Playing with Fire

My Homemade Coconut Cake

A favorite memory from childhood is the cakes my grandmother made at Christmas time. It wasn't Christmas without several homemade cakes mellowing on the sideboard. She always made a chocolate cake, usually a coconut cake, and sometimes she made a Japanese fruitcake - which was really more of a spice cake with coconut icing than it was a traditional fruitcake.  My favorite was the chocolate cake. We called it (and still call it) Grandma's Chocolate Cake; it was a yellow cake with thin layers and a dark chocolate glaze icing. Sounds simple enough, but it was to die for.   My late daddy's favorite was the coconut cake. For several years now, my stepdad has been talking of a favorite coconut cake from his childhood, and I got the idea a few months back to make him one for Christmas. I've always liked the idea of cake baking at Christmas; I guess it's in my DNA. And the thought of keeping these old beloved recipes going really appeals to me.  So it was in this context that I decided to bake two cakes for Christmas. A side benefit of baking cakes is that you can't "sample" them like you can other treats. If I bake a batch of cookies, and eat a "few", no one is the wiser. But if I cut a big slice out of a cake, well it's very obvious. So if I'm going to play with fire (that would be sugar in this case), cake baking is a less dangerous way for me to do it.

First, I baked the coconut cake. This is not your typical coconut cake with cream cheese or other fluffy frosting. The cake that my grandmother made was an old fashioned coconut cake with a simple syrup based coconut icing that soaked into the cake. The cake got better with each passing day. Many of the old-fashioned recipes call for making it 4 to 7 days in advance of serving.  The problem with these old fashioned recipes is that they all use a boiled icing with vague instructions about how long to cook it. There is no instruction on the temperature to attain so a good degree of magic is required for it to come out right. If not magic, certainly lots of practice. I have no interest in, nor time for practice.  I need a reliable recipe that yields repeatable results. After a couple of failed attempts with the boiled icing, I considered alternatives and found a good compromise using a sour cream based icing. It's a simple, no-fail icing that yields a pretty darn-good result and makes for a very moist cake. My stepdad gave it a rave review. My recipe for the cake and the icing follows at the bottom of this post.

Next I made an attempt at Grandma's Chocolate Cake. Of course, my grandmother baked this cake from memory and experience; there was no recipe except the one in her head. I once asked her to tell me how to make it, and I wrote down what she said. Unfortunately there were a lot of instructions that included the phrase "until it looks right." I tried numerous times back in the late 80's and 90's to bake this cake, but never got it right. The last time I attempted it was for Daddy before he died in 1998. I failed once more and decided, "never again." But I was inspired recently to make another attempt - inspired by reading old recipes and by my grandmother's 99th birthday on December 23rd. She's in a nursing home and in decline. She doesn't have too many days left on this earth.  So I decided to celebrate her 99th birthday with one more go at recreating her awesome chocolate cake. It turned out well enough to serve at Christmas Eve dinner, and my family dutifully taste tested it. It was pretty good; still not quite right, but the taste was very close, if not spot-on. The issues were with the texture of the cake (not dense enough), the thickness of the layers (too thick), and I over cooked the icing, but not by too much. I have good notes for a next attempt, if there is one. I would love to get this recipe nailed and documented so we can pass it down through the family. Maybe I will try again next Christmas. If I ever get it right, I'll share the recipe for Grandma's Chocolate Cake. 

My attempt at "Grandma's Chocolate Cake"

Coconut Cake with Coconut Icing

Cake Layers:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 eggs at room temperature
3 cups sifted self-rising flour (measure after sifting)
1 cup coconut milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

-Preheat over to 350.
-Grease and flour three 9" cake pans.
-In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter until fluffy.
-Add the sugar and cream for 6-8 minutes.
-Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each.
-Add flour and coconut milk, alternating, beginning and ending with the flour. Mix just until flour is combined. Do not over-mix.
-Add vanilla and mix just until combined.
-Divide batter between the 3 pans. Drop each pan onto the counter from 3-4" to release any air pockets.
-Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
-Cool completely before icing.

Coconut Icing:
2 cups sour cream
2 cups sugar
14 oz flaked coconut

Mix all ingredients and let stand. You can make this before you bake the cake and let it rest in the fridge until ready to ice the cake.

Ice the cake:
-Cut a piece of sturdy cardboard the same size as the 9" cake layer. (I remember that Grandma always did this for her cakes.) You will set the cake on the cardboard for icing. This will allow you to handle the cake and wrap it tightly for storage in the fridge until ready to serve. The cardboard won't show and you can set the cake on a pretty plate for serving.
-Turn the first cake layer top-side down onto the cardboard. Poke holes with the end of a wooden spoon. Spoon 1/3 of the icing onto the cake layer. Repeat with the next two layers.
-Wrap the cake in saran wrap and store it in the fridge, at least over-night or for several days before serving.
-Before serving, remove from the fridge and bring to room temperature.