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Monday, July 7, 2008

Returning to Cakes, Plain and Fancy



Much like Red Velvet Cake, coconut cake is a southern institution - so much so that I've already posted about Miss Sharon's famous coconut sheet cake, lusciously dripping with coconut syrup. Reviewing said post, however, which occurred back in the early days of my blog when I was both the writer and sole reader of my posts, I realized I had applied the title "Of Plain and Fancy Cakes..." without further explanation! You see, old cookbooks had a beautifully peaceful way of categorizing all manner of cakes under the two simple headings of "plain cakes" and "fancy cakes." And since I adore old cookbooks and recipes (especially really really old, 18th century recipes!), I often nostalgically long for the days when only two primary "kinds" of cakes existed, as I try to decide between the complexities of, say, espresso mocha chip pound cake and raspberry lemon chiffon with coconut mousse...

A traditional southern coconut cake is definitely a "fancy cake." Bedecked with clouds of curling coconut shavings, light, fluffy icing, and as many layers as you can manage, coconut cake is the cake for An Occasion...

such as Mr. Alden's birthday... Zach and I stayed in Louisiana a day later than planned, ostensibly to avoid a traffic pile-up, but really it was all an excuse to bake Mr. Alden's favorite cake for his birthday weekend. Alas, this was during the period of time when I thought my camera was lost and gone forever, so I am bereft of coconut cake photos... but instead I have two recipes for y'all!

After feting with merriment and coconut cake, you may find yourself longing for, well, a 'plain cake...' One with hearty, healthful oatmeal, smooth and luscious raspberries, and the earthy notes of cinnamon... The amazing Strawberry Oatmeal Crumble Bars created by Kevin of Closet Cooking, who always awes me with his culinary artwork, inspired me to create a cake that incorporated all the summertime delights of a fruit cobbler...



but first...

Classic Southern Coconut Cake

3 cups flour
1 T baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1 cup butter or light vegan margarine, softened
2 cups raw sugar
4 eggs, separated
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut, toasted
Approx. 2 cups sweetened coconut
Vanilla Frosting

~ Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 9" round cake pans.
~ Toss together the flour, baking powder, and salt, and set aside.
~ Beat the butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until the butter is fluffy.
~ Gradually add the sugar to the butter, beating until well combined.
~ Add the egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition.
~ Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk, beating just until combined after each addition, beginning and ending with flour.
~ Stir in the vanilla.
~ Fold in the unsweetened coconut.
~ Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
~ Fold 1/3 of the egg whites into the batter, then fold in the remaining egg whites just until combined.
~ Pour into the prepared cake pans, and bake for 20 minutes - until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.
~ Cool on wire racks for 10 minutes, then turn the cakes out of the pans to cool the rest of the way on the wire racks.
~ Using dental floss (yep, dental floss!), slice each of the two cakes in half to create 4 layers. Spread vanilla frosting and a generous handful of sweetened coconut between each layer. Finish by frosting the top and sides, then coating the top and sides with the remaining coconut!

and now for...

Raspberry Cobbler Cake
2 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups raw sugar
1/2 cup light vegan margarine or butter
1/2 cup applesauce
2 eggs
1 T vanilla
3 1/2 cups rolled oats, divided
1 1/2 cup all-fruit raspberry jam

~ Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat an 11X9" baking pan with cooking spray.
~ Whisk the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl.
~ Cream the raw sugar, vegan margarine, and applesauce together until well combined.
~ Beat in the eggs and vanilla until the mixture is smooth.
~ Fold in the flour mixture and stir until just combined.
~ Stir in 2 1/2 cups oats.
~ Spread 2/3 of the batter into the baking pan.
~ Top the batter with the raspberry jam, smoothing with a spoon.
~ Stir the remaining cup of oats into the remaining batter, and drop by rounded tablespoons on top of the raspberry jam.
~ Bake for 28 min - until golden. Cool, then slice and serve... preferably with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!


6 comments:

  1. Coconut Cake?? WIth raspberries?? **faints**

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  2. Oohh! They BOTH sound so good. . . and you're right, they would complement each other beautifully (which means some of each is in order!) :)

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  3. You guys live well down south, eh?

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  4. This looks delicious - definitely a "fancy cake".

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  5. WOW...what a treat!! Both beautiful & am so glad you could salvage 2 pictures. Am eagerly awaiting the mocha pound cake too. I love the last picture...am trying to spoon a bit off the screen...Cheers

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  6. That raspberry cobbler cake looks really good! I like the sound of the coconut cake as well.

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