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The World's Best Coconut Cake


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Here's a separate thread that started recently on The Peninsula Grill Ccconut Cake: click

"Under the dusty almond trees, ... stalls were set up which sold banana liquor, rolls, blood puddings, chopped fried meat, meat pies, sausage, yucca breads, crullers, buns, corn breads, puff pastes, longanizas, tripes, coconut nougats, rum toddies, along with all sorts of trifles, gewgaws, trinkets, and knickknacks, and cockfights and lottery tickets."

-- Gabriel Garcia Marquez, 1962 "Big Mama's Funeral"

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  • 1 month later...

I just tried Sethro's cake recipe and I baked it in small 1 1/4 inch flexi molds. They came out great, make a great addition to my petit fours collection I'll probably put a dab of buttercream on top and a sprinkle of toasted coconut or maybe a bit of ganache. Thanks for the recipe.

check out my baking and pastry books at the Pastrymama1 shop on www.Half.ebay.com

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I was flipping through an old issue of Bon Appetit today and Francois Payard had a really simple recipe for coconut cake. Basically, it was just coconut, sugar, and eggs (whisked over a double boiler, then combined with the coconut and sugar). I can post measurements tomorrow if you're interested. The cake baked, then layered with ganache.

I'm late to the party but...

This recipe is also in Payard's book Simply Sensational Desserts. I made it as specified, and it was a little sweet, but otherwise fit the title of the book to a tee! The people I gave it too (and I've brought them dozens of my test runs) still keep mentioning it to me!

So delicious for something so simple.

Cheryl, The Sweet Side
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MOUNDS BAR CAKE

Preheat 350º

GANACHE

10 1/2 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

3 1/2 oz. milk chocolate, finely chopped

1 Tbs corn syrup (opt)

1 2/3 cups heavy cream

CAKE

4 large eggs

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 1/3 cups unsweetened, shredded coconut

TOPPING

1/3 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut, toasted in oven

To make ganache, place chocolate and corn syrup in a large bowl. Bring cream to a boil and immediately pour over chocolate. Whisk until smooth. Press plastic wrap directly onto chocolate and chill for 2 hours.

Prepare a 10 1/2 x 15 inch jelly roll pan by spraying with cooking spray and lining with parchment paper.. Lightly dust with flour.

Beat eggs and sugar together with whisk attachment. Place bowl over simmering water and continue whisking until mixture is warm to the touch. Remove from the heat and beat on high speed until tripled in volume (5 to 10 minutes)

Using a rubber spatula, fold in 3 1/3 cups coconut. Pour into prepared pan and bake 18 to 22 minutes, until lightly golden and toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack, about 15 minutes. Loosen with a knife then invert onto wire rack. Cool completely then carefully peel parchment off.

Trim edges and cut into three equal rectangles (10x5 inches). Ice layers with ganache and finish by coating top and sides with ganache and toasted coconut.

I'm looking for something similar to carrot cake, but a little more dense and gooey. I'm thinking if it had some texture (from desecated coconut) in it, that would be nice too.

It has to be sturdy enough to unmold from a flexipan.

Anyone have a recipe in the ballpark?

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  • 4 weeks later...

I made my very best ever coconut cake for Easter dinner yesterday. It is a recipe from epicurious.com that I made a few changes to and it was the hit of Easter dinner (that and the Gouda au gratin potatoes). The cake was incredibly moist and rich. I split the three layers (much easier to do than I imagined, by the way) and filled with lemon curd (I'll make my own next time), trimmed the cake on the sides, frosted, lined up bunny peeps on the side, dusted with coconut and topped with a little chocolate bunny. It was beautiful and delicious - I was so proud of myself, I felt a little ridiculous, actually :blush: !

Here's a link to the recipe: Coconut Layer Cake w/ Cream Cheese Frosting

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Can i use a can of coconut milk instead of cream of coconut?

I really don't know that answer to that. The cream of coconut is like sweetened condensed milk - very sweet and thick. Coconut milk is less sweet and thin, isn't it? I would think that you could substitute, but how or if it would change the taste/texture, I don't know. Maybe someone else could answer this question. Is there a specific reason that you would want to use the milk instead, or is it just what you happen to have??

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Did you happen to snap a photo? If so, please post. Thanks.

As for the using coconut milk rather than cream of coconut, I would also think that you might not get the texture you want with the milk. The coconut cake that I have used a recipe from Paul Prudhomme that starts with coconut flesh that ends up as paste. Thinner would not have been better in my case.

Stephen Bunge

St Paul, MN

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:biggrin: You had me at Coconut Cake and then slammed the dessert door shut and locked me inside when you added the lemon curd! I would be in dessert heaven! It sounds wonderful. Congratulations on your success! And I am sure everyone who had some was happy you succeeded also! :smile::smile:
"As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly."
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Did you replace the 1 tsp vanilla in the cake and in the frosting with 1 tsp coconut extract, or did you add an additional 1 tsp of coconut to each?

Can't wait to try this--it sounds wonderful!

Life is short. Eat the roasted cauliflower first.

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Did you replace the 1 tsp vanilla in the cake and in the frosting with 1 tsp coconut extract, or did you add an additional 1 tsp of coconut to each?

Can't wait to try this--it sounds wonderful!

I went ahead and used both the vanilla and the coconut. I am very leery of subtracting vanilla from a recipe. I always think that it adds depth and don't want to lose it. I might try it as an experiment, but I was making this for company and didn't want to take any chances.

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Can i use a can of coconut milk instead of cream of coconut?

I actually tried this and didn't work out. As mentioned, it is much thicker than the milk. My cake was super dense and collapsed in the center. I tried the milk and it worked wonders. I also added coconut flakes to the batter and it was oh so delicious. The longer it sits, the better it is. Figure it's the coconut oil.

I made mine with SMB and added coconut cream and extra flakes and it was heavenly! :rolleyes:

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I *think* you can thin out the cream of coconut to use as coconut milk. I can get it fresh here, so I've never tried.

Nope. Cream of coconut is basically a drink syrup, pretty much identical to coco lopez. Its about as thick and sweet as condensed milk.

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I actually tried this and didn't work out.  As mentioned, it is much thicker than the milk. My cake was super dense and collapsed in the center.  I tried the milk and it worked wonders.  I also added coconut flakes to the batter and it was oh so delicious.  The longer it sits, the better it is.  Figure it's the coconut oil.

I'm confused. Did you use coconut *milk* or coconut *cream*. The recipe linked to above calls for coconut cream, but from your fourth sentence, it sounds like you used coconut milk. Did you use a different recipe that called for coconut milk? I have a lot of coconut milk, but no coconut cream, so a recipe with coconut milk would be great!

I made mine with SMB and added coconut cream and extra flakes and it was heavenly!  :rolleyes:

What's SMB?

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I'm confused.  Did you use coconut *milk* or coconut *cream*.  The recipe linked to above calls for coconut cream, but from your fourth sentence, it sounds like you used coconut milk.  Did you use a different recipe that called for coconut milk?  I have a lot of coconut milk, but no coconut cream, so a recipe with coconut milk would be great!

I substituted the milk in my butter cake recipe with the coconut milk. It worked fine.

Edited by godiv@ (log)
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Wow! Huge success! The client chose this for her wedding cake. I filled it with a coconut cream cheese mousse, and iced with coconut cream cheese IMBC.

I also served the cake to family for a birthday, and everyone went gaga for it. Thank you!!

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