Cinnamon-Coconut Cake: Snow Day Baking

Coconut-Cinnamon Cake, from Big City, Little Kitchen

Preheat oven to 350F and butter a 9" square pan. (recipe calls for a 9-10" Bundt pan.)

Toast 3/4 c shredded coconut in a dry skillet over medium heat until lightly browned. Don't burn it like I did.

Zap 4 Tbs butter and 1 c canned unsweetened coconut milk in a microwave until butter is melted. (I halfway melted the butter first, then zapped the milk and butter a little longer.)

Beat 4 large eggs and 1.5 c white sugar until "pale and fluffy" or your hand mixer's arm gives out.

Add 1 tsp vanilla and stir in 2 c AP flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp cinnamon and pinch of salt until just combined. (The cinnamon was double what the recipe called, but we didn't find it cinnamony enough. Double it again!)

Then, while continuing to mix, add the coconut milk and butter mixture.

Scrape into the pan and bake at 350F for 60 min, rotating halfway.

Enjoy!

little cakes

I like challenges. I like trying difficult recipes just to see if I can do them. It seems that once you have built up a set of core techniques and fluency with recipe language, there aren't many things you can't do.


When my mother emailed me this recipe for madeleines (ahem--lemon-glazed madeleines) I knew this was my next opponent. I had been schlepping the fancy pans around with me for years, and never had the courage to use them.


Oh my. Warm from the oven, they were divine. I had planned to bring these to a friend's farewell party, but I doubt they will last that long. I might just make a fresh batch tomorrow.

old cakes

Just to stretch my arms a bit, I'm putting up some delicious cakes that have been made in the last year. Of course, I'm including the old Chocolate Stout Cake (Bon Appétit, Sep '02), but with raspberries between the layers in addition to the chocolate ganache. If you can believe it, this is what a half-recipe looks like:



I've made this particular recipe at least 10 times in the last three years. It has become one of those trademark recipes that people frequently ask me to make for birthdays or parties (I am always more than happy to oblige). I've tweaked many components, such as making cupcakes (amazing) or adding raspberries. I've even made it with near-beer for a mormon friend (blackstrap molasses helped mimic the deep stout flavor, and yes, I know the alcohol cooks off). I have plans for a large-scale experiment with four types of stout, the results of which will no doubt be posted here.

Another memorable cake was the Ginger Cake with Crystallized Ginger Frosting (Bon Appétit, Dec '00), an easy way to use up the jar of crystallized ginger stashed in my pantry. My friend and I had too much fun with the decoration. I enjoyed the deep flavor of this cake, like a more sophisticated gingerbread. The warmth of the ginger was definitely appreciated during the colder weather.