coconut cake with raspberry lime filling
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It had been over a year since I last tried to make coconut cake and subsequently caused fire in the oven. So it was time to try again.
The original 'coconut' cake was really an almond-infused white cake that used Jello Instant Lemon Pudding with flaked coconut as the filling with a cream-cheese style frosting and unsweetened coconut flakes. The fire in the oven was kind of the last straw on that attempt. Thank goodness for Cooking Light! Here is a real coconut-flavored cake that's not too sweet and actually tastes like coconut. The original recipe is in the December 2012 Cooking Light, and I modified it as noted below. The brilliant technique from this recipe is how to make fruit fillings to go between the layers. |
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Raspberry Lime Filling
1 pint of fresh raspberries 1T water A little more than 1/4 cup of white sugar, to taste A pinch of salt 1T of cornstarch (eyeball the 1/2T) 1T lime juice Coconut Cake Pam 1 1/3 cup flour 1/3 cup coconut flour 1 1/3t baking powder 1/4t white salt (Morton girl kind) |
1 cup sugar
2/3 of 1/3 cup of canola oil (2/9th for the mathematicians out there) 1 1/3T butter, soft, but not melted 3/4t vanilla extract 2/3 cup coconut water 4 egg whites Coconut Whipped Cream Frosting 1 cup of heavy whipping cream About 1/4 cup coconut water, to taste Powdered sugar, to taste Unsweetened dried coconut |
Step 1: Filling
Dump raspberries, water, sugar and salt into a small pot. Lightly smash up the raspberries and then bring everything to a boil. This will make the berries break down. In a small mixing bowl, stir together the lime juice and cornstarch until well-blended. Add this to the raspberries and keep stirring. Keep it just at boiling for about a minute. Just like Chinese food, the sauce will get thick very quickly. Remove from heat and let cool.
Step 2: Cake
Coat two 9-inch cake pans with Pam. Cut parchment paper to the size of the bottoms, put them in and spray again with Pam. Mix/sift all the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl. I pour all dry ingredients into a sifter and then let the sifter take care of mixing and sifting in one cranking operation.
Next, put 2/3 cup sugar, and all the oil, butter and vanilla into your mixer and mix go for about 3-5 minutes until this is fluffy. Do not over mix. Add coconut water and beat at a very low speed for about a minute. The low speed is necessary so things don't splatter, but be warned, it will look a little icky. Do not worry. Add dry ingredients in three batches, beating each time until just mixed. It is very important Not to overmix, so resist to urge to mix "just a little bit more."
In a separate metal mixing bowl, whip egg whites to medium peaks. I prefer to do this by hand. Add the rest of the sugar (1/3 cup) gradually, keeping medium to stiff peaks. Fold whites into the batter and use a very light tough, just enough to combine everything.
Pour batter between 2 baking pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick poked in the center comes out clean and the edges are just beginning to brown. Cool on wire racks. The cakes should slip out pretty easily.
Step 3: Assembly and Frosting
Add the raspberry filling between layers. If your cake is uneven (and all cakes are), use more or less filling where needed to even up the layers. Pour 1 cup of heavy whipping cream and 1/4 cup coconut water into mixer. Whip until frosting forms, gradually adding powdered sugar and if necessary, more coconut water to taste. Frost cake with whipped cream, sprinkle .
Dump raspberries, water, sugar and salt into a small pot. Lightly smash up the raspberries and then bring everything to a boil. This will make the berries break down. In a small mixing bowl, stir together the lime juice and cornstarch until well-blended. Add this to the raspberries and keep stirring. Keep it just at boiling for about a minute. Just like Chinese food, the sauce will get thick very quickly. Remove from heat and let cool.
Step 2: Cake
Coat two 9-inch cake pans with Pam. Cut parchment paper to the size of the bottoms, put them in and spray again with Pam. Mix/sift all the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl. I pour all dry ingredients into a sifter and then let the sifter take care of mixing and sifting in one cranking operation.
Next, put 2/3 cup sugar, and all the oil, butter and vanilla into your mixer and mix go for about 3-5 minutes until this is fluffy. Do not over mix. Add coconut water and beat at a very low speed for about a minute. The low speed is necessary so things don't splatter, but be warned, it will look a little icky. Do not worry. Add dry ingredients in three batches, beating each time until just mixed. It is very important Not to overmix, so resist to urge to mix "just a little bit more."
In a separate metal mixing bowl, whip egg whites to medium peaks. I prefer to do this by hand. Add the rest of the sugar (1/3 cup) gradually, keeping medium to stiff peaks. Fold whites into the batter and use a very light tough, just enough to combine everything.
Pour batter between 2 baking pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick poked in the center comes out clean and the edges are just beginning to brown. Cool on wire racks. The cakes should slip out pretty easily.
Step 3: Assembly and Frosting
Add the raspberry filling between layers. If your cake is uneven (and all cakes are), use more or less filling where needed to even up the layers. Pour 1 cup of heavy whipping cream and 1/4 cup coconut water into mixer. Whip until frosting forms, gradually adding powdered sugar and if necessary, more coconut water to taste. Frost cake with whipped cream, sprinkle .
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NOTES:
1) Because I only had 2 round cake pans, I made 2/3 of the original recipe, more or less. This is why the measurements are a little wacky. This proportion allowed me to use 2 cake pans but make enough cake to feed the family and the co-workers. 2) I halved the original recipe for filling and substituted lime juice for the original Chambord liquer. 3) I made my own whipped cream frosting, based on the flavored whipped cream method. 4) My round cake pans are 9" diameter, an inch larger than the recipe's 8" pans. Because of this, my cakes had good texture, but weren't very tall. This is why I cut them in half and stacked them into 4 layers to get to 'cake' height. |
