"If
you're not going to start with a fresh coconut," said Aunt Lois
"Don't bother to make this cake. It won't be worth the trouble." The
foundation of this cake is the "coconut water," a clear white liquid found
in the center of a fresh coconut. With an ice pick or a screwdriver, poke two
holes in the eyes of the coconut and shake the liquid into a measuring cup.
Make sure the juice is fresh and sweet; if the water is absent or sour, the
coconut will not be a good one. While the cake is baking, break open the
coconut with a hammer, extract the meat from the shell, peel off the brown skin
with a vegetable peeler and grate the meat through the largest holes of a
cheese grater or through the grater attachment of a food processor.
1/2 cup
butter, softened to room temperature but not melted, plus some for the pans
1 1/2 cups
sugar
2 eggs at
room temperature
1 teaspoon
vanilla extract
1/2
teaspoon almond extract
2 1/4 cups
cake flour, plus some for the pans
2 teaspoons
baking powder
1 teaspoon
salt
1 cup
coconut water or a combination of coconut water and milk
Fluffy
White Icing (recipe follows)
Freshly grated
meat from one whole coconut (about 3 cups)
1.)Rub the bottom and sides of two
9-inch cake pans with butter then sprinkle the pans with flour and shake off
the excess.
2.)In the bowl of an electric mixer,
whip the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time,
beating well after each addition, then beat in the vanilla and almond extracts.
3.)In a separate bowl, whisk together
the flour, baking powder and salt. Add about a third of this mixture to the
butter mixture along with one third of the coconut water and beat until smooth;
scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Repeat this with the
remaining thirds of flour and water.
4.)Divide the batter evenly between the
prepared cake pans. In an oven preheated to 350 degrees, bake 25 minutes, or
until the cake is golden brown and springs back when pressed lightly in the
center. Cool the cakes for 5 minutes in the pans, then remove from pans and
cool completely on racks. When cool, place one cake round on a cake plate and
cover with Fluffy White Icing. Top with second cake layer and frost the top and
sides. Cover the top and sides with freshly grated coconut.
Fluffy
White Icing
This frosting
is mandatory for Aunt Lois' Coconut Cake, but it also serves as an excellent
topper for Devil's Food Cake, pxx.
(Makes about
3 cups, enough to frost a 2-layer, 9inch cake)
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup
water
1/3 cup
light corn syrup
3 egg
whites
1 teaspoon
vinegar or lemon juice
1/2
teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon
vanilla extract
1.)In a fairly large saucepan over high
heat, stir the sugar, water and corn syrup until the mixture comes to a vigorous
boil. Watch closely so it doesn't boil over. Reduce heat to lowest setting and
cook, undisturbed, for 3 minutes.
2.)While syrup is cooking, whip egg
whites with vinegar or lemon juice and salt on high speed in the bowl of an
electric mixer until they just start to hold soft peaks. With the motor
running, stream in the hot syrup and continue whipping until the frosting is
very smooth and glossy. Stir in vanilla extract and spread over cooled cake
layers.
