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Coconut Cake

Posted in Cake, Christmas, Desserts, Entertaining at Home, tagged , , , on December 21, 2012| 4 Comments »

coconut cake plated

I love coconut. It is right up there behind chocolate and raspberries.

The deliciously delightful thing about this cake is that I get my coconut fix along with raspberries. I could even work some chocolate in there, but I managed to restrain myself. Barely.

This recipe is fast and easy to put together and always gets rave reviews. Moist and super good, it is the perfect way to end a holiday meal or as an accent at a buffet.

coconut cake ingredients

Ingredients

coconut cake pour in pans

Once you’ve mixed up the cake batter, pour into three 8-inch pans that have been greased.

When the cake is cool, begin layering it with jam and whipping cream.

When the cake is cool, begin layering it with jam and whipping cream.

Add layers until they look like this. If your cake isn't perfectly flat, no worries. Just add extra whipping cream to even it out.

Add layers until they look like this. If your cake isn’t perfectly flat, no worries. Just add extra whipping cream to even it out.

 

Cover the entire cake with whipping cream. At this point, I freeze the cake until I'm ready to serve. Even if you are making it the same day you want to serve, at least give it time to get thoroughly chilled in the fridge. Serving it cold is part of what makes it so good.

Cover the entire cake with whipping cream. At this point, I freeze the cake until I’m ready to serve. Even if you are making it the same day you want to serve, at least give it time to get thoroughly chilled in the fridge. Serving it cold is part of what makes it so good.

 

Smother the cake in shredded, sweetened coconut.

Smother the cake in shredded, sweetened coconut.

 

If you want you can add a mint garnish.

Add raspberries on top.
Add raspberries on top.
Ta-Da!

Ta-Da!

Coconut Cake

1 white or vanilla cake mix

3 eggs

1/2 cup oil

1 1/3 cups water

3 cups of freshly whipped whipping cream

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup raspberry jam

14 ounce bag of shredded, sweetened coconut

fresh raspberries

mint for garnish (optional)

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix cake mix, eggs, oil and water, following cake mix package directions. Pour into three 8-inch cake pans that have been greased (or sprayed with non-stick spray). Try to get the layers as even as possible.

Bake until cake bounces back when touched lightly or toothpick inserted in center comes out clean (about 18 minutes or so).

Remove from oven and let cool completely.

Whip whipping cream until stiff. Add in vanilla and powdered sugar. Stir in gently.

Place first layer of cake on a cake stand or serving platter. Spread a thick layer of whipping cream then a nice layer of jam. Repeat with the second layer then top with the third. Generously cover the entire cake with the whipping cream.

Freeze the cake until ready to serve. This is particularly handy because you can freeze it well ahead of time. When you are ready to serve the cake, remove it from freezer with enough time for it to thaw (an hour – or get out the night before and leave in the fridge).

Generously place coconut all over the cake. When buying the coconut, give the packages a little squeeze. You want the coconut to be really soft and fresh. This is really important. Do not use dried-out coconut. You want it to feel moist when you take it out of the package.

Once the cake is completely covered, top it with raspberries and a garnish of mint. Be prepared for rave reviews!

She Who Loves This Cake Way Too Much!

 

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Holiday Favorite Sweet Treats

Posted in Christmas, Cookies, Holidays, tagged , , , on December 17, 2012| Leave a Comment »

This weekend, I finally got around to baking sugar cookies.

I was pretty sure one of us was going to founder on them and it wasn’t me.

Despite the fact Captain Cavedweller isn’t a big sweet eater, there are a few treats that he can’t pass up.

Sugar Cookies are definitely on the short list.

https://savvyentertaining.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/ta-da.gif

Here is the recipe. These take a little time and effort but it is well worth it!

Sugar Cookies

1 cup butter

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup powdered sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

dash of lemon juice

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

2 1/2 cups flour

Frosting

Cream together butter and sugars. Add in eggs, vanilla and lemon juice. Mix dry ingredients together and gradually add into creamed mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour (or overnight).

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Generously flour a flat surface and your rolling pin. Scoop out half the dough and roll until about 1/4 inch thick. You want to work fairly quickly at this point because the warmer the dough gets the stickier it becomes and you don’t want to add more flour. Cut into shapes and bake about 6-8 minutes or until cookies are just set. You do not want them to get brown at all. Cool in pan for one minutes. Remove to wire rack to cool completely. Frost and decorate then watch them disappear.

You can use a royal icing if you are of a mind to stir up a batch or, if you are a lazy slug like me, I whip out a can of Betty Crocker vanilla frosting and frost away. I also like to use decorator gels, especially the sparkly variety, along with sprinkles!

Here are a few links to some of our other favorites!

Gingerbread Bars

Nut Goodie Bars

Pumpkin Roll

Seven-Layer Bars

25 days 2011

 

 

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Almond Joy Bars

Posted in Christmas, Cookies, Desserts, Entertaining at Home, Holidays, Recipes, tagged , , , , on December 14, 2012| Leave a Comment »

almond joy bars plated

Years ago, my mom used to make this wonderful coconut candy dipped in chocolate. It took a lot of work and the chocolate contained paraffin wax. Needless to say, the few times I attempted to make the candy, I left out the wax and found the whole process to be both traumatic and awful.

I did keep the recipe for the filling though.

After seeing various recipes for Almond Joy Bars on Pinterest, I decided to make up my own, using the filling from the dipped candy.

These bars were relatively simple to put together. You do need to either keep them in the fridge or the freezer, though. The centers are sticky and need to be kept chilled.

If you like coconut, almonds and chocolate, you will definitely love these!

almond joy bar ingredients

Ingredients

Combine filling ingredients. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze until firm.

Combine filling ingredients. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze until firm.

Mix crust ingredients until crumbly. Press into greased (or foil-lined pan) and bake until set.

Cool crust completely before adding filling.
Cool crust completely before adding filling.
When crust is cool, spoon on filling. It will be sticky, so work fast while it is cold. Spread out evenly over crust.

When crust is cool, spoon on filling. It will be sticky, so work fast while it is cold. Spread out evenly over crust.

Nuke chips, butter and cream in 20-30 second bursts until chips are melted. Mix well.

Nuke chips, butter and cream in 20-30 second bursts until chips are melted. Mix well.

Spoon over filling and spread out evenly.

Spoon over filling and spread out evenly.

Top with more sliced almonds then freeze until firm. Cut into bars and indulge!

Top with more sliced almonds then freeze until firm. Cut into bars and indulge!

Almond Joy Bars

Crust:

1 cup flour

1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut

2 tbsp. sugar

6 tbsp. butter

Filling:

1 can condensed milk

1 cup sliced almonds

1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

1 1/2 sticks of butter

3 cups powdered sugar

Topping:

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 tbsp. butter

1/3 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Crust – Beat softened butter then add in flour, sugar and coconut. Mixture will be crumbly.  Press into greased baking dish (if you are lazy like me, line it with foil then spray with non-stick spray. It makes it easy to lift out and cut bars when finished). Bake for about 6-8 minutes, until just set. Remove from oven and cool completely.

Filling – Mix condensed milk, almonds, coconut, butter and sugar until well mixed. Freeze until firm. When crust is cool, spoon filling over the top and spread out to smooth.

Topping – In a microwave safe bowl, mix chips, butter and cream. In 20-30 second intervals, cook until chocolate melts and cream and butter are fully combined. Spread over the top of the filling and sprinkle with nuts. Put in the freezer until firm then take out and cut into bars.

Keep refrigerated or in the freezer until ready to serve (if you feel like sharing!).

These are rich, but oh, so good!

She Who Loves Chocolate and Coconut

25 days 2011

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Peppermint Cookies

Posted in Christmas, Cookies, Desserts, Holidays, tagged , , , on December 7, 2012| 5 Comments »

peppermint cookie finished

A box of candy cane pudding has been begging me to do something fun and creative with it, so I got the idea to make cake mix cookies.

From start to finish, these cookies took me less than half an hour and tasted so good.

The other perk is that the house had the most wonderful peppermint smell while these were baking. I nearly melted in a puddle on the kitchen floor.

Whip up a batch (if you love peppermint) and see what kind of words of undying gratitude come your way – if you decide to share the cookies!

Ingredients

Ingredients

Mix everything together until well blended.

Mix everything except chips together until well blended.

Stir in chips.

Stir in chips.

Drop by rounded spoonfuls on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for about eight minutes.

Drop by rounded spoonfuls on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for about six to eight minutes or until just set.

Remove from oven before they start to brown and let cool completely.

Remove from oven before they start to brown and let cool completely. I lined my baking sheet with parchment mostly because I’m lazy and don’t want to scrub the pan.

peppermint cookie finished

Peppermint Cookies

1 vanilla cake mix

1 small box instant candy cane pudding

2 eggs

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup white chocolate chips

1 cup peppermint crunch baking chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix cake mix, pudding, eggs, and butter until well blended. Stir in chips. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake about six to eight minutes, until cookies are just set (if you poke them, they still give a little but aren’t smooshy).

Remove from oven and let cool in pan for a few minutes. I slid the entire sheet of parchment out of the pan and onto the counter to let them finish cooling.

Your house, at this point, will have the most delicious peppermint aroma.

If you want to get all fancy, you could drizzle the tops with vanilla frosting and sprinkle crushed peppermint on top, but these are plenty sweet without any extra help. You could also throw in a handful of chocolate chips if you like the chocolate peppermint combo (which I do, but somehow managed not to add chocolate to this batch.)

Yield: About three dozen.

Enjoy!

She Who Really Liked These

25 days 2011

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