the cake. Don’t worry about making it too pretty, the toasted coconut will help hide the flaws.

Press the toasted coconut onto the sides of the cake, and sprinkle it over the top.

Cut and hide a piece immediately because people will soon arrive to swipe your cake.

image (12)

image (10)

image (11)

image (9)