Coconut Cake

Mai jos găsiți și textul în limba română! 

Well, it doesn't look exactly like Jamie's coconut cake, but close enough. The thing was, for the first two batters I didn't use a lot of butter on the pan and they kind of broke, that's why the cake is a bit out of shape. But it's okay for the first time I ever made a cake from scratch. On the other hand, it tastes magnificent! It's light and fluffy and has SO MUCH coconut! I didn't like coconut before, but for the past few months I've been craving for coconut, so this was just one of my caprices.

Anyway, the dough is very easy to make, all you need is
1 cup (2 sticks) of butter at room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
3 cups sifted flour
4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt (which I totally forgot to add)
1 cup (coconut) milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven oven 350 F / 180 C. Use one tablespoon of butter to grease 1 of 3 cake pans (or if you're me and have an enormous cake pan, use something else). Repeat for the other two pans.

2. Mix butter until soft.
3. Add sugar and keep mixing for about 6-8 minutes (my hand was killing me).
4. Add the eggs, one by one, mixing after each.
5. Add the flour, alternating with (coconut) milk, starting and ending with the flour.
6. Beat in the vanilla extract and mix until well combined.
7. Portion the batter into equal parts and place it in the pan.

8. Bake, don't burn for 25-30 minutes. Allow it to cool for 5-10 minutes before placing it on a cake stand.

TIP: If you do own 3 cake pans, leave the last dough in the pan, so that you can assemble it there and then just remove the pan. 

The cake has to be filled, right? So for the filling, you will have to triple this recipe so that it will suffice for the whole cake. This is what you will need:

3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 cup sour cream
4 tablespoons milk (I added coconut milk instead, so that it has more flavor)
1/2 cup flaked, sweetened coconut (I think I added 1 cup for each filling)

1. Mix everything until well combined.

2. Using the end of a round wooden spoon, make holes (1-inch distance one from another) into the middle and top batter.
3. Spread the filling on the cake. Add another dough. Repeat with all 3 doughs. (I forgot to take a picture of the third one, but you got the point.)

I totally screwed up the frosting so, instead, I mixed some whipped cream and added a lot of flaked coconut. It came out delicious! Anyway, I will give you the recipe, maybe you'll get it right.

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon honey
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup water
2 egg whites
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Heat the water. Mix sugar, honey, salt and egg whites for a minute. Put the mixing bowl over the boiling water and continue to mix at high speed for 7 minutes. Add vanilla.
2. Spread the frosting on the cake. Add flaked coconut on it.

I totally loved this cake! It was so fun and easy to make, the filling is delicious, the batter is fluffy.. What else can you ask for?

Bon Appétit!
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TORT DE COCOS

Eh, nu arata el exact ca tortul lui Jamie, dar oricum.. pe-aproape. Chestia a fost ca pentru primele doua aluaturi n-am folosit destul de mult unt pe fundul tavii si s-au cam lipit si rupt, de-aia e tortul cam stramb. Dar e foarte bine pentru prima data cand am facut un tort de la zero. Pe de alta parte, a fost extraordinar de gustos! E usor si moale si are ATAT DE MULT cocos! Nu-mi placea cocosul inainte, dar de cateva luni mor dupa el, deci tortul asta a fost un moft de-al meu.

Asadar, blatul e foarte usor de facut, ai nevoie doar de
1 cana (eu am taiat doua fasii groase de 2 degete) de unt la temperatura camerei
2 cani zahar
4 oua
3 cani faina cernuta
4 1/2 lingurite praf de copt
3/4 lingurita sare (am uitat sa pun)
1 cana lapte (de cocos)
1 lingurita extract de vanilie

1. Preincalzeste cuptorul la 350 F / 180 C. Unge cu o lingura de unt 1 din 3 tavi de tort (sau daca esti ca mine si ai una imensa, foloseste altceva).
2. Bate untul pana e moale.
3. Adauga zaharul si bate aproximativ 6-8 minute (ma durea mana ingrozitor de tare).
4. Adauga ouale, unul cate unul, amestecand dupa fiecare.
5. Adauga faina, alternand cu laptele, incepand si terminand cu faina.
6. Adauga vanilia si amesteca pana la omogenizare.
7. Imparte aluatul in 3 parti egale si pune-l in tavi.
8. Coace, nu arde 25-30 minute. Lasa blatul sa se raceasca 5-10 minute inainte de a-l pune pe suportul de tort.
SFAT: Daca ai 3 tavi de blat, las-o pe ultima in tava ca sa poti asambla tortul acolo, iar la sfarsit doar sa scoti tava.

Tortul trebuie sa aiba o crema, nu? Pai pentru umplutura, trebuie sa faci reteta asta de trei ori ca sa-ti ajunga pentru tot tortul. Uite de ce o sa ai nevoie:

3/4 cana zahar pudra
1 cana smanatana
4 linguri lapte (eu am folosit lapte de cocos ca sa aiba mai multa aroma)
1/2 cana fulgi de cocos (eu cred c-am pus 1 cana pentru fiecare umplutura)

1. Amesteca totul.
2. Folosind coada rotunda a unei linguri de lemn, fa gauri (la distanta de 2.5 cm una de cealalalta) in blatul din mijloc si cel de sus.
3. Intinde crema pe primul blat. Adauga-l pe al doilea. Repeta si pe al treilea. (am uitat sa fac poza si la al treilea, dar ati prins ideea)

Am ratat de tot crema de ornat asa ca am batut niste frisca si am adaugat foaaarte mult cocos deasupra. A iesit delicios! Oricum, va dau reteta, poate voi nimeriti.

1 1/2 cana zahar pudra
1 lingura miere
1/8 lingurita sare
1/3 cana apa
2 albusuri
1 1/2 lingurita esenta de vanilie

1. Pune apa pe foc. Amesteca zahar, miere, sare si albusuri pentru 1 minut. Pune bolul cu amestecul peste apa care fierbe si continua sa amesteci aproximativ 7 minute la viteza mare. Adauga vanilia.
2. Intinde crema pe tort. Adauga fulgi de cocos peste.

Mi-a placut tortul asta la nebunie! A fost super usor de facut, crema a fost delicioasa, blatul moale.. Ce sa mai ceri?

Bon Appétit!