My Mother's Day Cake: Jaime's Coconut Cake

I know we nearly have Father's Day upon us and I'm just now getting around to telling you about my mother's day surprise cake, painstakingly made by my husband. David toiled away, carefully following Jaime's Coconut Cake recipe and ended up with this beautiful, coconut covered cake. I kept pestering my husband about his recipe choice. Paula Deen's son? Was he a closet fan of the Deen Family, right under my unsuspecting nose? Even though David covets her kitchen (who doesn't?), he frequently makes fun of Paula Deen, mostly utilizing predictable jokes about her penchant for butter and sour cream. I just couldn't comprehend why he selected a Deen family favorite to bake me for mother's day this year. He says he typed in "cake" on the foodtv search function and randomly selected a cake on the second page of entries. Whatever. This cake was really good, actually. It was a lot of effort, (he tells me) but it was beautiful and delicious, as well. It was a bit dense, but the vanilla based crumb pairs nicely with the sugary frosting. It tasted even better the next day, after a night's rest in the refrigerator. The frosting got nice and crunchy, which is my favorite. Thanks, David, for making my first mother's day one to remember. Full recipe after the jump.





Coconut Cake
Courtesy of Paula Deen

For Cake:
2 sticks butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
3 cups sifted self-rising flour
1 cup coconut milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Filling:
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup sour cream
4 tablespoons milk
1/2 cup flaked sweetened coconut

7-Minute Frosting:
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar or 1 tablespoon white corn syrup
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup water
2 egg whites
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 to 3 cups flaked sweetened coconut
Artificial holly, optional garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 3 (9-inch) cake pans.

Using an electric mixer, cream butter until fluffy. Add sugar and continue to cream well for 6 to 8 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour and coconut milk alternately to creamed mixture, beginning and ending with flour. Add vanilla and continue to beat until just mixed.

Divide batter equally among prepared pans. Level batter in each pan by holding pan 3 or 4-inches above counter, then dropping it flat onto counter. Do this several times to release air bubbles and assure you of a more level cake.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until done. Cool in pans 5 to 10 minutes. Invert cakes onto cooling racks.

Filling:

Stir together sugar, sour cream, milk, and coconut in a bowl until well blended. Place the first cake layer onto pedestal. Using the wrong end of a wooden spoon, poke holes approximately 1-inch apart until entire cake has been poked. Spread a third of filling mixture on cake layer. Top with second layer, repeat process. Top with last layer and repeat process again.

Cook's Note: As each layer is stacked, stick them with toothpicks to prevent cake from shifting.

Frosting:

Place sugar, cream of tartar or corn syrup, salt, water, and egg whites in the top of a double boiler. Beat with a handheld electric mixer for 1 minute. Place pan over boiling water, being sure that boiling water does not touch the bottom of the top pan. Beat constantly on high speed with electric mixer for 7 minutes. Beat in vanilla. Frost the top and sides of the cake. Sprinkle top and sides of cake with coconut. Garnish with artificial holly, if desired.And here is the rest of it.