Coconut Cream Cake

This is a cake recipe I make all the time. I like it because it is not overly sweet, and it uses coconut milk in the recipe. I make cupcakes with it quite frequently. I got it from Fine Cooking Magazine. I do change the frosting recipe which I will note below.

For the cake
8 oz. (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened; more for the pans
13-1/2 oz. (3 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk, well shaken and at room temperature
1 Tbs. pure vanilla extract
2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2/3 cup sour cream, at room temperature
6 large egg whites, at room temperature

For the filling 

2 cups heavy cream
3 large egg yolks
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 Tbs. unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup sweetened coconut flakes, toasted
1 oz. (2 Tbs.) unsalted butter, softened
1 Tbs. pure vanilla extract
Pinch kosher salt

For the meringue
3 cups granulated sugar
1-1/2 cups egg whites (about 10 large), preferably pasteurized, at room temperature

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Make the cake
Position racks in the bottom and top thirds of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F.
Butter three 9x2-inch round cake pans and line each with a parchment round. Butter the parchment.
In a medium bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a 1-cup liquid measure, mix the coconut milk with the vanilla.
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Scrape down the bowl. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Add about one-third of the flour mixture and mix on low speed until incorporated. Add half of the coconut milk and mix until incorporated. Continue adding the flour mixture and coconut milk, alternating the two and ending with the flour. Add the sour cream and mix until incorporated. Pour the batter into a large bowl.
In a clean mixer bowl and using the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on high speed until soft peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes. Using a spatula, gently stir a large spoonful of the whites into the batter to loosen it, and then fold the remaining egg whites gently into the batter.
Divide the cake batter evenly among the prepared cake pans. Level the batter with a spatula. Set two pans on the top rack and the third on the lower rack. Stagger the pans on the oven racks so that no pan is directly over another. Bake, swapping and rotating the pans’ positions after 15 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes total. Cool on racks for 10 minutes. Invert the cakes onto the racks, remove the parchment, and cool completely.

Make the filling
In a medium bowl, whisk 11/2 cups of the cream and the egg yolks.
Combine the sugar and flour in a medium saucepan. Add the cream mixture and cook, whisking, over medium heat until smooth, 2 minutes. Bring to a simmer and cook, whisking, until thickened to a pudding consistency, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in the coconut, butter, vanilla, and salt and let cool to room temperature.
With an electric hand mixer, whip the remaining 1/2 cup cream to soft peaks. With a spatula, gently fold the whipped cream into the filling.

Assemble the cake
Put a cake layer on a flat serving platter or a cake stand lined with strips of waxed paper to keep it clean while icing. Top the layer with half of the filling, spreading it evenly with an offset spatula almost to the cake’s edge. Repeat with a second cake layer and the remaining filling. Top with the last cake layer.

Make the meringue (My frosting is below)

Put the sugar and egg whites in the metal bowl of a stand mixer (make sure it’s clean) and set over a pot of simmering water. Whisk constantly until the sugar melts completely, 3 to 4 minutes. Rub a small amount between your fingers to make sure all of the sugar grains have melted.

Transfer the bowl to the mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment, and whisk at low speed until the mixture becomes completely opaque and begins to thicken, about 4 minutes. Raise the speed to medium and beat until thickened to soft peaks that barely hold their shape and flop over when the beater is lifted, 5 to 7 minutes. Finally, raise the speed to high and beat until glossy and thickened to medium-firm peaks that stand up stiffly but curl slightly at the tip when the beater is lifted, about 4 minutes more.

Using an offset spatula, apply the meringue thickly over the entire cake—don’t worry about spreading it smoothly or you’ll overwork the meringue (you may not need all of it). Then, repeatedly poke your fingertips into the meringue, pulling it into spikes all over the cake. Remove the waxed paper strips. 

Using a kitchen torch, brown the meringue by holding the torch 2 to 3 inches from the meringue and waving the flame over the cake until it’s browned all over.

I do not usually make the meringue frosting, it is time consuming and if you do not have a kitchen torch basically impossible. Instead I usually whip up whipping cream (1 pint works) and pour in melted, slightly cooled, white chocolate (about 6 oz) while it is whipping. I then frost the outside of the cake and top it with toasted coconut. When I make cupcakes I either use whip cream frosting or make a cream cheese frosting which I pipe on and top with toasted coconut.

Make ahead: You can bake, cool, wrap, and store the cake layers at room temperature for up to 1 day or freeze for up to 1 month. You can refrigerate the assembled cake (without the meringue topping) for up to 4 hours before decorating it. Wait to make the meringue until you’re ready to finish the cake.

This is the Fine Cooking photo of what the cake should look like with meringue.

                  

This is my more modest version with whip cream frosting, and the cupcake version.

Abbs

Carrot Bisque Recipe

This recipe come from Vegan with a Vengeance by Isa Chandra Moskowitz, who has written a large number of vegan cookbooks of which I own several.

I guess a few words about vegan cooking is needed since most people I know either think vegan cooking is "yucky" or start off on a diatribe about how people who don't eat meat are stupid....blah blah blah. I eat vegan fairly frequently. This is mainly because vegan recipes are often times far more interesting than their meat-eating equivalent (Just to make sure we are all on the same page about what being a vegan entails, it means no animal products. So no meat, or dairy). I find that even vegetarian recipes frequently seem to get by on a white sauce loaded with cheese, which I obviously have no problem with hello cauliflower gratin, but I think you can get lazy. The solution to get people to eat a vegetable should not be to pour massive amounts of cheese sauce on it. So, enter vegan cooking. Don't get me wrong there are just as many terrible vegan cookbooks as good ones, so be careful. When I cook vegan I usually prefer not to tell people they are eating vegan food until they are complimenting me on what they just ate. I then spring it upon them, and hopefully shatter any preconceptions they might have about veganism. I also hear the comment, "I just can't get full unless I have meat at a meal, because it's not a real meal unless you have meat". Well meat does provide important nutrition for your body you can get protein other ways and not eating meat at a few meals a week will not kill you. I think of it more like caffeine addiction. You are used to coffee/soda every day, therefore when you do not have it you FREAK OUT. However if you starting cutting back on coffee/soda after a while your body excepts that and you do not need it every day. Just a gradual weaning off process, one that can save you some money because meat is expensive!

Ok ok I will get to the recipe, here you go. As always any notes of mine are italicized.

Carrot Bisque
Serves 8

3 lbs carrots, peeled and diced into around 1/2 inch pieces
1 large onions, chopped
2 TB peanut oil (vegetable oil will do)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 TB curry powder
1/2 tsp salt (I say always use Kosher salt)
A few dashes fresh black pepper
3 cup vegetable broth, or 1 boullion cube dissolved in 3 cups water
1 (13 oz) can coconut milk
1 TB maple syrup

In a stockpot over medium-low heat, cook the carrots and onions in the peanut oil for 7 to 10 minutes; cover and stir occasionally. You want the onions to brown but not to burn. Add the garlic, curry, salt, and pepper; saute for 1 more minute. Add the 3 cups of broth, cover, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the carrots are tender.
Add the coconut milk and bring to a low boil. Turn the heat off. Use a handheld blender to puree half of the soup; if you don't have one puree half the soup in a blender and add it back to the pot. (I use my food processor, if you do use a blender please wait until the soup cools down slightly or the lid will pop off. Also sometimes I puree the entire soup, it just depends how I feel) After pureeing add the maple syrup and stir. Serve hot.

Abbs