Ann's September Cake: Birthday Cakes!

Hooray for September because it's the official birthday month of Year of Cake! Or rather the sisters of Year of Cake. Although Listle didn't choose to highlight her birth through cake (rather surprising since she's all about birthdays), I thought that my birthday party would be a perfect time to make a high-impact cake.

My sister-in-law Charna sent me a blog post about one woman's birthday cake for herself - she made the infamous Alton Brown coconut cake. It was funny when I read the post because I knew exactly the recipe she was talking about - he makes the cake completely from scratch, including processing fresh coconut . I had kind of had this cake in the back of my mind from the beginning of the year, as some kind of elusive pipe dream, and the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to make it. It would be a birthday gift to myself! Because of course an extremely labor-intensive cake is a great gift (did you see in the original post? It took five hours to break down two coconuts!).

Alton Brown gives detailed instructions on how to easily remove the coconut husks. After a trip to the hardware store for a really long nail, I was ready.


I started out by draining out the coconut water, I baked the coconuts for a little while and then allowed them to cool. This was supposed to cause the husks to crack and separate from the flesh with a little prying...but nothing happened. So I baked them again and waited. Again, nothing. I tried prying at the shells, tapping them with a hammer to crack them...nothing. After my boyfriend Ol' Blue Eyes worked me through a little bit of a meltdown, I took the hammer and pounded them into tiny pieces.


I should note that I started this process several days before the party, and more than once I determined that it wasn't worth the effort and that I would just use store-bought coconut. Each time I decided that was lame and that I love making a cooking project into an adventure, so I would continue on. And then I tried peeling the skin off the flesh.


The recipe said to use a vegetable peeler to get the skin off, but it was wretched. It took forever, and it peeled in a really awkward way, almost pilling like an old sweater on the peeled surface as I tried to handle it. It was grossing me out, and after one piece, I realized that although I had a full day to make the cake in preparation for the party, I would not have a happy birthday if I spent all of it messing with this dang coconut. Sometimes it's good to know when to let go.

Thus I moved to Plan B, which involved using a recipe from a book I'd checked out called Southern Cakes, which features an entire chapter on only coconut cakes. The author includes a recipe similar to Alton Brown's, starting from the raw coconut, but also had several other promising options with store-bought coconut. I picked a simple, standard cake and went to work.

From this point, everything went pretty easily. I bake the coconut cakes on Friday and assembled a layer cake just before the party. The only mishap at this point was that my attempt at a meringue frosting failed, but I blame that more on the fact that I was running around to get things set up for my birthday party at the same time as trying to make frosting. It was bound to fail. My dear friend Cheriiiil stepped in and did a 7-minute frosting instead, as per the suggestion of the author, and the day was saved.

At some point, I decided to make a second cake, but I really can't remember if there was a specific reason or if it was just because I wanted to make sure we had enough for the multitudes that were coming for my party. I maybe had wanted a chocolate feature. Or I was trying to use up some ingredient I had in my fridge. In any case, I made a banana cake with chocolate frosting. Again, I made the cakes Saturday morning and then frosted them as the party was starting. The frosting ended up being pretty thin, so I threw the cake into the freezer to help it set up faster so we could serve it. When I retrieved it, this had happened:

Can you see it? The cake had slid whilst in the freezer and then set with the top layer hanging off the side of the first. Everyone got a good laugh over my terraced cake.

Both cakes were really, really good. I wish I hadn't been rushing so much at the end so I could have really taken my time to make them look great, but the cakes themselves were moist (sorry, Maria), had a great texture and were really flavorful. I confess that I didn't get much of either because of the antics of my party (it was a massive karaoke party), but I would definitely make both again. The coconut cake used coconut water as its liquid, which gave a lovely flavor to the entire cake, instead of just using it as a garnish to the frosting. The banana cake reminded me of a similar loaf cake that my host mom used to make, or when I used to eat bananas with Nutella - banana and chocolate is always a great combination (when it's real banana, of course). I would maybe have liked a bit fluffier frosting, but that can easily be fixed for next time.


These cakes, along with the red velvet cake and lemon pie courtesy of Melyngoch, made for a very, very good party.

Happy Birthday to MEEEEE!!!!!!!!

Classic Coconut Cake
from Southern Cakes: Sweet and Irresistible Recipes for Everyday Celebrations by Nancie McDermott

Cake:
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup milk, or water from a fresh coconut plus enough milk added to make 1 cup
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans, line bottoms with parchment, and set aside. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt, and use a fork to mix together well. Stir the vanilla into the milk.

In a large bowl, beat the softened butter with a mixer at medium speed until creamy. Add the sugar and continue beating, until the mixture is light and evenly combined. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well each time, until the mixture is thick and smooth.

Add one third of the flour mixture to the batter and beat well at low speed. Add half the milk to the batter, beating well. Continue beating as you add another third of the flour, followed by the remaining milk, and then the remaining flour, beating well each time until the batter is very thick and smooth.

Quickly scrape the batter into the prepared cake pans, dividing evenly, and place them in the oven. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the cakes are golden brown, spring back when touched lightly in the center, and begin to pull away from the sides of the pan.

Remove from the oven, and cool in the pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Turn out onto wire racks, turn the cakes top side up, and cool completely.

Seven-Minute Frosting and garnish:
1 cup sugar
1/4 light corn syrup
1/4 cup water
2 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Flaked or shredded sweetened coconut (or both)

Bring about 3 inches of water to an active simmer in a medium saucepan. Meanwhile, in a heatproof bowl that will fit snugly over the saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup, water, egg whites, salt, and cream of tartar. Beat with a mixer at low speed for 1 minute, until the mixture is pale yellow and very foamy.

Place the bowl over the simmering water, and beat at high speed for 7 to 14 minutes or more, until the frosting becomes white, thick, and shiny, and triples in volume. Continue beating until the frosting forms firm peaks and loses some of its shine. Remove the frosting from the heat, add the vanilla, and continue beating for 2 minutes more.

Place 1 cooled cake on cake plate, top side up, and spread frosting on top, taking it to the edges, and then sprinkle with shredded coconut. Place second cake on top, and mound frosting on top and spread on sides, spreading and smoothing to completely cover the cake. Sprinkle and pat flaked and shredded coconut all over the cake.


Banana Cake with Chocolate Frosting
from Southern Cakes: Sweet and Irresistible Recipes for Everyday Celebrations by Nancie McDermott

Cake:
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans and line bottoms with parchment. Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl, and stir with a fork to combine well.

In a large bowl, combine the butter and sugar, and beat well, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, one by one, and then the vanilla. Beat well for 2 to 3 minutes more, until you have a smooth batter.

Using a large spoon or spatula, stir in half the flour until it just disappears into the batter. Stir in the buttermilk, and then the remaining flour the same way. Quickly and gently fold in the mashed bananas, and then divide the batter between the 2 cake pans.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the cakes are golden brown, spring back when touched lightly in the center, and begin to pull away from the sides of the pans.

Remove from the oven, and cool in the pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Turn out onto wire racks, turn the cakes top side up, and cool completely.

Chocolate Frosting:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/3 cup cocoa
1/3 cup evaporated milk or half-and-half
4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a medium saucepan, combine the butter, cocoa, and evaporated milk. Place over medium heat and bring to a gentle boil. Cook, stirring often, for about 5 minutes, until the cocoa dissolves into a dark, shiny essence. Remove from the heat and stir in the confectioners' sugar and vanilla. Beat with a mixer at low speed until you have a smooth, thick frosting.

Place 1 cooled cake on cake plate, top side down, and spread frosting on top, taking it to the edges. Place second cake on top, and mound frosting on top and spread on sides, spreading and smoothing to completely cover the cake.

Elizabeth's January Pie: Coconut Cream

Another great ATK pie!

The funny thing about using Cook’s Illustrated/America’s Test Kitchen is the changes (improvements?) that happen to the recipes over time. I initially chose my recipe from The Dessert Bible, by Christopher Kimball / Cook’s Illustrated. I went out and bought all of the ingredients for that preparation. Then I came home and looked up the coconut cream pie recipe in my America’s Test Kitchen cookbook, and in that recipe they essentially made fun of the type of recipe Chris Kimball had published only a few years earlier out of the same kitchen! Take that, bow tie man! (ATK's argument is that coconut cream pie shouldn’t be a vanilla cream pie with a little bit of coconut sprinkled throughout. Agreed.)

When I looked the recipe up online at the Cook’s Illustrated website, I found yet ANOTHER variation on the same pie but the date on the recipe was the same as the television air date from the pie in my ATK cookbook (there is no way you are following me on this…). I’m assuming that they keep the same air date to help people find the recipe, but they make changes here and there to the recipes as they think of new and yummier tweaks.

The moral of the story is this: you don’t need to by a single Cook’s Illustrated/ATK cookbook, you just need to keep your online subscription current! Look up the recipes there, and save yourselves the trouble.

Now, back to the recipe!

Everything went smoothly, and it was a very easy pie to make. In the future I may use graham cracker crumbs instead of animal crackers in the crust, just because they were expensive and not “YOWZA” impressive. I took this to my book club, and friends there said it was the best coconut cream pie they’d ever tasted, including one friend who ALWAYS orders coconut cream because it’s her favorite. Nice!

Unsweetened coconut was a little hard to find. I could only find lowfat organic unsweetened coconut in the health foods area of my grocery store. I was worried about the lowfat part but it worked just fine.

All in all: ENORMOUSLY TASTY. (I'll post a photo when I can finally locate my camera.)

Coconut Cream Pie

Recipe courtesy CooksIllustrated.com
Published: May 1, 2004

Makes one 9-inch pie, serving 8 to 10

Light coconut milk lacks rich coconut flavor, so skip it in favor of regular coconut milk.

Crust

6	ounces animal crackers
2	tablespoons unsweetened shredded coconut
1	tablespoon granulated sugar
4	tablespoons unsalted butter , melted and cooled

Filling

14	ounces coconut milk (1 can)
1	cup whole milk
1/2	cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2	cup granulated sugar
1	tablespoon granulated sugar
3/8	teaspoon table salt
5	large egg yolks
1/4	cup cornstarch
2	tablespoons unsalted butter , cut into 2 pieces
1	teaspoon vanilla extract

Whipped cream and garnish

1 1/2	cups heavy cream (cold)
2	tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2	teaspoon vanilla extract
1	tablespoon unsweetened shredded coconut , toasted in a small dry skillet until golden brown

1. For the crust: Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. In food processor, pulse animal crackers, coconut, and sugar to fine crumbs, eighteen to twenty 1-second pulses; then process until powdery, about 5 seconds. Transfer crumbs to medium bowl and add butter; stir to combine until crumbs are evenly moistened. Empty crumbs into 9-inch glass pie plate; using bottom of ramekin or 1/2 cup dry measuring cup, press crumbs evenly into bottom and up sides of pie plate. Bake until fragrant and medium brown, about 15 minutes, rotating pie shell halfway through baking time. Set on wire rack and cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.

2. For the filling: Bring coconut milk, whole milk, shredded coconut, 1/2 cup sugar, and salt to simmer over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally to ensure that sugar dissolves. Following illustrations 1 through 6, whisk yolks, cornstarch, and remaining 1 tablespoon sugar in medium bowl until thoroughly combined. Whisking constantly, gradually ladle about 1 cup hot milk mixture over yolk mixture; whisk well to combine. Whisking constantly, gradually add remaining milk mixture to yolk mixture in 3 or 4 additions; whisk well to combine. Return mixture to saucepan and cook until thickened and mixture reaches boil, whisking constantly, about 1 minute; filling must boil in order to fully thicken. (To determine whether filling has reached boil, stop whisking; large bubbles should quickly burst on surface.) Off heat, whisk in butter and vanilla until butter is fully incorporated. Pour hot filling into cooled pie shell and smooth surface with rubber spatula; press plastic wrap directly against surface of filling and refrigerate until firm, at least 3 hours and up to 12 hours.

3. For the whipped cream: Just before serving, beat cream, sugar, and vanilla with electric mixer until soft peaks form, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Top pie with whipped cream and then sprinkle with coconut. Cut pie into wedges and serve.