Coconut Cake

 Coconut Cake

I have baked several Coconut Cake recipes over the years but one of my favorites is Ina Garten's recipe for its rich taste and perfect texture. It is always a crowd pleaser. For this recipe I use Unsweetened Shredded Coconut instead of Sweetened to reduce the sugar content. I also use Pure Vanilla Extract but if you want a whiter cake use Clear Vanilla Extract. You can also substitute the Almond Extract and use Coconut Extract, but I find the combination of Vanilla and Almond Extracts a perfect one. I baked this cake for a family gathering while on vacation. I hope you give this recipe a try.  

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) Unsalted Butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing the pans

2 cups Sugar

5 Extra Large eggs, at room temperature

1 1/2 teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract

1 1/2 teaspoons Pure Almond Extract

3 cups All Purpose Flour, plus more for dusting the pans

1 teaspoon Baking Powder

1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda

1/2 teaspoon Coarse Salt

1 cup Milk

1/2 cup Unsweetened Shredded Coconut

Strawberry Preserves (or any filling you prefer)

Frosting Ingredients

1 pound Cream Cheese, at room temperature 

1 cup (2 sticks) Unsalted Butter, at room temperature

3/4 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract 

1/4 teaspoon pure Almond Extract

1 pound Confectioners'/Powdered Sugar, sifted

6 ounces Unsweetened Shredded Coconut

Directions

Heat oven to 350°F. 

Grease 2 (9-inch) round cake pans, then line them with parchment paper. Grease again and dust lightly with flour.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.

Add the eggs into a small bowl; set aside. 

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium-high speed for 3 to 5 minutes, until light and fluffy. 

With the mixer on medium speed, add the eggs one at a time and incorporate. Scrape down the bowl once during mixing. 

Add the vanilla and almond extracts and mix well. 

With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the dry ingredients and the milk to the batter in 3 parts, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Mix until just combined. 

Turn off the mixer and fold in the shredded coconut with a spatula and combine.

Pour the batter evenly into the two cake pans and smooth the tops with a knife. 

Bake in the center of the oven for 35 to 45 minutes, until the tops are browned, and a cake tester comes out clean. 

Cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes, then turn the cakes with tops down onto a wire rack to finish cooling.

Frosting Directions

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the cream cheese, butter, vanilla and almond extracts on low speed. 

Add the confectioners'/powdered sugar and mix until just smooth, about 1 to 2 minutes.

Assemble the Cake

If your cake has a dome on top use a serrated knife to cut it off to an even top.

To assemble, place one layer on a flat serving plate or cake turntable, top side down, and place parchment paper around the edges for easy clean up. 

Spread with preserves, filling or frosting. 

Place the second layer on top with the top side down, and generously frost the top and sides. 

To decorate the cake, sprinkle the top with the shredded coconut and lightly press more coconut onto the sides.

Serve at room temperature.

Ina Garten, Coconut Cake recipe: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/coconut-cake-recipe-1947027

-Sophia/Two Frys

Coconut Layer Cake

 Coconut Layer Cake

For Valentine's Day this year I baked a coconut layer cake for Allen and me to indulge in. The first time I made this recipe was for my Winter Wonderland Cake.  I love coconut cake and the coconut flavor in this recipe is prominent from the coconut milk, coconut extract, and desiccated coconut. I adapted the Cook's Illustrated white layer cake recipe (link below) into a coconut layer cake. I replaced the milk to coconut milk and used coconut extract instead of almond extract. The coconut frosting is adapted from, The Complete America's Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook 2001-2010 (pgs. 498-99). This cake is light and moist and has a tender crumb. The coconut taste is superb and the desiccated coconut all over the cake gives it a great texture. I used unsweetened desiccated coconut to cut the sugar content a wee bit. I also substituted granulated sugar for vanilla sugar which also brings out the flavor profile. For the filling, I used raspberry preserves, but you can use strawberry or cherry preserves/filling, pastry cream, coconut curd or whatever you prefer. The preserves bring out the coconut flavor and gives the cake a nice pop of color perfect for Valentine's Day. I wish you and your loved ones a Happy Valentine's Day.

Coconut Cake Ingredients

2 1/4 cups Cake Flour, plus more for pans

4 teaspoons Baking Powder

1 teaspoon Coarse Salt

1 3/4 cups Vanilla Sugar (or Granulated Sugar)

1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) Unsalted Butter, softened

1 cup Coconut Milk, canned and room temperature

6 Large Egg Whites, room temperature

2 teaspoons Coconut Extract

1 teaspoon Clear Vanilla Extract

Directions

Heat oven to 350°F.

Grease 2 9-inch cake pans, line with parchment paper, grease and sprinkle with cake flour. Tap pans on counter to remove excess cake flour.

In a medium sized bowl whisk together the coconut milk, egg whites, coconut and vanilla extracts; set aside. Take 1/2 cup of the coconut mixture and place it into a small bowl.

Using a mixer with the paddle attachment, mix on low speed the cake flour, baking powder and salt until combined; about 1 minute.

Increase mixer speed to medium and add the softened butter to the flour mixture and beat until it resembles light crumbs; about 1 minute.

Turn mixer to low speed and add all but 1/2 cup of the coconut milk mixture then increase speed to medium and beat until smooth, light and fluffy; about 1-2 minutes.

Scrape sides of the bowl and beat on medium-high speed: about 20 seconds.

Reduce mixer speed to low and slowly add the remaining 1/2 cup of the coconut mixture and beat until batter is combined; about 1 minute.

Add the batter evenly into the prepared pans, smooth the tops with a spatula or knife, and lightly tap the pans against the countertops two to four times to settle the batter.

Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs; 22-25 minutes.

Ovens vary so check the cake at 22 minutes or earlier and adjust the baking time accordingly.

Cool cakes in pans for 10 minutes. Run a small knife around the edge of the cakes.

Cool for 20 more minutes, peel off the parchment paper and flip the cakes right side up onto wire racks lined with parchment paper; cool completely.

Take the cooled cake, cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge overnight or wait at least 1 hour if frosting the same day.

If you can chill the cake overnight, it will be easier to frost and not be as crumbly, and the flavors develop more as well.

Filling

Raspberry Preserves (or filling of your choice)

Coconut Frosting Ingredients

2 tablespoons Heavy Cream

1 teaspoon Coconut Extract

1 teaspoon Clear Vanilla Extract

1/2 teaspoon Coarse Salt

2 sticks (16 tablespoons) Unsalted Butter, softened

1/4 cup Coconut Milk, canned and room temperature

3 cups Confectioners/Powdered Sugar

Shredded or Desiccated Coconut (Unsweetened)

Coconut Frosting Directions

In a small bowl, stir together the cream, coconut and vanilla extracts, and salt.

Using a mixer with a paddle attachment, beat butter and coconut milk mixture on medium-high speed until smooth; about 30-45 seconds.

Reduce the mixer speed to medium-low and gradually beat in confectioners/powdered sugar, then continue beating until smooth; about 3 minutes.

Frost Cake 

If the cake tops are not flat, use a large, serrated knife to remove the domes off the top of the cake.

Place 4-5 dots of icing on a cake circle and spread with spatula. This helps adhere it to the cake and prevent it from moving around.

Place one of the cake layers top side down on a cardboard cake circle. 

Place a non-slip surface on the cake turntable to keep the cake from sliding around. Place the cake circle with the first cake layer on the turntable.

Add some of the frosting to a decorating bag fitted with a large round tip like Wilton 12 or Ateco 808 to create a dam of icing inside the outer edge of the cake. This helps the filling from seeping out.

Using a spatula spread the raspberry preserves evenly on top of the cake layer inside the dam.

The filling should fill the dam halfway.

Add the coconut frosting on top of the filling and spread to an even layer to fill the remaining dam space.

Add shredded or desiccated coconut over the frosting.

Place the top layer top side down over the first layer and press lightly to adhere.

Frost the top and sides of the cake with a large spatula.

Cover the entire cake or use as much or little as you want of the shredded or desiccated coconut. Decorate as desired.

Chill the cake in the fridge for 2-3 hours and let it come to room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.

For the Cook's Illustrated White Layer Cake recipe, visit Epicurious:

https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/cooks-illustrated-white-layer-cake-50017374

-Sophia/Two Frys

Allen's Birthday Cake

Allen's Birthday Cake

This is a quick post to share the awesome hot sauce cake my sister in law Sonia made Allen for his birthday. It was a decadent tasting and spicy chocolate cake, and Allen loved it. The crumb was rich and tender and full of chocolate flavor with a spicy kick. Sonia also made a cake for my brother and Mom so we celebrated three birthdays on the same day. It was fun being together since we have only gotten together a handful of times due to the COVID pandemic. 

-Sophia/Two Frys

Hershey's "Especially Dark" Chocolate Cake

 Hershey's "Especially Dark" Chocolate Cake

I did not make Valentine's Sugar Cookies this year as I am still working from home due to the COVID pandemic. Since I am not around many people to share my baked goods with, I thought it better to make a cake for Allen and me. All week I was reading cake recipes from various cookbooks, and when I went in my pantry to check stocked ingredients, I picked up the Hershey's Cocoa Special Dark 100% Cacao Dutched Cocoa, looked on the back and found this recipe. Well, I was intrigued and happy as I had all the ingredients to bake the cake. I wanted to bake a simple from scratch cake and this was a great choice. The other cakes I considered will be shared at a later date, as I did not have some of the ingredients. This cake is so tender with a light crumb. The dark chocolate flavor is rich but balanced and not too sweet. I am in love with this cake. Happy Valentine's Day!

Cake Ingredients

2 teaspoons Unsalted Butter to grease cake pans

1 3/4 cups All-Purpose Flour, plus extra to coat cake pans

1 1/2 teaspoons Baking Powder

1 1/2 teaspoons Baking Soda

3/4 cup Hershey's Cocoa Special Dark 100% Cacao Dutched Cocoa, plus extra to coat cake pans

1 teaspoon Coarse Salt

2 cups Granulated Sugar

1 cup Milk 

1/2 cup Vegetable Oil

2 Large Eggs, room temperature

2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract

1 cup Boiling Water

Hershey's "Especially Dark" Chocolate Frosting

3 cups Powdered Sugar, sifted

2/3 cup Hershey's Cocoa Special Dark 100% Cacao Dutched Cocoa

1/2 cup (1 stick) Unsalted Butter, softened

1/3 cup Milk

1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Directions

Heat oven to 350°F.

Line 2, 8" or 9" cake pans with parchment paper and use baking spray (such as Wilton) or butter and sprinkle with cocoa powder; set aside.

Using a hand held mixer and large bowl or stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment and stir together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt just until combined; about 1 minute.

Add eggs, milk, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract and beat on medium speed; 2 minutes.

Scrape sides of bowl with a spatula and mix again; 5-10 seconds.

Slowly stir in boiling water and incorporate; 30 seconds.

The cake batter will be thin. 

Pour batter into cake pans.

Bake for 25-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 

Remove from oven and cool in pans for 30 minutes, and then invert onto a wire rack lined with parchment paper to cool completely.

While the cake is cooling make the frosting.

Melt the butter in the microwave 15 seconds at a time or in pan on stove top; cool completely.

Using a hand held mixer and large bowl or stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment on low speed, add cooled melted butter and stir in cocoa; about 1 minute.

Alternately add powdered sugar and milk and beat until desired consistency; about 2 minutes.

Scrape sides of bowl with a spatula and mix again for 5-10 seconds.

Add vanilla extract and combine; 25 seconds.

Add small amount of milk if needed.

Place first cake layer top side down on cake stand or plate, and cover with the frosting.

Add the second cake layer top side up and frost the cake and decorate as desired.

Place the cake in fridge to set.

Cover and remove 1/2 hour before serving.

Store cake up to 5 days covered in the fridge.

Enjoy!

-Sophia/Two Frys 

Vanilla Cake

Vanilla Cake

Vanilla Cake is my birthday cake flavor this year! Yesterday, was my birthday and every birthday for the last several years I am either in Northern California visiting family or at Atlantic City, NJ having fun at a casino and enjoying the boardwalk and beach. With the current COVID-19 situation, I am playing it safe and staying home with my hubster and not travelling or going out much. So, I baked this cake and made spaghetti bolognese for dinner. Two of my favorite things: cake and pasta. In NYC, we are going through a heat wave and the air quality for most of the week was atrocious so staying in has been the norm these days. Thankfully, there is air conditioning inside and it helps with the unbearable temps and keeps me from passing out. It is not only the heat that keeps me indoors. I honestly do not feel comfortable dining outside as many people are doing in NYC or being amongst groups of people. When I go out to get groceries and such, there are so many people outside and not everyone wears a mask or maintains physical distancing protocols. I always do and the heat does not help since I have asthma, so I limit my time outside for now. 

Vanilla Cake

I digress. Back to this yummy vanilla cake and my temporary reprieve from thinking about the coronavirus. The recipe was adapted from My Cake School and the crumb has a velvety rich texture, and the sour cream perfectly balances the sweetness of the cake. I use vanilla sugar instead of granulated sugar to amp up the vanilla flavor, vanilla bean paste and vanilla extract. The vanilla aromatics while this cake baked was sublime. Since I made Allen a chocolate espresso cake for his birthday last month, I wanted a vanilla cake as it has been a long time since I baked one. The vanilla buttercream is so yummy and to tame the sweetness, I added a little salt. It was fun piping some rosettes and stars using Wilton drop flower decorating tip 2D, and I accentuated the cake with Sweetapolita Sprinkle Medley Skip To My Lou. I used Wilton Concentrated Gel Icing Color in Teal to achieve the vibrant color for the buttercream. 

Pretty blue candle

To grease cake pans:
2 teaspoons Unsalted Butter

2 teaspoons All-Purpose Flour

Cake Ingredients
3 cups Cake Flour

3 teaspoons Baking Powder

1/2 teaspoon Coarse Salt

2 cups Vanilla Sugar (or Granulated Sugar)

1 cup (2 sticks) Unsalted Butter, softened

3 Large Eggs, room temperature

1 cup Sour Cream

1/3 cup Milk

1 tablespoon Vanilla Bean Paste

2 teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract

Let's cut this beauty!

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
9 cups Confectioners'/Powdered Sugar

1 teaspoon Coarse Salt

1 cup (2 sticks) Unsalted Butter, softened

1/4 cup + 1 teaspoon Milk (Adjust to desired consistency)

3 teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract

Directions
Heat oven to 350°F.

Line 2, 9" cake pans with parchment paper and use baking spray (such as Wilton) or butter and flour; set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In another bowl, whisk together the sour cream, milk, and vanilla extract.

My birthday cake!

Using a hand held or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on medium speed, beat the butter until smooth; 1-2 minutes.

Gradually add the sugar and mix on medium speed until light and fluffy; 3-5 minutes.

Scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula and mix again for 5-10 seconds.

Add eggs one at a time and incorporate.

My slice of heaven right here

Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix for 5-10 seconds.

Add the flour mixture and the sour cream mixture starting and ending with the flour mixture. (3 flour mixture additions; 2 sour cream mixture additions.)

Pour the batter into cake pans, 2/3 full.

Tap each pan on the counter to remove air bubbles from the cake batter. (OMG-I forgot to do this and I got some bubbles/air pockets so do not forget to do this. First time I did this-ugh.)

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. My cake baked in 30 minutes.

Yummy!

Oven temperatures vary so check the cake at the 25 minute mark and adjust baking time accordingly.

Remove from oven and cool in pans for 30 minutes, and then invert onto a wire rack lined with parchment paper to cool completely. (The parchment will prevent the cake from sticking on the wire rack and making an imprint on the cake, which is so annoying when it happens.)

While the cake is cooling make the vanilla buttercream frosting.

Vanilla Cake

On medium speed using a hand held or stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat the butter until smooth; 1-2 minutes.

Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix for 5-10 seconds.

Add the vanilla extract and incorporate; 1 minute.

Add half of the powdered sugar, salt, and 3/4 of the milk and beat on low speed until incorporated; 2 minutes.

Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix for 5-10 seconds.

My set up

Add the remaining powdered sugar and milk, and mix until incorporated; 2 minutes.

If your are tinting the icing, add and incorporate.

Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix for 20-25 seconds more.

If your layers have a dome on the tops, use a large serrated knife to remove before frosting the cake.

Place first cake layer top side down on cake stand or plate, and cover with the vanilla buttercream frosting.

Add the second cake layer top side up and frost the cake and decorate as desired.

Sprinkles and icing color I used

Place the cake in fridge to set.

Cover and remove 1/2 hour before serving.

Store cake up to 5 days covered in the fridge.

Vanilla Bean Cake recipe adapted from My Cake School:
https://www.mycakeschool.com/recipes/vanilla-bean-cake-recipe/

How to Pipe a Rosette:
https://www.wilton.com/how-to-pipe-a-rosette/WLTECH-48.html

For beautiful sprinkle collections visit Sweetapolita:
https://sweetapolitashop.com/

Enjoy!

-Sophia/Two Frys 

Chocolate Espresso Cake

Chocolate Espresso Cake

This Chocolate Espresso Cake is actually Ina Garten's recipe, Beatty's Chocolate Cake (link below) from her Barefoot Contessa At Home cookbook (pgs. 164-167). Allen loves this cake and requested it for his birthday yesterday. I have made it several times and decorated it with a woodland theme to look like a tree stump. For the top of the cake, I added adorable animal sugar decorations from Fancy Flours, and topped with CK Products Metallic Gold Edible Glitter Flakes. The recipe is perfection and if you know me at all, Ina Garten's recipes are my favorite. I love the texture and rich chocolate-coffee flavor of this cake. It is moist with a tender crumb. The coffee in the frosting is prominent and brings out the chocolate in a most decadent way. If you love chocolate and coffee, you need to make this cake. As if there wasn't enough coffee in the cake, I served it with coffee ice cream. 

Chocolate Espresso Cake 

Cake Ingredients
2 tablespoons Unsalted Butter to grease cake pans

1 3/4 cups All-Purpose Flour, plus extra to coat cake pans

2 teaspoons Baking Soda

1 teaspoon Baking Powder

3/4 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

1 teaspoon Coarse Salt

Chocolate Espresso Cake

Chocolate Espresso Cake with woodland theme

2 cups Granulated Sugar

1 cup Buttermilk

1/2 cup Vegetable Oil

2 Extra Large Eggs, room temperature

1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract

1 cup Freshly Brewed Coffee (I use Bustelo Espresso)

Chocolate Espresso Cake

So yummy!

Chocolate Coffee Frosting Ingredients
1 1/4 cups Confectioners'/Powdered Sugar

1 tablespoon Instant Coffee Powder

6 ounces Semisweet Chocolate, chopped

1 Extra Large, Egg Yolk, room temperature

1 cup (2 sticks) Unsalted Butter, softened

1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract

Chocolate Espresso Cake with woodland theme

Adorbs animal sugar decorations!

Directions
Heat oven to 350°F.

Line 2, 8" or 9" cake pans with parchment paper and use baking spray (such as Wilton) or butter and flour; set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, sugar, cocoa powder, and salt; set aside.

In another bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla extract; set aside.

Brew hot coffee and measure 1 cup; set aside.

Allen about to blow out his candles and make a wish

Yay, happy birthday hubster! 

Using a hand held or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on low, add the flour mixture and combine; about 1 minute.

Add the wet ingredients and mix on medium speed; about 2 minutes.

Scrape sides of bowl with a spatula and mix again for 5-10 seconds.

Add hot coffee and mix until combined.

Mixing the dry ingredients

Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix for 5-10 seconds.

Pour batter into cake pans, 2/3 full.

Bake for 30-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. My cake baked in 30 minutes. Oven temperatures vary so check the cake at the 30 minute mark and adjust baking time accordingly.

Remove from oven and cool in pans for 30 minutes, and then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.

While the cake is cooling make the chocolate coffee frosting.

Batter ready to bake

Baked cake

Chop the chocolate and place in a heatproof bowl over a medium size pan with simmering water.

Stir chocolate just until melted, turn off heat, and set aside to cool completely.

On medium speed using a hand held or stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat the butter until smooth; about 3 minutes.

Add the egg yolk and vanilla extract and mix; about 3 minutes.

Ready to frost the cake

Turn off mixer, add the powdered sugar, cover mixer with large kitchen towel, and beat on low speed until incorporated; about 2 minutes.

Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix for 5-10 seconds.

Dissolve coffee powder in 2 teaspoons of hot water.

On low speed, add the melted/cooled chocolate and hot coffee, and mix until incorporated.

Great to use on cakes and cookies!

Place the first cake layer top side down on cake stand or plate, and cover with the chocolate coffee frosting.

Add the second cake layer top side up and frost the cake, and decorate as desired.

Place the cake in fridge to set.

Remove 1/2 hour before serving.

Store covered cake up to 5 days in the fridge.

Adapted from Ina Garten, Beatty's Chocolate Cake recipe:
https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/beattys-chocolate-cake-recipe-1947521

Enjoy!

-Sophia/Two Frys