In-Love-With-Chocolate Coconut Cake

In-Love-With-Chocolate Coconut Cake - made July 4, 2013 from Baking by Flavor by Lisa Yockelson

I'm trying to get back to my baking books and the recipes I've been meaning to make for literally years but never got around to before.  This is one of them.  I love Baking by Flavor where this recipe comes from.  The paperback version is was on sale at amazon for $10 when I first linked it but now that sale price is gone.  Too bad because that's a steal.  I paid more than twice that for the hardback version and have more than gotten my money's worth from the recipes I've already tried from it.

This was another good recipe from it - the cake was soft and moist and the frosting was delicious. It was the first time I had made a frosting with egg yolks in it so I was leery but it turned out pretty well.  Just make sure you temper in the eggs or too much heat too quickly will scramble them and that's not what you want. While this is a good-tasting cake, be warned, however, that it doesn't cut neatly.  The cake is almost too soft to slice cleanly and the frosting sticks to the knife which also makes it difficult to get a clean cut.  It's also easier to eat this cake with a spoon rather than a fork.

2 cups unsifted bleached cake flour

¼ cup unsifted bleached all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

¾ teaspoon salt

10 tablespoons (1 stick plus 2 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened

1 ¾ cups plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled

1 cup milk blended with 1/3 cup light (table) cream

1 cup lightly packed sweetened flaked coconut

Coconut Frosting for topping the baked cake

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.  Film the inside of a 9 x 13” baking pan with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.
2. Sift the cake flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt onto a sheet of waxed paper.
3. Cream the butter in the large bowl of a freestanding electric mixer on moderate speed for 2 minutes.  Add half of the granulated sugar and beat for 1 minute; add the balance of the granulated sugar and beat for 1 to 2 minutes longer.  Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing for 45 seconds to 1 minute after each addition.  Blend in the vanilla extract and melted unsweetened chocolate.  Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl frequently with a rubber spatula to keep the batter even-textured.
4. On low speed, alternately add the sifted mixture in three additions with the milk-table cream blend in two additions, beginning and ending with the sifted mixture.  The batter will be creamy and lightly thickened.  Mix in the coconut. 
5. Spoon the batter into the prepared baking pan.  Gently shake the pan from side to side, two or three times, to level the top or smooth over the top lightly with a rubber spatula.
6. Bake the cake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes, or until risen, set, and a wooden pick inserted in the cake withdraws clean.  The baked cake will pull away slightly from the sides of the baking pan.  Let the cake stand in the pan on a cooling rack.  Cool completely.
7. Frost the cake: Place large spoonfuls of the frosting on top of the cooled cake and, using a flexible palette knife, spread the frosting over the surface of the cake.  Cool completely.

Freshly baked, the cake keeps for 2 days.

Coconut Frosting

¾ cup heavy cream

¾ cup plus 2 tablespoon firmly packed light brown sugar, sieved if lumpy

¼ cup granulated sugar

3 large egg yolks, lightly beaten

large pinch of salt

2 cups lightly packed sweetened flaked coconut

1 ½ cups coarsely chopped walnuts, lightly toasted and cooled

7 tablespoons (1 stick less 1 tablespoon) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon chunks

1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1. Combine the heavy cream, light brown sugar, granulated sugar, egg yolks, salt, coconut and walnuts in a heavy, medium-size saucepan (preferably enameled cast iron).  Add the butter chunks.  Set over moderately high heat and cook, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon or flat paddle, until the butter melts down entirely and the mixture comes to a low boil.  Cook the frosting mixture at a low boil for 8 to 10 minutes, or until thickened, stirring continually.  The thickened frosting will be somewhat shiny.
2. Remove the saucepan from the heat.  Stir in the vanilla extract.  Carefully spoon the frosting into a large heatproof bowl.  Cool for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.  The frosting is now ready to be used.